1. The Guarantees of Origin system: introductory statements11
The Guarantees of Origin system:
introductory statements
Jaap Jansen
CEPS_thinktank

2. The current system has a double counting problem
EU legislators stipulated in 2008 that the use of GO is solely for electricity disclosure. GO should not interact with national support schemes
Yet allowing GO of supported renewable electricity tacitly re-links GO with support schemes
Besides, it enables double counting (double use) of the renewable feature of a certain MWh of supported electricity
The Commission proposal to auction “support GO” does not remedy the double counting issue
The current GO system enables Corporations to reduce their carbon footprint with ‘support GO’, which hardly contributes to additional renewable electricity production
What’s more: this way of carbon footprint reduction is largely paid for by the support scheme concerned, hence ultimately by the electricity consumers

3. Suggested key remedial system changes
The purpose of GO should be made unambiguously explicit. E.g.: “The purpose of GO is to create awareness among each electricity consumer on the origin of the electricity he or she buys; GO should facilitate those consumers who wish so, to contribute to a better environment through their product choices.”
The system should be made really consumer-centered. Every consumer should be disclosed in the mandatory disclosure label only the fuel mix of the electricity delivered to him/her (i.e. the ‘product mix’) + 2 environmental indicator values (CO2eq. emissions; nuclear waste)
GO of electricity the production of which benefits from a support scheme should be cancelled upon issuance
Consider inclusion of a paragraph in REDII mandating the Commission to introduce , contingent on evolving GO market developments, a technology- neutral duration limit as from the commissioning date of a renewable energy plant to entitlement of its operator to the GO issued of the electricity generated by the plant. Upon the day the duration limit becomes binding, all GO issued to account for its subsequent production should be cancelled upon issuance

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