News

RECS International is calling upon its members to respond to a survey about the development of a new European label for renewable energy.

The AIB has published the activity statistics and ex-domain cancellation statistics for 2019Q4. The statistics are now available here. Please contact the Association of Issuing Bodies for any questions.

Following discussions with the organisers of venues, speakers and sponsors, the board of RECS International has decided to cancel the REC Market Meeting, which was due to be held between 30 March and 1 April 2020.

On 31 March and 1 April, 2020 RECS International is organizing the 10th edition of the REC Market Meeting, the international conference focusing on the demand side of renewable energy markets. As demand-side markets for renewable energy are rapidly expanding around the globe, the conference takes a focus on both European and international markets.

In 2020 we are celebrating the REC Market Meeting’s 10th anniversary. The conference started in 2010 as a small event for discussing Guarantees of Origin (GOs) in Europe. It has since grown into one of the largest and most respected conferences for experts in renewable energy consumption markets. The 10th edition of the REC Market Meeting will focus on ‘The maturing renewables market’.

RECS International encourages their members to get involved in national standard setting for GO markets. 

Recs International welcomes three new members: GGNE, Optiment and SCB Group.

As of the 1st of January 2020, the Netherlands has introduced a full disclosure system for guarantees of origin. Twelve months prior to the implementation it was already possible to voluntarily disclose information on non-renewable energy supply, but this is now compulsory for all suppliers within the Netherlands. 

RECS International is pleased to introduce a new member: Greenfact AS from Norway.

For market parties who want to make use of the member registries of Issuing Bodies (IBs), the fee structure for 2020 is now available on the website of the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) here.

The 10th edition of the REC Market Meeting, on March 31st and April 1st, will have a broad range of sessions on offer on renewable energy demand-side markets. In addition to a wide range of topics of interest to experts in these markets, the 2020 conference will include introductory sessions for those new to the industry. As these markets gain momentum, organizations are growing their teams with people who will need a strong understanding of the basic components behind renewable energy consumption. To this end, the REC Market Meeting is offering a dedicated “C-stream” of sessions this year, to provide fundamental insights into energy-attribute tracking systems and markets. 

Last year RECS International published several short papers on to inform members about specific topics and developments in GO markets, such as the Italian GO market (here), the French auction ...

The Renewable Energy Directive II states that European Member States and their competent bodies must comply with the CEN – EN 16325 standard to ensure an accurate, reliable and fraud-resistant GO market. 

In order to gain input from members on the specific challenges of compliance with EU legislation relating to Guarantees of Origin, RECS International is establishing the Compliance Working Group.

In November 2019 the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) became aware that Guarantees of Origin (GOs) from three Italian gas-fired production devices have been wrongly labelled as being produced using energy solely from renewable sources. As these Italian GOs were issued in full conformity with Italian legislation this problem was not detected earlier. Since 2017, only one of these production devices has remained eligible to receive GOs.

The AIB has now published the activity statistics and ex-domain cancellation statistics for 2019Q3.

In 2020 the REC Market Meeting celebrates its 10th anniversary. What started out as a small meeting in 2010 to provide a platform for discussing Guarantees of Origin (GOs) in Europe has grown to become one of the largest and best respected conferences for experts in the development of energy attribute certificates and demand-side choice for energy consumers around the world. The conference provides advanced technical knowledge, guidance on national and international legislative developments and the latest market insights.

RECS International has recently held meetings for the Legal Matters Working Group and the Non-Fossil Gas Working Group.

Following a meeting by the RECS International Working Group on Legal Matters on 10 October, members of RECS International are encouraged to provide comments on the current EFET Standard Agreement by the 31st of October in order for comments to be prepared and presented to the EFET Legal committee in December.

The secretariat of RECS International is pleased to welcome a new member: Coral Future from Singapore.

Following a decision of the Association of Issuing Bodies’ (AIB) General Meeting, Slovakia will officially join the AIB in January 2020.

Sponsorship packages are now available for the 10th edition of the REC Market Meeting, which will take place at Hotel Okura Amsterdam, the Netherlands on Tuesday 31 March and Wednesday 1 April 2020.

RECS International, in cooperation with consultancy agency VaasaETT, is publishing the 2018 GO Monitoring report.

As in previous years, RECS International is collaborating with the the RE-Source platform for the event taking place in Amsterdam on 2 and 3 October 2019. The RE-Source event gathers leading experts to discuss the latest trends in PPAs and the corporate sourcing of renewable energy.

On 8 November 2019 RECS International will host, in collaboration with CEZ, a one-day workshop on the implementation of Article 19 of the recast Renewable Energy Directive (RED-2).

In recent months RECS International has worked to establish a dialogue between the European Commission, the Swiss Government, RECS International and the AIB with the aim of ensuring a clear and effective process for the mutual recognition of GOs between EU Member States and third countries.

Nationally imposed conditions for trade, expiry and cancellation of guarantees of origin can differ between member countries of the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB). To provide transparency on these conditions, the AIB has created a document which provides an overview of the different rules and regulations of the AIB members.

As in previous years, on 28 November 2019 the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) and RECS International are jointly organizing the Open Markets Committee (OMC). On 29 November 2019 RECS International will be organizing the RECS General Meeting (GM). Both meetings will be held in Luxembourg.

The International REC Standard, together with SP Group, are organizing a one-day forum about the International REC Standard, the associated market and national regulations and best practices in Singapore.

In recent years blockchain technologies have endeavoured to establish a role in the tracking of energy attributes, either alongside or in competition with established systems. Whether blockchains enhance or negatively impact existing tracking system remains to be seen. RECS International has created a position paper which analyses the capability for blockchains to enhance attribute tracking and drive it to new heights, or whether their promise will fade as market players continue to rely on the proven success of established systems.

EFET is redrafting the EFET EECS Master Agreement (MA). RECS International has been requested to review the draft. A comment provided by RECS International is to open the contract up to different certificate types/standards such as I-RECs, ROCs, Elcerts, as opposed to maintinaing an EECS only MA.

As the recast Renewable Energy Directive (EU/2018/2001) has extended the use of guarantees of origin to include renewable gas, it is important that market players and policy makers are well informed about the implications for markets and regulations. 

Following the emergence of legal issues surrounding the potential for VAT fraud linked to the trade in GOs and the possible categorisation of GOs as financial instruments, the RECS International board has decided to reconvene the Legal Working Group as a matter of urgency.

A revised version of the 2018 European Residual Mix is now available on the website of the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB). 

Earlier this year Germany introduced a national certificate scheme for trading renewable energy attributes. RECS International has created a paper to provide an analysis of the German GO market, including a description of this new regional concept and of RECS International’s view on this change. 

The RECS International Annual Report 2018 is now available at www.recs.org. 

The UK government has introduced legislation, in the form of a statutory instrument, to introduce a reverse charge accounting mechanism (‘domestic reverse charge’) for supplies of gas and electricity certificates in the UK. 

EFET has published a template agreement for Corporate PPAs for use in Europe. 

RECS International is very pleased to have a new member on board: Engie Global Markets.We highly appreciate the support from our members, contributing to our mission to create and sustain reliable demand-side markets for renewable energy.

With success of the 9th edition of the REC Market Meeting still fresh in our minds we are already working towards the next edition behind the scenes. This upcoming REC Market Meeting will mark the tenth anniversary, with plenty to look back at and even more to focus on for the times ahead.