Certificate Settlement Processes

Overview of settlement processes

1. Each biomethane injection plant is registered at the balancing group coordinator.
    
2. The biomethane producer produces and injects the upgraded biomethane into the Austrian gas grid.
    
3. Grid operators deliver injection data based on metering values to the balancing group coordinator as part of the monthly clearing process.
    
4. The balancing group coordinator is also the operator of the Biomethane Registry.
    
5. After the monthly clearing of imbalancing energy, these metering values are provided to the Biomethane Registry to issue biomethane certificates in the following month of the production month. Additives used to adjust the heating value of biomethane (e.g.: propane) are deducted from the measured injection values. Biomethane certificates solely refer to the renewable net energy.
    
6. Biomethane certificates are issued onto the accounts of the respective biomethanre (producer) plant operator. Immediately after issuance, the biomethane certificates can be title transferred between registered market participants (account holders), independent whether already audited.
    
7. An auditor is ordered by the respective biomethane plant operator to perform an independent audit of the production plant, produced energy amount, used additives and their quantity and the feedstock type and material. The audit criteria depend on the funding agency and legal requirements for the respective application purpose of biomethane.
    
8. In order to claim the green electricity feed-in tariff, audited biomethane certificates must be transferred from the biomethane electrification plant account to the OeMAG-Account of the Green Electricity Settlement Agency (Ökostromabwicklungsstelle, OeMAG). Read more
    
9. The cancellation of a biomethane certificate documents the final withdrawal of the renewable energy amount from the registry database and thus from the market.
    
10. A cancellation statement for a biomethane certificate can be provided in paper form by the registry operator at any time upon request by market participants. Such a cancellation statement can be used by the owner for further documentation requirements for the annual report, auditing, biomethane fueling, application for statutory refunds and compensation, etc. - as well as for other purposes.
     

Find a sample of a cancellation statement here.