Registry
Biomethan Register Austria - The Austrian production registrar for biomethane
The Biomethan Register Austria is a documentation system for energy amounts from biomethane injected into the Austrian gas grid.
The Biomethan Register Austria is a production registrar, which allows the documentation and tracking of energy amounts and quality criteria of injected biomethane based on metering data provided to the balancing group system by gas grid operators. The balancing group coordinator has been mandated to issue monthly written certificates which may undergo external inspections by authorised auditors to include information on quality criteria. In the following, these biomethane certificates, including all information on quantity and quality, can be transferred (sell and buy / trade) between market participants.
Tracability and eligibility for target compliance via mass balancing
Production (injection) as well as consumption (withdrawal) are documented via the access to metering values which are provided by grid operators for the monthly clearing of the balancing group system. This way, mass balancing of energy amounts from biomethane along the Austrian gas grid is transparently and reliably performed. The consumption of biomethane is documented on biomethane cancellation statements which the registry operator can issue in paper format to be fraud resistant. These cancellation statements can be used as proof for final consumption to third parties (economic auditors, etc.) and ensure that the energy amounts are finally cancelled from the database.
The specific traceability and mass balance of energy amounts is an EU-legal requirement to enable target compliance:
- for the union target on the gross end energy consumption of an EU Member State (Art 3 RED II)
- for the transport target / biofuel quota (Art 25-31 RED II)
- for the allocation in the European Emission Trading System (EU ETS, Monitoring and Reporting Regulation)
Allocation of biomethane towards different application purposes preventing double counting
To document the use of biomethane for different application purposes, different competent bodies were mandated in Austria. To prevent any risks for double counting of the same produced energy amounts, AGCS has proactively set up cooperation agreements and technical interfaces to the other respective bodies.
- with the Austrian Green Power Settlement Agency (OeMAG Abwicklungsstelle für Ökostrom AG) for the electrification of biomethane and specificall the FiT for renewable power from biomethane,
- with the Austrian biofuels registry elNa, operated by the Austrian Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt GmbH) for the use of biomethane as sustainable biofuel and the substitution of fossil transport fuels,
- with the database for Guarantees of Origin operated by E-Control for the issuance of Guarantees of Origin for gas consumer disclosure,
- with the Biogas Register Germany, operated by the German Energy Agency (dena Deutsche Energie Agentur) for the cross-border ownership transfer of biomethane certificates between Austria and Germany.
Secure account-based system to proof ownership transfers
To become a market participant, parties have to successfully undergo the registration process of the Biomethan Register Austria. Following, they will receive a personalised (password-protected) access to their specific account. The registry operates as a web-based IT-system which was tailor-made for the Austrian biomethane sector and has been developed based on the expertise of systems in the areas of CO2-trading and capacity trading. The specified IT-system allows certificates to be issued, audited, split, transferred and cancelled individually.
The issuance of biomethane certificates for the production and injection of biomethane and of cancellation statements for the final consumption of biomethane is performed by the registry operator. These biomethane certificates are documented and booked on dedicated accounts of market participants. To document the trades and businesses between market participants, biomethane certificates are title transferred between the respective accounts of these market participants and they are cancelled at the point of final use. The registry operator does not influence the pricing of contracts - these are agreed between the market participants (seller and buyer / producer and consumer/trader) beyond the system boundaries of the Biomethan Register Austria.
Biomethan Register Austria: a toolbox for the Austrian energy market
The certificate system provides market participants with a secure, transparent, and reliable documentation system for tracking the movements and ownership transfers of the renewable and green value of biomethane. It was founded to provide the basis for the Austrian subsidy system, the feed-in tariff for renewable power from biomethane transported via the gas grid, fulfilling the request of the Renewable Electricity Act (ÖSG, Ökostromgesetz 2012). Furthermore, it provides the Austrian gas market and the stakeholders of the Austrian biomethane sector with a system to track and document ownership transfers which opens divers possibilities to market and trade the renewable product.
