You cannot control what current flows into the socket. But you can document that the corresponding energy has been produced cleanly.
The electricity grid is shared. Power from hydropower, wind power and gas is mixed in the grid and cannot be traced back to its source. Guarantees of origin are the solution to this: for every megawatt-hour you consume, a guarantee is issued and deleted proving that the same amount of energy was produced from a renewable source.
The guarantees are issued by Statnett in Norway and traded in a European market under the Guarantees of Origin (GO) standard. The scheme is regulated under the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II/III) and is the method underlying the international reporting standards GHG Protocol Scope 2, GRI and CSRD.
Guarantees of origin are not just a documentation tool. They make renewable energy more profitable for producers, because companies are willing to pay a premium for the guarantees. This creates a market incentive for increased renewable production, and is thus part of the European energy transition.
When you obtain guarantees of origin, you make green electricity producers more competitive.
We help you link guarantees of origin to your electricity contract, so that reporting is in place from day one. We can also assist with documentation for use in climate accounting and sustainability reporting.
A Guarantee of Origin (GO) is an electronic certificate that documents that 1 MWh of electricity has been produced from a renewable energy source. The guarantee is issued by the grid company or transmission system operator (in Norway: Statnett) and is deleted when you, as a consumer, redeem it. This avoids double counting.
Although Norwegian electricity production is dominated by hydropower, electricity in the grid is not traceable to its source. Without guarantees of origin, you cannot prove to auditors, banks or sustainability frameworks that your specific consumption volume is covered by renewable production. The guarantees provide the necessary link.
Yes. Guarantees of Origin are the only accepted method for market-based Scope 2 reporting under the GHG Protocol. It is also the method underlying GRI, ESRS/CSRD and most credit institutions' green finance requirements.
Guarantees of origin document that electricity is produced from renewable sources and are used to offset Scope 2 emissions (electricity). Climate credits compensate for CO₂ emissions from other sources, such as travel, heating or process emissions (Scope 1 and 3). The two mechanisms complement each other in a complete climate account.
Guarantees of origin are traded in a separate market at market price. The price varies with supply and demand in Europe. Energihuset can include the guarantees in your electricity contract or help you acquire them separately.
Yes, with the right documentation. Guarantees of Origin are the market standard that provides the basis for communicating that you use renewable electricity, provided that the guarantees are correctly redeemed and documented. Energihuset can help with this.
Deletion is what prevents the same guarantee from being sold to two buyers. When you redeem a guarantee of origin, the deletion is recorded in the European registry (EECS). The guarantee cannot then be used by anyone else. This is what makes the scheme credible.
No. The GO system is also used for gas and district heating from renewable sources, although electricity is by far the most common application.
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