Established by the Renewable Energy Association working with Bio Group, British Gas, Eon, National Grid, Milton Keynes Council, Thames Water and CNG Services, the Green Gas Certification Scheme “is a simple and reliable way to eliminate double-counting of registered green gas” said Steve Sharratt OBE, Chief Executive of Bio Group, which designed, constructed and operates the Adnams Bio Energy plant in Suffolk.
“By tracking the commercial transactions of biomethane through the supply chain it provides certainty for consumers who buy the gas, confidence in the green gas sector and an incentive for gas producers to inject green gas into the grid,” he said.
John Pettigrew, National Grid's Chief Operating Officer for Gas Distribution, added: “The Green Gas Certification Scheme is a great step forward for renewable gas, stimulating demand from consumers who want to reduce their carbon footprint.”
Biomethane, or ‘green gas’ is a form of renewable energy. It can be made from biogas from anaerobic digestion, landfill gas or syngas from synthetic gas production. If injected into the grid it displaces the same amount of conventional gas. The GGCS tracks any contractual trading of the injected gas through to its sale to end-use consumers who receive a certificate notifying them of the individual identifiers associated with it. The platform through which the gas is tracked and authenticated has been created by web development agency SAV.
“There is huge interest in renewable gas. I’m delighted that we’ve now got two sites up and running. More are set to follow once the Renewable Heat Incentive starts later in the year,” said Gaynor Hartnell, Chief Executive of the Renewable Energy Association which, via its subsidiary Renewable Energy Assurance Ltd, is running the new certification system.
The new certification system is open to a wide range of participants across the UK including green gas producers, suppliers and other traders.
“Customers need the reassurance that the greener products they seek actually ‘do what they say on the tin’. We believe that biomethane has a significant role to play in the future energy mix for the UK and this certification scheme is a major step forward to making it a reality,” concludes Michael Woodhead, Managing Director of E.ON’s Sustainable Energy business.
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