Recognition of Energy Community GOs unlikely before end-2025

Date: April 4^th 2024

Topic: Electricity , Renewables , Energy policy , Ecology , En.vision

Energy Community guarantees of origin (GOs) are unlikely to be recognised by the European Commission before the end of 2025, its renewable energy expert Naida Taso told Montel’s SEE Energy Day event in Belgrade.

In December, the European Commission presented the Energy Community’s contracting parties with a roadmap for exchanging and trading GOs between the EU and non-EU members.

The roadmap includes the political and technical requirements the countries need to meet, including the full transposition of the EU renewable directive (RED2), implementation of a new electricity integration package and compliance with the EU 2030 emission reduction targets.

Taso said that at the end of 2024 the European Commission would conduct an audit to check the progress on meeting these requirements.

“This will likely take some time. So, at this moment I wouldn't say [recognition could happen] before the end of 2025, but it's very difficult to say,” said Taso.

She noted that eventual EU recognition of the Energy Community’s GOs would increase the European GO market’s size by only 10%.

“I don't think the impact would immediately be so big,” said Taso.

Less volatility

Aleksandar Katancevic, a director at Stratega East Capital, which advises investors and traders about environmental products, told the event that the recognition of GOs would help lower prices in Europe.

“The market would better function and have less volatility probably if overall supply and demand would spread better in the region,” he said.

As part of the regional project implemented by the Energy Community Secretariat, electronic GO registries that will manage the issuance, transfer and cancellation of these certificates were established for Albania, the two entities of BiH, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro in the Western Balkans, as well as for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova on the Black Sea.

Meanwhile, Serbia is a member of the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) and Albania joined it in February, but before its GOs can be transferred over the hub, the general meeting has to validate its membership and the country’s energy regulator Ere needs to undergo the scheme membership application process.