22.11.2023 | A certified difference
Renewable electricity: many electricity providers promise it, most consumers want it. But how does the electricity from the socket come to be labelled “renewable”? It is all down to the “guarantee of origin” system. It’s an important system, but one which leaves room for improvement. While the government has initiated regulatory changes, more transparency is required.
To keep electricity flowing, the amount of power produced must equal the amount of power consumed at any given moment. Given the huge number of consumers and producers hooked up to the electricity grid, that’s a major challenge. It takes a highly sophisticated system and the combination of various international short-term and long-term markets to handle this complex task. And to make things even more complex, the market doesn’t distinguish between different environmental standards in electricity – it’s simply sold as “electricity” with no indication of whether it originated from a gas-fired power station or a solar panel. From a physical perspective, too, there’s no way to divide electrons in the electricity grid into renewable and non-renewable. So what is renewable electricity from the socket? This is where the guarantee of origin system comes in.
A guarantee of origin (GO) is a document attesting that a certain amount of electricity fed into the electricity grid (e.g. 1 kWh of solar power) is of a certain environmental quality. To declare the electricity supplied to consumers as renewable, the supplier has to be able to present GOs to the same amount. However, GOs can be traded independently of electricity. For example: a producer could sell its electricity on the exchange but transfer the guarantees of origin which relate to that electricity production separately to a supplier.
The GO is what enables the producer of renewable energy to transfer the “environmental” quality of its electricity to specific consumers. This has two effects in particular. One is that consumers can claim a certain volume of renewable electricity for themselves, allowing them to both make and fulfil pledges concerning sustainability and their products (e.g. “our products are made with 100% renewable electricity”). The other is that the GO accords renewable energies a higher market value than non-renewable energies, which represents an incentive for the expansion of renewable energies. But GOs are also used for regulatory purposes – such as when suppliers have to disclose the origin of the different elements in their electricity mix to consumers each year.
So without GOs it would be impossible to make an assertion to consumers about the environmental quality of the electricity supplied. Ultimately, though, this is an artificial transparency which only partially reflects reality. Various changes are required to bring the transparency of the GO system closer to real-life conditions.
Firstly, there is the issue of the correlation between the time the GO arises and the time the corresponding electricity is consumed. Currently, this is determined on an annual basis. This means that to declare a unit of electricity, you can use any GO from the same calendar year. That in turn means, for example, that you can declare the electricity consumption on a dark winter’s day with a GO representing power from a PV system on a sunny summer’s day. But given the high volume of electricity imports in winter and the increase in electricity surpluses in summer, this is hardly expedient.
Secondly, the lack of an electricity agreement between Switzerland and the EU creates an inconsistency in the GO market. The Swiss GO system is linked to equivalent systems in EU countries, and this makes international trade possible. However, because there is no Switzerland-EU electricity agreement, the EU stopped recognising Swiss GOs in June 2023, which means they can’t be exported. Switzerland has not responded to date and continues to recognise EU GOs. This asymmetry on the market, along with substantial imports, reduces the value of renewable GOs domestically.
And thirdly: the system only functions when climate pledges and targets are consistently substantiated with the corresponding GOs. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. For example: Norway comes in for criticism because, in political terms, it presents itself as 100% renewable by pointing to its production portfolio – even though it exports the lion’s share of its GOs rather than using them to disclose electricity origin domestically (only 30% of consumption is declared with renewable GOs). The exported GOs then end up in countries like Switzerland, where electricity is declared renewable on the consumer side.
The government has initiated various improvements to the GO system. In September 2022, parliament tasked the Federal Council with reducing the correlation period between consumption and production in electricity disclosure. The Federal Council responded by introducing an amendment to the relevant ordinance by which, starting in 2026, electricity consumption within a given quarter can only be declared with GOs within the same quarter. And this correlation period could be shortened further, resulting in higher administrative costs (particularly in the case of weekly, daily or even quarter-hourly labelling).
In addition, by passing the “consolidation bill”, parliament has decided that the standard electricity product should in future consist “primarily” of domestic renewable energy sources. The basis for proof is the Swiss GO. This change is likely to boost production of domestic renewable electricity but it doesn’t solve the structural problem in the GO market (asymmetry with the EU and high export quotas for some countries).
In essence, international trade with GOs is desirable and reasonable – much like the international electricity market. However, resolving the asymmetry in the GO market will require an electricity agreement – or temporary adoption of an exclusively domestic system. But even with an electricity agreement, the GO system requires improvement on the EU side (e.g. quarterly electricity disclosure), or renewable targets for individual countries need to be consistently aligned with their declared electricity consumption.
For Switzerland, the most sustainable solution is probably the quality at the heart of the GO system: transparency. Consumers, for instance, would benefit from greater visibility around the environmental and, above all, geographic dimension of their electricity mix. One way of achieving this would be to modernise the tables that regulatory authorities use for communicating the electricity mix. But ultimately, an even more effective approach would be complete market liberalisation, which would give the consumer additional control over their electricity products and thus lead to a greater diversity of products and greater transparency.
Switzerland’s electricity mix
According to official statistics on guarantees of origin from 2022, the electricity that comes out of Swiss sockets is made up of 65% hydropower, 19.6% nuclear power, 13.7% renewables (solar, wind, biomass, etc.) and just 1.9% fossil energy sources. Around 20% of electricity consumption (or one third of hydropower) is declared with foreign hydropower GOs, from countries such as Norway, France and Sweden.
A simplified example
The function of a GO can be illustrated with a simplified example. Let’s say there is an electricity system with two producers, a gas-fired power station and a hydropower power station, each of which produces 50 MWh per year, and two consumers who each consume 50 MWh. When electricity is traded in uniform quality – or from a physical perspective – both consumers receive the same electricity mix from the grid, which is 50% renewable and 50% fossil. If GOs are used to disclose the “environmental” quality of the hydropower plant, these can be allotted to specific consumers. This means one consumer could purchase the GO from the hydropower plant and then declare their electricity consumption as renewable. The other consumer would then be drawing down fossil-based electricity.
"Mfano wa ""mfano wa umeme"" ni ""mfano wa umeme wa umeme"" ambao watumiaji wengi wanahitaji." Lakini ni kwa nini umeme kutoka kwa soketi huitwa "ubadilishaji"? Yote ni chini ya mfumo wa "uhakikisho wa asili". Ni mfumo muhimu, lakini moja ambayo inaacha nafasi ya kuboresha. Wakati serikali imeanzisha mabadiliko ya udhibiti, uwazi zaidi unahitajika. Ili umeme uendelee kutiririka, kiasi cha nishati inayotokezwa lazima kiwe sawa na kiasi cha nishati inayotumiwa wakati wowote. Kwa kuzingatia idadi kubwa ya watumiaji na wazalishaji waliounganishwa na mtandao wa umeme, hiyo ni changamoto kubwa. Inachukua mfumo wa kisasa sana na mchanganyiko wa masoko mbalimbali ya kimataifa ya muda mfupi na ya muda mrefu kushughulikia kazi hii tata. Na kufanya mambo hata ngumu zaidi, soko haina kutofautisha kati ya viwango tofauti vya mazingira katika umeme - ni tu kuuzwa kama "umeme" bila dalili kama ni asili kutoka kituo cha umeme gesi-kuwaka au jopo la jua. Kutoka kwa mtazamo wa kimwili, pia, hakuna njia ya kugawanya elektroni katika mtandao wa umeme katika mbinu mbadala na zisizo mbadala. Ni nini umeme unaobadilika kutoka kwa soketi? Hapa ndipo mfumo wa dhamana ya asili unapoingia. Hati ya asili (GO) ni hati ya kuidhinisha kwamba kiasi fulani cha umeme ni kuletwa katika mtandao wa umeme. 1 kWh ya nishati ya jua) ni ya ubora fulani wa mazingira. Ili kuashiria umeme uliotolewa kwa watumiaji kama mbadala, muuzaji lazima awe na uwezo wa kuwasilisha GO kwa kiasi hicho. Hata hivyo, GO inaweza kuuzwa kwa kujitegemea ya umeme. Kwa mfano, mtayarishaji anaweza kuuza umeme wake kwenye soko lakini kuhamisha dhamana ya asili inayohusiana na uzalishaji huo wa umeme tofauti kwa muuzaji. GO ni nini inawezesha mtayarishaji wa nishati mbadala kuhamisha ubora wa " mazingira " ya umeme wake kwa watumiaji maalum. Jambo hilo lina matokeo mawili hasa. Kwa mfano, watumiaji wanaweza kudai kiasi fulani cha umeme wa mbadala kwa ajili yao wenyewe, na hivyo kuwawezesha kufanya na kutimiza ahadi kuhusu uendelevu na bidhaa zao. "Kwa hivyo, bidhaa zetu zinatengenezwa kwa 100% umeme unaobadilika.""" Kwa upande mwingine, serikali ya Ujerumani inatoa thamani ya soko kwa nishati mbadala kuliko nishati isiyoweza kubadilishwa, ambayo inawakilisha kichocheo cha upanuzi wa nishati mbadala. Lakini GO pia hutumiwa kwa madhumuni ya udhibiti - kama vile wakati wauzaji wanapaswa kufunua asili ya vipengele tofauti katika mchanganyiko wao wa umeme kwa watumiaji kila mwaka. Kwa hiyo bila GO itakuwa haiwezekani kufanya madai kwa watumiaji kuhusu ubora wa mazingira ya umeme zinazotolewa. Hatimaye, ingawa, hii ni uwazi bandia ambayo tu sehemu huonyesha ukweli. Mabadiliko mbalimbali yanahitajika ili kuleta uwazi wa mfumo wa GO karibu na hali ya maisha halisi. Kwanza, kuna suala la uhusiano kati ya wakati GO hutokea na wakati umeme unaolingana hutumiwa. Kwa sasa, hii ni kuamua juu ya msingi wa kila mwaka. Hii inamaanisha kwamba ili kutangaza kitengo cha umeme, unaweza kutumia GO yoyote kutoka mwaka huo huo wa kalenda. Hii ina maana, kwa mfano, kwamba unaweza kutangaza matumizi ya umeme katika siku ya giza ya majira ya baridi na GO kuwakilisha nguvu kutoka kwa mfumo wa PV katika siku ya majira ya joto. Lakini kwa kuzingatia kiasi kikubwa cha uagizaji wa umeme wakati wa majira ya baridi kali na ongezeko la ziada ya umeme wakati wa majira ya joto, hii ni vigumu. Kwa upande mwingine, ukosefu wa mkataba wa umeme kati ya Uswisi na EU huunda kutoelewana katika soko la GO. Mfumo wa Uwanja wa Ndege wa Uswisi (SOS) unaunganishwa na mifumo sawa katika nchi za EU, na hii inafanya biashara ya kimataifa iwezekanavyo. Hata hivyo, kwa sababu hakuna mkataba wa umeme wa Uswisi na EU, EU iliacha kutambua mashirika ya serikali ya Uswisi mnamo Juni 2023, ambayo inamaanisha hayawezi kusafirishwa. Uswisi haijajibu hadi sasa na inaendelea kutambua mashirika ya serikali ya EU. Hii asymmetry katika soko, pamoja na uagizaji mkubwa, hupunguza thamani ya GOs mbadala ndani ya nchi. Na tatu: mfumo hufanya kazi tu wakati ahadi za hali ya hewa na malengo ni mfululizo substantiated na GOs zinazolingana. Kwa bahati mbaya, hii si daima kesi. Norway ni nchi ya kihistoria ambayo inajifanya kuwa 100% ya nishati mbadala kwa kuelezea usambazaji wake wa umeme, ingawa inazalisha sehemu kubwa ya umeme wa umeme wa umeme badala ya kuelezea asili ya umeme wa umeme wa umeme (ni 30% tu ya matumizi ya umeme wa umeme). GOS zinazosafirishwa huishia katika nchi kama Uswisi, ambapo umeme umetangazwa kuwa unaobadilika kwa upande wa watumiaji. Serikali imeanzisha maboresho mbalimbali kwa mfumo wa GO. Mnamo Septemba 2022, Bunge lilimpa Baraza la Shirikisho jukumu la kupunguza kipindi cha uhusiano kati ya matumizi na uzalishaji katika ufunuo wa umeme. Baraza la Shirikisho liliitikia kwa kuanzisha marekebisho ya amri husika ambayo, kuanzia 2026, matumizi ya umeme ndani ya robo moja inaweza tu kutangazwa na serikali ndani ya robo moja. Na kipindi hiki cha uwiano inaweza kufupishwa zaidi, na kusababisha gharama za kiutawala zaidi (haswa katika kesi ya vitambulisho vya kila wiki, kila siku au hata kila robo saa). Kwa kuongezea, kwa kupitisha "mkataba wa kuunganisha", bunge limeamua kwamba bidhaa ya kawaida ya umeme inapaswa kuwa "kimsingi" ya vyanzo vya nishati mbadala vya ndani. Uhakika wa kihistoria wa Uswisi ni GO. Mabadiliko haya ni uwezekano wa kuongeza uzalishaji wa umeme wa ndani wa mbinu mbadala lakini haina kutatua tatizo la muundo katika soko la GO (asymmetry na EU na viwango vya juu vya usafirishaji kwa nchi fulani). Kimsingi, biashara ya kimataifa na GO ni ya kutamaniwa na busara - sana kama soko la kimataifa la umeme. Hata hivyo, kutatua asymmetry katika soko GO itahitaji mkataba wa umeme <unk> au kupitishwa kwa muda wa mfumo wa ndani tu. Hata hivyo, kwa mujibu wa makubaliano ya umeme, mfumo wa GO unahitaji uboreshaji kwa upande wa EU (kwa mfano, Kwa mujibu wa taarifa ya kila robo mwaka ya umeme, nchi zote zinapaswa kuweka lengo la nishati mbadala kulingana na matumizi yao ya umeme. Kwa Uswisi, suluhisho la kudumu zaidi labda ni ubora katika moyo wa mfumo wa GO: uwazi. Kwa mfano, watumiaji watapata faida kutokana na mwonekano mkubwa kuhusu mazingira na, juu ya yote, mwelekeo wa kijiografia wa mchanganyiko wao wa umeme. Njia moja ya kufikia hii itakuwa ya kisasa meza kwamba mamlaka ya udhibiti kutumia kwa ajili ya mawasiliano ya mchanganyiko wa umeme. Lakini mwishowe, mbinu bora zaidi ingekuwa uhuru kamili wa soko, ambayo ingempa mtumiaji udhibiti wa ziada juu ya bidhaa zao za umeme na hivyo kusababisha utofauti mkubwa wa bidhaa na uwazi mkubwa. Kulingana na takwimu rasmi za dhamana ya asili kutoka 2022, umeme unaotoka kwenye soketi za Uswisi unajumuisha 65% ya umeme wa maji, 19.6% ya umeme wa nyuklia, 13.7% ya nishati mbadala (juu, upepo, biomass, nk). Na ni asilimia 1.9 tu ya nishati ya visukuku. Karibu asilimia 20 ya matumizi ya umeme (au theluthi moja ya umeme wa maji) inatangazwa na mashirika ya kigeni ya umeme wa maji, kutoka nchi kama vile Norway, Ufaransa na Sweden. Mfano rahisi Kazi ya GO inaweza kuonyeshwa na mfano rahisi. Hebu tuseme kuna mfumo wa umeme na wazalishaji wawili, kituo cha umeme cha gesi na kituo cha umeme wa maji, kila mmoja wa ambayo hutoa 50 MWh kwa mwaka, na watumiaji wawili ambao kila mmoja hutumia 50 MWh. Wakati umeme ni kuuzwa katika ubora sawa au kutoka mtazamo wa kimwili, watumiaji wote kupokea mchanganyiko huo wa umeme kutoka gridi, ambayo ni 50% mbadala na 50% fossil. Kama GO ni kutumika kufichua "ma mazingira" ubora wa kiwanda cha umeme wa maji, hizi inaweza kugawanywa kwa watumiaji maalum. Hii inamaanisha kwamba watumiaji wanaweza kununua GO kutoka kwa kituo cha umeme wa maji na kisha kutangaza matumizi yao ya umeme kama mbadala. Mtumiaji mwingine basi angekuwa akivuta umeme unaotokana na mafuta ya makaa ya mawe.