Biomethane

The administrator of the Estonian Guarantees of Origin system is the joint system operator, who issues guarantees of origin in Estonia and manages the electronic database of guarantees of origin (hereinafter, the “Register”).

All activities related to the issuance, transfer, and cancellation of biomethane Guarantees of Origin are carried out within the register.

The standard terms and conditions for the use of biomethane and hydrogen Guarantees of Origin establish the rules and procedures for using the register, under which market participants can perform operations with Guarantees of Origin. The standard terms are established pursuant to § 32¹⁰ subsection 12 of the Energy Sector Organisation Act.

The quantity of biomethane for which a Guarantee of Origin is issued is calculated based on the higher heating value (HHV).

A biomethane Guarantee of Origin is issued when the biomethane meets the gas quality requirements established under § 173 subsection 2 of the Natural Gas Act, the quantity and compliance with quality conditions are measured in accordance with § 5 subsection 1 of the Measurement Act, and the production data of the biomethane have been transmitted to the gas data warehouse.
The production data of the gas are transmitted to the gas data warehouse managed by the transmission system operator in accordance with § 16 of the Network Code on the Functioning of the Gas Market.
This provision also applies to biomethane produced in a production facility disconnected from the gas network.

The biomethane producer can find more information about the issuance of Guarantees of Origin and account registration here.

More information about trading and cancellation of Guarantees of Origin can be found here.

The biomethane consumer can find more information here.

Starting from the 2025 production year, the transmission system operator, as the representative of the Estonian domain, will issue biomethane Guarantees of Origin compliant with the standardized European system for energy certificates — the European Energy Certificate System (EECS) — as a member of the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) gas scheme.

For questions and suggestions related to biomethane Guarantees of Origin, please contact biometaan@elextra.ee.