Guarantees of origin

The administrator of the Estonian Guarantees of Origin system is the transmission system operator, who issues Guarantees of Origin in Estonia and manages the electronic database of Guarantees of Origin (hereinafter referred to as the register).

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

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.

Suppliers and traders are able to transfer and cancel Guarantees of Origin.

The quantity of biomethane for which a Guarantee of Origin is issued, as well as the quantity of gas for which the origin is certified using a biomethane Guarantee of Origin, is determined by a remote metering device.

To certify the origin and carbon emissions of gas at the metering point, a market participant in the role of trader performs the cancellation of the Guarantee of Origin in the register. To certify the origin of gas, the trader submits the consumer whose energy consumption at the metering point is being certified.

Cross-border Transfer of Biomethane Guarantees of Origin

As of the 2025 production year, Elering, acting as the Issuing Body for the Estonian domain, issues Guarantees of Origin for biomethane in accordance with the European Energy Certificate System (EECS) Rules as a member of the Association of Issuing Bodies’ (AIB) Gas Scheme.

As of May 2026, electronic connection for import and export of biomethane Guarantees of Origin is established via the AIB Hub, the central transfer system operated by AIB.

Within the Estonian Gas Guarantees of Origin Registry, Guarantees of Origin may be transferred both between accounts within the registry and across borders to registries connected to the AIB Hub. Further information on the AIB Hub is available here, and information on the applicable transfer fees is available here.

A list of registries connected to the AIB Hub for cross-border transfer of Guarantees of Origin is available here.

During the ongoing transitional period, biomethane Guarantees of Origin cross-border transfers request involving registries that are not yet connected to the AIB Hub will be processed on a case-by-case basis. Elering assumes no responsibility for the legislation, requirements and procedures applicable in the relevant foreign jurisdiction.

Export of Guarantees of Origin Issued in Estonia

• In Estonia, biomethane Guarantee of Origin and the corresponding Proof of Sustainability (PoS) is combined into one certificate – the national Guarantee of Origin. This linkage is established within the Estonian national system only. The exported biomethane Guarantee of Origin complies with the requirements of Directive (EU) 2018/2001, and can be used to certify information relating solely to the renewable origin of the biomethane. Sustainability criteria compliance cannot be certified with the exported Guarantee of Origin.

Use of Guarantees of Origin Imported from Other Countries

• In Estonia,  biomethane Guarantee of Origin and the corresponding Proof of Sustainability (PoS) is combined into one certificate – the national Guarantee of Origin. In most other European Union Member States, sustainability information is generally not recorded in Guarantees of Origin registries and cannot be transferred together with the Guarantee of Origin.
• Consequently, the cancellation of an imported Guarantee of Origin alone is not sufficient to demonstrate biomethane consumption in the Estonian transport sector. Imported Guarantees of Origin may, however, be used to demonstrate biomethane consumption in other end-use sectors.
• For the purpose of demonstrating biomethane consumption in the transport sector, cancellation of the imported Guarantee of Origin must be complemented by evidence demonstrating compliance with the requirements laid down in the Liquid Fuels Act.

Subsection 4³ of § 2¹ of the Liquid Fuel Act provides that biomethane that originates from another Member State of the European Union and that is supplied for final consumption is taken into account for the purposes of fulfilling the obligation provided by subsection 1 of that section when the following requirements have been met:

  1)   the biomethane has, through the gas network or by container transport, physically reached the supplier releasing it for final consumption;

  2)   the biomethane’s Guarantee of Origin issued in the country of origin, as well as proof of meeting the sustainability criteria provided by § 32³ of the Energy Sector Organisation Act and the criteria for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions enacted under clause 2 of subsection 1 of § 120 of the Atmospheric Air Protection Act, have passed into the ownership of for the person releasing biomethane for final consumption and the person releasing the biomethane for consumption has used these to prove that the biomethane has been released for consumption in Estonia;

  3)   for producing the biomethane, investment support – or any other support disbursed via a national support scheme – has not been granted in another Member State of the European Union;

  4)   the quantity of biomethane that has been conveyed to Estonia has been deducted from the energy balance of the country of origin. 

In addition, subsection 2¹ of § 32⁹ of the Energy Sector Organisation Act provides that, where an imported biomethane Guarantee of Origin does not include all of the particulars presented in subsection 2 of thas section for counting the consumption of biomethane for complying with the obligation mentioned in § 2¹ of the Liquid Fuel Act and for qualifying for the exemption from excise duty provided for by clause 28⁸ of subsection 1 of § 27 of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Fuel and Electricity Excise Duty Act, a certificate must be presented regarding the missing particulars.

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