Wallonia: Quota system (Soutien kECO – certificats verts)
Updated: 08.02.2019
Author: Stijn Anciaux
In Wallonia, the development of green electricity is supported through a green certificate mechanism. A defined number of green certificates is granted for each MWh produced by an installation that uses renewable energy sources. The producer can then sell these certificates to an electricity supplier, who has the obligation to purchase every year a certain quota of green certificates. The total amount of green certificates available per technology is determined on a yearly basis by the Walloon Government, according to a trajectory aiming at reaching a total electricity production from RES of 8,000 GWh by 2020. The green certificates mechanism is supervised by the Walloon Energy Commission, CWaPE.
On 1 July 2014, the mechanism of green certificates has been amended. Hereafter, producers of electricity from renewable energy sources shall file the number of certificates they need with the administration prior to the realization of the RES installation.
The calculation method for the allocation of green certificates has also been amended. Consequently, the number of green certificates now corresponds to the amount of electricity production multiplied by several factors, namely:
- The kECO factor taking into consideration the investment amount of the RES plant
- The kCO2 factor taking into account the CO2 emissions induced by the RES plant
- In addition, hydropower, wind energy and solar energy plants are subject to a further correction coefficient depending on the electricity price
Before being entitled to receive green certificates, each RES installation shall secure a certificate of guaranteed origin (“certificat de garantie d’origine”) certifying that the production of electricity actually saves CO2 emissions.
Eligible technologies
In general, all renewable energy generation technologies except for geothermal power plants are eligible. Green certificates will be issued only if the installation has been awarded a certificate of origin (Art. 13, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). Green certificates have a validity of 5 years (Art. 16, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). Eligibility for green certificates ceases after 10 or 15 years, depending on the technology (Art. 15, § 1erbis, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006).
| Wind energy | Eligible for a maximum period of 15 years (Annex 5, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). |
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| Solar energy | Only installations over 10 kWp are eligible to green certificates, for a maximum period of 10 years. The grant terms and conditions of the green certificates for installations over 10 kWp are those in force at the time of the commissioning of the installation (Annex 5, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). |
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| Biogas | Eligible for a maximum period of 15 years (Annex 5, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). |
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| Hydro-power | Eligible for a maximum period of 15 years (Annex 5, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). |
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| Biomass | Eligible for a maximum period of 15 years (Annex 5, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). |
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Amount
| Amount of quota and period of application | From the 1st of January 2017, the quota increase is as follows (Art. 25, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006, as modified by the decree of 26 November 2015): - 34.03 in 2017
- 35.65% in 2018
- 37.28 in 2019
- 37.9 % in 2020
- 34.03% in 2021
- 35.65% in 2022
- 37.28% in 2023
- 37.9% in 2024
The grid operators are obliged to purchase green certificates from the generators of electricity and submit them to CWaPE; otherwise they shall pay a fine of €100 per green certificate missing (Art. 25, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). |
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| Adjustment of quotas | The Walloon government analyses the green certificate market on a regular basis. CWaPE advises the Ministry of Energy on whether or not the quotas should be adjusted. The Walloon government then decides on whether or not to introduce new quotas (Art. 25, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). |
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| Number of certificates according to technology | Currently, green certificates are allocated for a maximum of 10 or 15 years, depending on the individual technology. From 1 July 2014 onwards, the allocation of green certificates for the production of electricity from renewable energy plants is conditioned to the preliminary submission and acceptance of an application of request for green certificates, filed by the renewable energy producer (Art. 15, § 1erbis, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006) (for more information, please refer to the section on the process flow). Since 1 July 2014, the number of certificates allocated per technology is calculated according to a methodology taking following factors into consideration (Art. 15, (Art. 15, § 1er bis 5, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006): - The net amount of electricity produced (Eenp)
- The energy performance coefficient of the installation (kCO2)
- The economic performance coefficient of the renewable energy technology, which is adjusted by the Walloon Regulatory Authority CWaPE every 6 months for photovoltaic installations and every two years for other renewable energy technologies (kECO).
The formula for the calculation of the number of green certificates thus corresponds to: Eenp*kCO2*kECO Moreover, for installations using hydropower or wind energy as well as for photovoltaic installations over 10 kWp, the number of green certificates allocated will be re-adjusted after three years by a correction coefficient depending on the ENDEX market price (Art. 15, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). |
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| Minimum price per certificate | The purchase guarantee of green certificates to the price of €65 per certificate by the transmission system operator ELIA is automatic for new projects for which the green certificates were earmarked after 1 July 2014. Therefore, this procedure no longer requires the submission of a file with the Administration as before. |
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| Fees and penalty charges | If a grid operator does not meet its quota, it shall pay a fine of €100 per missing certificate (Art. 30, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). |
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Addressees
The grid operators are obliged to meet the quotas set by law by purchasing green certificates from the generators of electricity from renewable sources and submit these certificates to the regulatory authority for authentication (Art. 25, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006).
The persons benefiting from this rule are the RES-electricity generators.
Procedure
Process flow | - From 1 July 2014 (1 January 2015 for PV installations), the allocation of green certificates is subjected to the prior acceptance of a technical and financial application filed by the renewable energy producer to the Walloon Energy Administration (“Département de l’Énergie et du Bâtiment durable”) (Art. 10, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006, as modified by decree of 3 April 2014). The application shall contain several documents, including (Art. 15, § 1erbis, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006):
- A technical-financial analysis of the RES project
- An account of motives attesting to the project feasibility
- An estimation of the number of green certificates needed for the project
- Upon receipt of the application file, the Walloon Energy Administration shall deliberate and communicate its decision regarding the entitlement of the producer to green certificates within 45 days (Art. 15, § 1erbis, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006).
- After having received the entitlement to green certificates from the Walloon Energy Administration, the producer shall seek for a certificate of guaranteed origin (CGO - Certificat de garantie d’origine) for his installation. CGOs may only be granted by authorised inspection bodies (Art. 6, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006).
- Within 10 days after the control of the installation, the inspection body automatically communicates the certification of the RES installation both to the producer and to the regulatory authority CWaPE (Art. 8, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006). This step acts as a request for granting of green certificates. As a result, the producer no longer needs to file a request with the CWaPE.
- Maximum 30 days after receipt of the certificate of guaranteed origin by the CWaPE, the producer receives the decision of the CWaPE regarding the granting of green certificates (Art. 15 quinquies, Arrêté du 30 novembre 2006).
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Competent authority | The Walloon Ministry of Energy decides on the allocation process for green certificates in Wallonia. The Walloon regulatory authority (CWaPE) awards green certificates to the operators of renewable energy plants (Art. 38, Décret du 12 avril 2001). |
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Distribution of costs
| Consumers | As stated by the regulatory authority (CWaPE), in the end the consumers bear the costs via their electricity bills. |
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