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Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator

Increasing Australia's renewable electricity generation

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Power stations

The Renewable Energy Target (RET) is designed to increase the amount of electricity generated from eligible renewable energy sources. Renewable energy power stations increasing their output of electricity above 1997 levels can contribute towards the achievement of the RET. This includes new power stations constructed since 1 January 1997 and pre-existing power stations increasing output or generating from renewables for the first time.

Power stations, if accredited by the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator (ORER), are eligible to create renewable energy certificates (RECs) through an internet based registry system, known as the REC Registry, for their eligible generation output. Once the RECs are created and registered, through a validation and audit process, the RECs can be traded independently of the sale of electricity to third parties and provide a second revenue stream for eligible power stations.

To become an accredited renewable energy power station, the power station must:

• use one or more of the eligible renewable energy sources to generate electricity;
• have obtained, and comply with the provisions of, all relevant environmental and other approvals for the operation of a power station;
• be able to measure the amount of electricity being generated; and
• supply the generated electricity to directly meet demand for electrical energy.

Accreditation applications

For a power station to become accredited, a registered nominated person (of the power station) must submit an application for accreditation. Only persons who have registered and paid a registered person fee of $20 to the ORER can seek accreditation of a power station. Applicants intending to apply for accreditation:

• may like to read the Information for applicants who intend to apply for accreditation of a power station fact sheet; and
• need to complete the Application for accreditation of a power station form.

Accreditation fees

An accreditation fee must be paid prior to a power station becoming accredited. The fee varies depending on the size of the power station and the complexity of the accreditation process. Accreditation fees are listed in Regulation 28 of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001 .

Renewable Energy Baselines

Baselines for individual power stations are determined and set as part of the power station accreditation process.

The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (the Act) and Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001 (the Regulations) stipulate that power stations must annually generate above their 1997 eligible renewable energy baseline, generation level, before RECs can be created using the formula specified under regulation 14.

For example:

• if a power station is accredited with a renewable energy baseline of zero then all of the eligible renewable electricity delivered to a electricity network or load is eligible for RECs.
• if the power station started to generate electricity prior to 1 January 1997 the power station will be accredited with a non zero renewable energy baseline. In this case only the eligible renewable electricity generated above the renewable energy baseline is eligible for RECs.

A baseline is determined using a number of factors including:

• the average of electricity generated in the three years prior to 1997;
• seasonal variations;
• major changes to infrastructure;
• demand constraints; and
• other factors as listed under Schedule 3 of the Regulations.

Register of Accredited Power Stations - Renewable Energy Baselines

The legislation stipulates that the Register of Accredited Power Stations include the renewable energy baseline for each accredited power station. The Register of Accredited Power Stations is available from the REC Registry.

• Register of Accredited Power Stations - Renewable Energy Baselines 

Annual electricity generation returns

A registered person who creates RECs for eligible electricity generation during a calendar year from an accredited power station must lodge an Annual Electricity Generation Return, for each accredited power station, by 14 February annually in the following year. For more information about the Annual Electricity Generation Return.

Guidelines for eligible fuel source REC creation

To assist in the process of creating RECs the following guidelines must be followed when calculating the level of eligible generation from a power station.

• Guidelines for Determining the Renewable Components Waste to Electricity Generation
• Guidelines for Calculating Eligible Renewable Generation when Co-firing Renewable Fuels with Coal
• Wood waste assessment sheets
• Sample power station REC validation questions

Accredited power stations online map

The ORER in conjunction with Geosciences Australia has developed an online map of renewable energy power stations in Australia, providing the longitude, latitude and general details of power stations that are accredited under the RET. To find the location of a particular accredited power station or for more information you can visit the Map of Australia's Accredited Renewable Energy Sites

RECs defined

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are an electronic form of currency created on the REC Registry by eligible parties. A REC is generally equivalent to:

• 1 MWh of renewable electricity generated above the power station baseline; or
• 1 MWh of renewable electricity deemed to be generated by small generation units; or
• 1 MWh of electricity deemed to be displaced by the installation of solar water heaters.

Properly created RECs are validated by ORER and transferred between eligible parties and liable parties for a negotiated price. Payment is arranged outside the REC Registry.

RECs are surrendered annually to demonstrate liability compliance against the requirements of the RET or voluntarily surrendered.

Creating RECs

If you are a registered person and are eligible to claim RECs you will need access to your REC Registry account, using your username and password, to create your REC claim in the REC Registry.

Before finalising your electronic request to create RECs for eligible renewable electricity generation or installations of solar water heaters or small generation units, you will be asked to confirm and declare that all of the details for the REC creation request are correct.

Once the REC creation request has been made, the REC Registry will perform a number of automatic checks.  The Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator will then conduct manual checks, or desk audits, of the REC creation information. 

If the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator is satisfied that the RECs have been created correctly, the RECs will be validated. 

If the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator discovers fraudulent REC creation behavior, the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator can seek to prosecute the registered person concerned or apply financial penalties to parties that accidentally or deliberately create invalid RECs.

Registered persons should note that the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator can and does conduct physical audits of registered persons to establish whether RECs have been created in accordance with the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. 

Registering RECs

If the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator is satisfied that the RECs have been created correctly and the RECs are validated you will need to register the RECs that have been created and validated. 

To register RECs you need to pay an 8 cent registration fee, as required under section 26 of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (the Act).  The 8 cent registration fee is a cost recovery mechanism for providing the REC Registry service and also helps to provide improvements to the current service.

To pay the registration fee you will need to log into the REC Registry, using your username and password, and render the registration fee item to an invoice and pay the invoice through the REC Registry.  Information on invoice payment methods and processes are available through the REC Registry help pages or by contacting the REC Registry helpdesk on 1800 159 724.

Once the payment has been received and the invoice settled your RECs will be registered.  Once registered RECs can be traded or surrender to the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator to discharge a liability under the Act.

Transferring RECs

RECs can only be traded if they are registered.  RECs can only be traded in the REC Registry.  REC prices and contracts are maintained outside of the REC Registry as the REC Registry is not a trading floor for RECs.  However, as required under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 the Renewable Energy Regulator must be informed each time a REC has been traded.