The Renewables Obligation Order (Northern Ireland) 2009

PART 2 The Renewables Obligation

The renewables obligation

5.—(1) the renewables obligation is imposed on each electricity supplier supplying electricity in Northern Ireland (a “designated electricity supplier”).

(2) The renewables obligation is that, subject to Articles 40 and 41 each designated electricity supplier must, by the specified day, produce to the Authority, in respect of each megawatt hour of electricity that he supplies to customers in Northern Ireland during an obligation period—

(a) subject to sub-paragraph (b), the number of renewables obligation certificates determined in accordance with Article 12;

(b) where the obligation period commences on 1st April 2009, 0.035 renewables obligation certificates for each megawatt hour so supplied.

(3) To enable the number referred to in paragraph (2)(a) to be determined, the Department must first determine, for the obligation period in question, calculations A, B, C and the total number of renewables obligation certificates required to be produced by designated electricity suppliers in accordance with Articles 6 to 11.

(4) Where the number of renewable obligation certificates that a designated electricity supplier is required to produce by virtue of paragraph (2) is not a whole number, it is to be rounded to the nearest whole number (one-half being rounded upwards).

Part of calculation A referable to Great Britain

6.  The part of calculation A referable to Great Britain is the estimate of megawatt hours of electricity likely to be supplied to customers in Great Britain during a particular obligation period, as estimated by the Secretary of State under Article 6(1) of the Renewables Obligation Order 2009(1) (Part of calculation A referable to Great Britain), multiplied by the figure which corresponds to that particular period in the second column of Schedule 1.

Part of calculation A referable to Northern Ireland

7.—(1) Before the start of each obligation period identified in the first column of Schedule 1, (except for the first such period), the Department is to estimate, in megawatt hours, the total amount of electricity likely to be supplied to customers in Northern Ireland during that period by electricity suppliers designated under this Order.

(2) The figure representing the number of megawatt hours so estimated for an obligation period is to be multiplied by the figure which corresponds to that period in the third column of Schedule 1.

Calculation A

8.—(1) The product of the calculation referred to in Article 6, added to the product of the calculation in Article 7(2), is (for the obligation period to which those calculations relate) calculation A.

(2) Where calculation A is not a whole number, it is to be rounded to the nearest whole number (one-half being rounded upwards).

(3) References to calculation A in Articles 11 and 12 shall be construed accordingly.

Calculation B

9.—(1) Calculation B is the number of renewables obligation certificates likely to be issued in respect of renewable electricity for a particular obligation period, as estimated by the Secretary of State under Article 9(2) of the Renewables Obligation Order 2009, increased by 8%.

(2) Where calculation B is not a whole number, it is to be rounded to the nearest whole number (one-half being rounded upwards).

(3) References to calculation B in Articles 11 and 12 shall be construed accordingly.

(4) In this Article “renewable electricity” means electricity which is generated from renewable sources and in respect of which renewables obligation certificates may be issued.

Calculation C

10.—(1) The figure representing the sum of the estimates in Articles 6 and 7, multiplied by 0.2, is calculation C for that obligation period.

(2) Where calculation C is not a whole number, it is to be rounded to the nearest whole number (one-half being rounded upwards).

(3) References to calculation C in Articles 11 and 12 shall be construed accordingly.

Determining the number of renewables obligation certificates to be produced in an obligation period

11.—(1) Following the determination of calculations A, B and C for an obligation period, the Department is to determine the total number of renewables obligation certificates required to be produced by designated suppliers (“the total obligation”) for that period in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).

(2) Where calculation A is greater than calculation B for an obligation period, the total obligation for that period is calculation A.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), where calculation B is greater than calculation A for an obligation period, the total obligation for that period is calculation B.

(4) Where calculation B is greater than calculations A and C for an obligation period, the total obligation for that period is calculation C.

(5) References to the total obligation in Article 12 shall be construed accordingly.

(6) Determining the number of renewables obligation certificates to be produced by a designated electricity supplier in order to discharge his renewables obligation.

Determining the number of renewables obligation certificates to be produced by a designated electricity supplier in order to discharge his renewables obligation

12.—(1) Where the total obligation for an obligation period is calculation A, the number of renewables obligation certificates that a designated electricity supplier is required to produce in order to discharge his renewables obligation in respect of electricity that he supplies to customers in Northern Ireland during that period is, for each megawatt hour so supplied, the figure set out in the third column of Schedule 1 that corresponds to that period.

(2) Where the total obligation for an obligation period is calculation B, the number of renewables obligation certificates that a designated electricity supplier is required to produce in order to discharge his renewables obligation in respect of electricity that he supplies to customers in Northern Ireland during that period is, for each megawatt hour so supplied, equal to—

(3) Where the total obligation for an obligation period is calculation C, the number of renewables obligation certificates that a designated electricity supplier is required to produce in order to discharge his renewables obligation in respect of electricity that he supplies to customers in Northern Ireland during that period is, for each megawatt hour so supplied, 0.2 renewables obligation certificates.

(4) The Department must publish, by the 1st October preceding an obligation period, the number of renewables obligation certificates that a designated electricity supplier is required to produce in respect of each megawatt hour of electricity that he supplies to customers in Northern Ireland during that period in order to discharge his renewables obligation for that period.

Further provision in relation to the production of renewables obligation certificates

13.—(1) A designated electricity supplier may discharge his renewables obligation by the production to the Authority of a GBROC.

(2) A designated electricity supplier may discharge up to 25 per cent of his renewables obligation in respect of an obligation period by producing to the Authority renewables obligation certificates relating to electricity supplied in the immediately preceding obligation period.

(3) Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), no more than 12.5 per cent of a designated electricity supplier’s renewables obligation may be satisfied by the production of renewables obligation certificates issued in respect of electricity generated by a generating station in any month during which it generated electricity partly from fossil fuel and partly from biomass.

(4) Paragraph (3) does not apply to the 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2010 obligation period where no more than 10 per cent of a designated electricity supplier’s renewables obligation may be satisfied by the production of renewable obligation certificates issued in respect of electricity generated by a generating station in any month during which it generated electricity partly from fossil fuel and partly from biomass.

(5) In the case of a renewables obligation certificate issued in respect of electricity generated by a generating station in any month where it generated electricity partly from fossil fuel and partly from biomass the limits set out in paragraph (3) or (4) do not apply to the production of those certificates if and to the extent that the electricity in respect of which they were issued was generated by—

(a) co-firing of biomass with CHP;

(b) co-firing of energy crops; or

(c) co-firing of energy crops with CHP.

(6) In determining how electricity has been generated for the purposes of paragraphs (3) to (5), no account is to be taken of any fossil fuel which the generating station uses for permitted ancillary purposes.

(7) A designated electricity supplier must not produce to the Authority a renewables obligation certificate which has previously been or is produced to the Great Britain authority under a GBRO Order.

(8) In this Article—

“co-firing of biomass with CHP” “co-firing of energy crops” and “co-firing of energy crops with CHP” have the same meaning as in Schedule 2

(1)

SI 2009 No. 785