The Renewables Obligation Order (Northern Ireland) 2009

NIROCs to be issued by Authority in respect of a generation station’s renewable output

22.—(1) The Authority is to issue NIROCs.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3) and Article 52 (modifications of this Order in relation to microgenerators in certain circumstances), NIROCs—

(a) are to be issued in respect of a generating station’s renewable output in a month, and

(b) must not be issued before the end of the second month following that month.

(3) When issuing NIROCs in respect of electricity generated in a month by a generating station or, in the case of NIROCs certifying the matters within Article 54(4) or (6) of the Energy Order, two or more generating stations, the Authority must—

(a) determine the renewable output of that generating station or, as the case may be, those generating stations in that month in accordance with Article 23 or 24 (whichever is applicable);

(b) where one or more of the criteria set out in Articles 34 to 36 have to be satisfied before NIROCs can be issued in respect of that station’s or those stations’ renewable output, deduct from that output any electricity in respect of which any of those criteria are not satisfied; and

(c) issue NIROCs in respect of that station’s or those stations’ remaining renewable output, the amount of electricity to be stated in each NIROC being determined in accordance with Articles 25 to 30 (banding and grandfathering).

(4) This means that, where a generating station generates electricity—

(a) wholly from renewable sources a proportion of which is composed of fossil fuel,

(b) wholly from renewable sources and the input electricity used by the generating station in generating that electricity exceeds 0.5 per cent of the total amount of that electricity, or

(c) partly from renewable sources and partly from fossil fuel,

NIROCs are to be issued in respect of a proportion only of the electricity generated by the station.

(5) Where the number of megawatt hours of renewable output in respect of which NIROCs are to be issued does not equate to a whole number of NIROCs, the number of megawatt hours is to be rounded to the nearest figure which does so equate (and where there are two such figures, the number of megawatt hours is to be rounded upwards).

(6) In this Article “input electricity”, in relation to a generating station, means—

(a) the total amount of electricity used by that station for purposes directly related to its operation (including for fuel handling, fuel preparation, maintenance and the pumping of water) whether or not that electricity is generated by the station or used while the station is generating electricity, and

(b) where the station generates electricity wholly or partly from hydrogen (other than hydrogen that constitutes fossil fuel), any electricity—

(i) in respect of which NIROCs are or have been issued,

(ii) in respect of which NIROCs cannot be issued by virtue of any provision of Part 4 (cases and circumstances when a NIROC must not be issued), or

(iii) which was not generated from renewable sources,

and which is used in the production of that hydrogen (regardless of where or by whom the hydrogen is produced).