A guarantee of origin, in Dutch garantie van oorsprong or GvO, is an electronic certificate proving that one megawatt hour of energy was generated from a renewable source. It is the only accepted proof of the green character of energy and can be traded independently of the electricity itself.
Statutory basis
The instrument derives from article 19 of the renewable energy directive (EU) 2018/2001 and is implemented in the Dutch energy legislation. Certificates for electricity are issued by CertiQ, a subsidiary of TenneT, and for renewable gas by Vertogas. A guarantee is issued on production, transferred through an account in the register and cancelled when it is used to substantiate a claim towards an end user.
How it works in practice
Because the certificate and the electron are separate, a supplier can buy grey electricity on the market and green it with certificates purchased elsewhere in Europe. That is lawful, but the value and the credibility of the claim depend heavily on the origin and the age of the certificates. Corporate buyers therefore increasingly require Dutch certificates from a named installation, and stipulate the transfer of guarantees expressly in their power purchase agreements.
Where it goes wrong
Contracts often say the electricity is green without saying who owns the guarantees. If the seller retains them, the buyer cannot make a renewable claim and cannot report the electricity as zero emission. A second problem is timing: guarantees have a limited validity and must be cancelled in the right period, so a delayed transfer can make them useless. Marketing claims based on certificates from a distant country and an old installation also attract scrutiny under the rules on misleading advertising.
Related terms
Power purchase agreement, SDE++ subsidy and Energy Act.
Do your contracts or your sustainability claims rest on guarantees of origin? Our energy lawyers check the ownership, the transfer and the substantiation.
