FEED-IN / PURCHASE OBLIGATIONS

Some governments have introduced systems which require a premium to be paid on all supplied energy; and for this premium to be recycled to specific energy technologies.  Such "feed-in" schemes can be enabled by energy certification, which has the advantage of ensuring that the energy is only supported once:

• The energy associated with the feed-in tariff is certified, and certificates are issued; and
• The organisation that paid the premium (the "feed-in" tariff) is awarded the certificate. By keeping these certificates in a separate account, the supplier can be assured that the energy is not "double counted".

Feed-in laws and tariffs oblige utilities or other operators of electricity transmission systems to provide grid access to renewable energy plants at a fixed, minimum price.  Payment of such a price is guaranteed over a longer period of time and it is usually set higher than the regular market price for electricity, this premium being justified as an internalisation of environmental and socio-economic advantages.