Guarantee of Origin auctions set new annual revenue record

On 14th June, the sixteenth auction of Guarantees of Origin (GOs) took place. The sale of GOs, which are electronic certificates that provide proof to electricity consumers that the source of the energy they consume is renewable, resulted in net proceeds of €20.3 M.

Despite being only the third auction of the year, the total annual revenue reached a cumulative value of €64.7 M, surpassing the previous year's maximum of €61.7 M recorded over eight auctions.

It is worth noting that the revenues obtained from these auctions are deducted from the cost of acquiring renewable energy, thus being returned to Portuguese consumers. In this sixteenth auction, a total of 3.25 million GOs were sold, representing 3.25 TWh of renewable energy generated in Portugal. Since the inception of this mechanism in July 2021, a total of 54.3 million GOs have been auctioned off.

These auctions included 18.4 million GOs in 2021, 25.1 million GOs in 2022, and 10.8 million GOs in 2023. As a result, Portuguese consumers have benefited from overall net revenues of approximately €135.6 million, with nearly half of that amount being obtained in 2023. Given that the price of GOs is primarily market-driven, it is noteworthy that these results highlight the success of the Portuguese GO auctions.

Despite prices being below the previous year's historical maximum of 9.05 euros/GO, the auctions saw a record participation of 29 participants. While a significant portion of the GOs issued in Portugal is allocated to other European Union countries, these results also reflect the growth and development of the domestic GO market.

Since its establishment in 2020, the domestic market has consistently witnessed substantial growth levels. In 2022, it reached a significant milestone by surpassing 100 million operations, despite experiencing a nearly 20% decrease in issuance due to the impact of drought, which greatly affected hydroelectric generation.

The auctions of GOs are overseen by the Direcção-Geral de Energia e Geologia (Portuguese Directorate General of Energy and Geology), with their implementation being managed by OMIP, S.A. In mainland Portugal, REN - Rede Eléctrica Nacional, S.A. serves as the Issuing Body for Guarantees of Origin (Entidade Emissora de Garantias de Origem - EEGO).

REN is responsible for the implementation and management of the system for issuing GOs, which includes electronic issuance, transfer, and cancellation of these certificates. EEGO commenced its operations in March 2020 and presently has approximately 380 companies registered in its system, including producers, traders, and brokers.

Additionally, around 780 facilities have their electricity generation certified on a monthly basis within the EEGO system. Since 2020, over 100 million GOs have been issued in Portugal.