What are Renewable Energy Certificates?

Renewable certificates, namely NIROCs, are typical components of most, if not all PPAs.

Northern Ireland Renewable Obligation Certificates (NIROCs)

The NIRO is the legislation that underpins NIROCs. It places an obligation on electricity suppliers across the UK to provide a proportion of the electricity they supply to end customers from renewable sources. Evidence of compliance takes the form of presenting ROCs purchased from renewable generators.

To avail of NIROCs your generating station must go through an application process with Ofgem. Following accreditation NIROCs will be issued to renewable generators like you, for every MWh of electricity you generate on a monthly basis. The number of MWh you receive depends on the renewable technology you use and its size.  NIRO is now closed to new applications.

How do I get paid for my exported energy?

Wholesale electricity on the island of Ireland is governed by SEM (Single Electricity Market). This 'pool' market derives wholesale electricity prices calculated on a half hourly basis, that apply to all participating generators (selling) and all suppliers (buying) electricity. Typically we will apply these prices to your corresponding half hourly export data, ensuring your payment reflects the true market price for electricity at that time. Payment is received on a monthly basis.

Realising the value of your ROCs

With the introduction of the NIROC branding, in many projects (receiving multipe NIROCs per MWH of generation), NIROCs can be the single most important feature. The price you receive for NIROCs and the timing of payments, depends on your choice of payment structure. The two main structures contained with PPAs are outlined below:

NIRC -Monthly Auction

Variable price depends on NIROCs value at action

• We can facilitate the sale of your NIROCs via a monthly, thrid party administrated auction. This can improve cash flow as the full value of your NIROCs are realised on a monthly basis.

Further details can be found at www.e-roc.co.uk

NIROC - Buyout & Recycle

Fixed price monthly (Buyout) and a variable price paid annually (Recycle)

• The 'Buyout' price is a price set by the government which applies for a given 'compliance period' (April-March). It is fixed for 12 months then indexed for subsequent years. This is the price (or penalty) electricity suppliers have to pay if they have insufficient ROCs to meet their Renewables Obligation.
• On a monthly basis your ROC payment would reference this price.
• The 'Recycle' price comes from the money collected from electricity suppliers by the government for 'Buyout' or penalty payments as mentioned above. This total pot of money (the buyout fund) is redistributed to suppliers who submit ROCs and then in turn to you as renewable generator whos ROCs have been submitted.

This payment is typically made annually in November/December for the previous Compliance Period.

Why Power NI?

It's simple, when you choose Power NI as your PPA partner, you benefit from the years of experience that the industry leader offers. Other companies may put forward similarly structured agreements but with Power NI you'll get added benefits such as PPA Online, alongside our trustworthiness, heritage and local expertise.

A track record you can trust

• We have experience with different types and sizes of renewable technologies (photovolatic, wind, hydro, anaerobic digestion and landfill gas and ranges from 2kWs to 30MWs).
• We are the most popular energy partner in Northern Ireland.

Flexible contracts to suit you

• Framework agreements, if you have a pipeline of projects.
• Efficient payments through a streamlined process considered 'Best in Class'
• No need for you to spend time involved in your monthly export or NIROC payment.

Exclusive extra - PPA Online

• This exclusive extra is a considerable added benefit for our PPA business partners. It helps you analyse performance in greater detail than ever before and endorse the business case for your renewable generator.
• With PPA Online you can analyse your export data carefully from annually down to an individual half-hour through the year. You can compare export levels to last year, view your carbon saving or compare your performace to other similar sized Power NI partners. You can also export all your data to Excel, helping your own business analysis and reporting.
• Already have PPA Online? Click here to log in.