Key Benefits:
Public concerned: biomethane producers, natural gas suppliers.
Purpose: Implement a system of original biomethane guarantees injected into natural gas networks.
Entry into force: the text comes into force on the day after its publication.
Notice: This decree establishes a system of original guarantees for injected biomethane into natural gas networks and defines its operation. The original guarantees are awarded to any supplier who makes the application having entered into a purchase contract with a biomethane producer. An original guarantee is attributed by megawatt-hour of biomethane injected into natural gas networks. The original guarantees are valid for twenty-four months. They can be exchanged. It is created a register of the original guarantees, which include the creation, exchange and suppression, as well as the conditions of use of the original guarantees. The manager of this register is selected by call for tenders launched by the Minister responsible for energy.
References: This Order is made for the application of Article L. 446-3 of the Energy Code (from theArticle 92 of Act No. 2010-788 of 12 July 2010 bringing national commitment to the environment).
The Prime Minister,
On the report of the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing,
Considering the energy code, including its article L. 446-3;
Vu le Decree No. 2004-251 of 19 March 2004 relating to public service obligations in the gas sector;
Vu le Decree No. 2004-555 of 15 June 2004 the technical requirements for pipelines and connections of gas transport, distribution and storage facilities;
Vu le Decree No. 2011-1594 of 21 November 2011 relating to the conditions of sale of biomethane to natural gas suppliers;
Vu le Decree No. 2011-1595 of 21 November 2011 relative to compensation for public service charges relating to the purchase of injected biomethane into natural gas networks;
Having regard to Decree No. 2011-1597 of 21 November 2011 on the terms and conditions of contracting between biomethane producers and natural gas suppliers;
Considering the opinion of the Higher Energy Council of 30 November 2010;
Considering the opinion of the Energy Regulatory Commission of 29 December 2010,
Decrete:
Biomethane injected into natural gas networks, when subject to a purchase contract provided for in the purchase contractArticle 2 of Decree No. 2011-1594 of 21 November 2011, may be granted a certificate of guarantee of origin, at the request of the biomethane buyer referred to in section 1 of the said decree.
Requests for certificates of origin are addressed to the delegate referred to in Article 5 of this Order.
A certificate of original guarantee is issued per unit of injected energy, set at 1 MWh.
I. ― The start and end dates of the biomethane injection period for which a guarantee of origin can be requested must correspond to the count data log dates specified by the injection contract linking the biomethane producer to the network manager.
II. ― The start date of the injection period for which an original warranty is requested may not be earlier than January 1 of the calendar year prior to the application. The application must be sent no later than ninety days after the last day of the injection period being the subject of the application.
I. ― The original warranty certificate application must include the following:
1° The name or social reason and address of the applicant's head office;
2° The address of the biomethane production site subject to demand;
3° The production capacity of the site;
4° The date of commissioning of the site;
5° A copy of the receipt issued pursuant to Article 1 of Decree No. 2011-1597 of 21 November 2011 referred to above;
6° A copy of the injection contract;
7° A copy of the purchase contract provided for in theArticle 2 of Decree No. 2011-1594 of 21 November 2011 ;
8° Start and end dates of the biomethane injection period for which the original warranty is requested;
9° The amount of biomethane injected, expressed in MWh, during the period for which the demand for original warranty certificates is sought.
10° The production technique and type of input used for biomethane production.
II. ∙ The applicant for an original certificate of guarantee must retain all relevant information and documents for three years from the date of the application.
I. ― The delegate referred to in section 5 shall have a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of a full application for the issuance of the original guarantee certificate, where an original warranty has already been issued for the installation. This deadline is extended to sixty days if this is a first request. The certificate includes the references or references corresponding to the elements in 1° to 10° of I of Article 3.
II. ― The delegate shall issue a number of certificates equal to the number of units of injected energy, referred to in the application to the delegate, in accordance with the provisions of Article 3.
III. ― The delegate shall, on the national register of the guarantees of origin described in section 5, register the certificates of origin issued by the delegate.
The register is published on the delegate's website. For each original warranty, the registry elements accessible to the public are:
1° The number identifying the certificate of the original guarantee;
2° The date of its deliverance;
3° The name and quality of the applicant;
4° The location of the biomethane production facility;
5° The inputs from which biomethane was produced;
6° Start and end dates of the period during which biomethane was produced;
7° If applicable, mention of operations defined in 2° of Article 5.
The delegate shall, at least every month, update the registry.
The delegate addresses to the Minister for Energy before March 31 of a given year, an activity report of the previous calendar year.
In accordance with the provisions of Article 8, the State shall designate a delegate of the mission to establish and manage a national register of the original guarantees of injected biomethane. The mission includes:
1° Opening, holding and closing on the register of accounts of holders of original guarantees;
2° Recording all transactions related to these accounts:
― the credit of the accounts of the holders after issuance of an original guarantee certificate under the conditions described in section 4;
– transfer of original guarantees between account holders;
- the cancellation of the original guarantees on an account under the conditions provided for in Article 9;
― the debit of the accounts of the holders after use of an original security certificate, under the conditions described in section 6.
The delegate preserves the confidentiality of information of an economic, commercial, industrial, financial or technical nature, which he collects in the exercise of his mission and whose communication would affect the rules of free and fair competition and non-discrimination established by law. It is premeditated by any misuse of such information, including within it, for activities outside the mission.
Any holder of a certificate of guarantee of origin shall inform, if any, the delegate referred to in section 5 of the use of that guarantee. The delegate bears, on the national register provided for in the same article, the reference to the use of the original guarantee and its method of valuation. Each warranty can only be used once. Any warranty used is debited from the holder's account.
An original warranty that has not been used within 24 months of the date of its issuance is automatically deleted from the registry.
The cost coverage for the establishment and maintenance of the national register is provided by the maintenance costs, to the account holders, the amount of which is approved by the Energy Control Board. To this end, the Energy Control Board has access to the accounts of the delegator in charge of the register.
These costs are taken into account in the calculation of public service charges relating to the purchase of injected biomethane into natural gas networks and entitled to compensation in accordance with the Decree No. 2011-1595 of 21 November 2011.
The account-keeping costs are established to ensure the strict coverage of the costs of investment, establishment and operation attributable to the mission described in section 5, as set out by the delegate in his application file described in section 8 and the remuneration requested.
I. ― The Minister for Energy shall, after competition and for a period of five years, designate the body responsible for carrying out the mission described in section 5.
To this end he publishes a notice of public appeal to competition in the Official Journal of the European Union.
The notice of public competition appeal mentions:
1° The purpose of the public appeal to competition;
2° The period on which the subject-matter of the public appeal is held;
3° The criteria for judgment of applications;
4° The list of documents to be submitted in support of the application;
5° The deadline for the submission of applications to the administrative authority, which must leave at least forty days after the issuance of the notice of public appeal to competition in the Official Journal of the European Union;
6° Modalities for submission of applications.
Can be candidates for organizations that have demonstrated their skills in database management and compliance reviews.
Applicants should also have provided evidence of their independence from biomethane producers and buyers, economically, legally and financially.
Upon receipt of applications, the Minister for Energy assesses applications based on the following judgment criteria:
1° The technical and financial capacities of the candidate;
2° The candidate's ability to ensure continuity of public service and equal access to public service;
3° The costs of investment, establishment and operation required for the exercise of the mission described in section 5;
4° The remuneration required for the performance of the mission.
After reviewing applications, the Minister responsible for Energy shall, after the opinion of the Superior Council of Energy, designate the agency responsible for the benefits provided for in this Order.
II. - The Minister for Energy may impose a monetary penalty not exceeding 10% of the maintenance costs for the last fiscal year declared or terminate the duties of the delegate:
― if the Energy Control Board refuses to approve the amount of the account holding expenses incurred by the delegate;
- if, after re-establishment and unless there is a force majeure, the delegator shall, in a lasting or repeated manner, interrupt the management of the national register of guarantees of origin;
– the delegate commits a serious breach of its regulatory obligations.
In all cases, the Minister for Energy will allow the delegate to present his or her comments before making a monetary penalty or its demise.
Without prejudice to the powers of control provided for in Decree No. 2011-1597 of 21 November 2011 referred to above, the delegate referred to in Article 5 of this Order may verify by a poll the accuracy of the elements in the claims files of original guarantees that he has received. This verification can only cover original guarantees issued for less than three years. The inspection officers are authorized by the prefect in the light of their technical and legal knowledge on the proposal of the delegate. Enabling is granted for a period of five years. It may be withdrawn when the conditions under which the authorization was granted cease to be fulfilled.
Comptrollers may collect from the original warranty claimants the elements to verify the accuracy of the information referred to in Article 3 of this Order. They have access, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., to biomethane production facilities for which an original warranty has been requested or obtained, with the exception of all residential premises. They are required to preserve the confidentiality of the information they are aware of during their controls.
Any control is the subject of a record of the date, place and nature of the findings.
The minutes shall be notified within fifteen days of the close of the minutes to the applicant of the original guarantee certificate, as well as to the prefect of the area where the facility is located, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or by any other means establishing the date of receipt.
If the control reveals that the issuance of certificates is based on incorrect information, the certificates, corresponding to the biomethane produced since the beginning of the period for which the application for certificates of original warranty has been made, are cancelled on the account of the biomethane buyer attached to this facility. New certificates of guarantee of origin may only be issued for a period after a new control establishing compliance with the elements of the original warranty application contained in Article 3 of this Order. This new control will be carried out at the applicant's request and fees.
The Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, the Minister to the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, responsible for industry and energy and the digital economy, are responsible, each with respect to it, for the execution of this Order, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done on November 21, 2011.
François Fillon
By the Prime Minister:
The Minister of Ecology,
Sustainable Development,
Transport and housing,
Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet
Minister of Economy,
finance and industry,
François Baroin
Minister to the Minister of Economy,
finance and industry,
responsible for the industry,
energy and the digital economy,
Eric Besson
