Companies delivering renewable energy in the Netherlands can register deliveries in their account in the Energy for Transport Registry (Register Energie voor Vervoer, REV). In return, they receive renewable energy units (hernieuwbare brandstofeenheden, HBEs).
Conditions apply regarding renewable energy to be registered and registering companies.
Renewable energy to be registered
Companies can register deliveries of the following types of renewable energy:
- liquid biofuels delivered to the Dutch market;
- gaseous biofuels delivered to the Dutch transport sector;
- electricity delivered to the Dutch transport sector, with the exception of electricity for railway vehicles;
- liquid renewable fuels delivered to the Dutch transport sector;
- gaseous renewable fuels delivered to the Dutch transport sector.
Registering companies
To be able to register deliveries, companies must have an REV account with a registration facility. Companies are eligible for an account if they meet certain criteria. The following companies are allowed to register deliveries of liquid biofuels and liquid renewable biofuels:
- licensed keepers of an excise warehouse for mineral oils;
- licensed Registered Consignees for mineral oils;
- importers subject to excise duty as defined in the Excise Duty Act.
Companies that deliver gaseous biofuels or electricity can register such deliveries if they qualify as buyers within the meaning of the Gas Act or the Electricity Act and have connections to the grid and suitable charging infrastructure.
Companies can register deliveries of gaseous renewable fuels if they have a licence under the Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet) and deliver hydrogen to the transport sector.
Registration period
Companies can register deliveries of renewable energy in the REV throughout the year. The deadline for registering deliveries made in a calendar year is 28 February (29 February in leap years) of the following year. Companies that want to register their biofuel deliveries as double-counting can enter double-counting certificates and link these to the registered deliveries until 31 March.
HBEs received
Registering companies will receive one HBE for each GJ of renewable energy delivered and registered. Once a company has registered a delivery, the corresponding number of HBEs is immediately credited to its REV account. Once a delivery has been registered and associated HBEs have been received, the registration cannot be changed.
Furthermore, specific multipliers apply to specific types of renewable energy and/or types of end users. As a result, one delivered GJ of renewable energy can generate more than one HBE.
The REV will not automatically credit HBEs for renewable energy delivered between 1 January and 1 May of a specific calendar year and which was registered during that period. Instead, allocation will occur after 1 May of the year in question, after the year-end closing for the preceding year has taken place.
The NEa can suspend crediting of HBEs if an anomaly in the registering profile or other irregularities are detected in the REV.
Registration verification
Companies register renewable energy deliveries in the Energy for Transport Registry (REV) must have a Verification Certificate for Registered Renewable Energy in respect of each year. This certificate shows whether the deliveries of renewable energy registered meet all legal requirements. If the Verification Certificate for Registered Renewable Energy is not completed successfully, the registering company must submit a report of findings. The verifier must update the REV with the verification outcomes for deliveries registered in the preceding calendar year by 30 April of each year.
Year-end closing of registration
The year-end closing encompasses all of the transactions that companies, verifiers and the NEa must carry out at the start of the calendar year in order to comply with the statutory requirements. The HBEs that cannot be banked (i.e. carried over to a subsequent year) will lapse. This is the final step in the year-end closing.
The NEa will provide participants in the Energy for Transport system with information in relation to the year-end closing. For example, through a specific webpage.
Checks on registrations by the NEa
The NEa will carry out periodic checks on registrations alongside the registration verifiers. Incorrect registrations can be officially corrected by the NEa up to 5 years after the calendar year to which the registration relates.