Parliament passes Guarantee of Origin Scheme to track renewable electricity and low-emissions products
The voluntary certification program will help Australian industries meet demand for verified clean energy and products.
The Australian Government has passed the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill into law, creating a framework to certify renewable electricity and verify emissions associated with low-emissions products such as hydrogen.
The Guarantee of Origin (GO) scheme is voluntary and designed to support industries by providing a clear method for tracking and reporting emissions across the value chain. The program will help Australian producers compete in emerging domestic and international markets by ensuring transparency in their environmental credentials.
The GO scheme includes two key components:
- A product-based emissions accounting framework to measure and report emissions from production through the value chain. This framework is designed to align with international standards, enabling producers to make credible low-emissions claims.
- A renewable electricity certification system, referred to as the Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin (REGO), to support renewable energy claims for hydrogen certification, corporate emissions reduction goals, and renewable energy investments.
The REGO mechanism builds on the Large-scale Generation Certificate (LGC) framework established under the Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme. REGO certificates will be available alongside LGCs initially and continue beyond 2030 when the RET ends. The certificates will apply to all renewable electricity, including exports and electricity from storage facilities.
The scheme aims to encourage investment in renewable electricity and low-emissions products by offering businesses a reliable certification process backed by government regulation. This will provide certainty to producers and investors while supporting Australia’s transition to clean energy industries.
The 2024-25 Budget allocated $32.2 million to fast-track the initial phase of the scheme, focusing on renewable hydrogen. Funding will also extend the program to green metals and low-carbon liquid fuels. These measures build on $38.2 million allocated in the 2023-24 Budget to establish the scheme, with an ongoing annual budget of $6.8 million.
The GO scheme has been developed with input from international partners to ensure compatibility with import requirements for Australian clean energy products. The framework incorporates methods from the International Partnership on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE) to measure emissions from hydrogen production.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said the GO scheme would provide businesses with the tools they need to participate in Australia’s energy transformation and clean energy exports. The government plans to launch the scheme in 2025.
