The Utilization of Tools that Facilitate the Hourly Alignment of Electricity Produced by Renewable and/or Low-Carbon Generation with the Consumption Patterns of End-Users, within the Framework of Investigating the Certification of Electricity Origin in Russia

Russia, based on amendments to the Federal Law «On Electric Power Industry». In establishing the System, all fundamental principles and rules commonly accepted for such systems worldwide were adhered to: prior qualification of generating facilities in accordance with the Rules, accounting for generation attributes based on actual production in volumes corresponding to the actual electricity generated at the facility; and complete and continuous accounting of instruments in a unified registry - ensuring transparency and guaranteeing the exclusive use of rights associated with a specific volume of produced «clean» energy. The primary object in the national electricity certification system is generation attributes, specifically the rights arising from the production of electricity at facilities operating on renewable and/or low-carbon energy sources that have been qualified and permitted to participate in the System, and that are inherently linked to the production of each kWh of electricity based on commercial accounting data. Generation attributes can be transferred to another party using various instruments: through a bilateral electricity purchase and sale agreement, in which the transferred generation attributes arose from the production of the electricity (along with the electricity itself), or by transferring the certificates of origin that certify them (independently of the sale of electricity). Additionally, the transfer of generation attributes can be carried out using other instruments through interaction with another information system.

At the same time, there are global trends in changing/developing approaches to detailing the correlation between the production of green electricity and its consumption by end-users, as well as accounting for carbon emissions, down to an hourly basis (limited by the granularity of commercial accounting), taking into account location and market indicators.

Currently, the Russian System lacks tools that allow for correlating production at registered qualified generating facilities with electricity consumption by end-users. However, the processed commercial accounting data in the System includes hourly values for both electricity production and consumption. The article will analyze the results of the System's operations, trends in the demand for generation attributes and various tools for their transfer, principles and current practices in using tools that correlate hourly generation with hourly consumption, as well as investigate existing standards and practices regarding hourly emissions accounting, including expected changes in the GHG Protocol.

Additionally, an analysis of the technical aspects and potential limitations and challenges in developing new hourly accounting tools for the production and consumption of green electricity will be conducted. This will include a description of the accounting principles in accordance with standards, as well as an evaluation of the feasibility of using such tools within the existing

System.