What are white certificates?
Before rattling off all the advantages and ways of obtaining white certificates, let’s try to understand what they are.
The white certificates also called Energy Savings Certificate (ESC), certify the energy savings obtained thanks to efficiency measures.
They are completely similar to corporate shares that can be freely exchanged on the stock market.
You can request them consequently of energy-improvement interventions either in the private or the business sector, concerning both electrical and thermal efficiency.
The simplest and most immediate example can be the replacement of an older boiler or a steam generator with a newer one.
In this case, you would be passing from an average efficiency of 85%, to even a 94% level.
The unit of measurement designed to measure improvements is the «tonne of oil equivalent» (TEP), which represents the annual quantity of hydrocarbons saved to the environment thanks to the new equipment.
The white certificates cover a huge selection of interventions and applications, to promote efficiency on a large scale.
They entered into force in Europe from January 2005 and quickly became the main means of promoting energy efficiency.
Let’s see what are the advantages and how to get them.
Index:
- What are the benefits?
- How to get a white certificate?
- Conclusions
1. What are the benefits?
Now that you have a clearer picture of what the white certificates are let’s dive in on the advantages they can provide.
These advantages are mainly economic and come from the decrease in energy consumption and the certificates you will get as a result.
Before requesting the white certificates you will (almost in every case) have to upgrade and improve your equipment.
This improvement will lead to modernization and therefore a consistent reduction in the consumption of raw materials (methane, electricity, LPG, etc.).
Furthermore, your new plant will be meticulously monitored and will be recording all electrical or thermal energy saving compared to the old one.
As the amount reaches the share of 1 TEP (ton of oil equivalent), or kWh saved, you will receive an Energy Savings Certificate (ESC).
In Europe, 1 TEP has been quantified as 5,327 kWh electric or 11,628 kWh thermal and currently has a market value of around € 260.
So, in summary, in addition to saving on the raw material consumed each year, you will also be accumulating white certificates, therefore shares that can be sold on the stock market.
Considering the example of an Italian pasta factory, the upgrade and modernization of the thermal power plant has allowed the company to reach around € 10-15,000 per year in white certificates.
Since there is no limit to the number of certificates that can be received, the more you consume and run your plant, the more we will earn.
2. How to get a white certificate?
We have seen that white certificates are nothing more than stock shares that are issued as a prize to individuals and companies that are involved in the decommissioning of a plant.
So let’s see for whom and how they can be obtained.
The final audience is immediately said.
All companies or individuals who demonstrate that they produce an increase in energy efficiency, both in the thermal and electrical fields. However, they are more widespread in the industrial world, where companies have much higher energy consumption.
So let’s move on to how.
Normally you will have to start by requesting the assistance of an ESCo (Energy Service Company), this is because the performance of the new system compared to the old ones have to be monitored by an outside organization.
To do this, a series of sensors will be installed to punctually measure the performance of the new equipment.
Once these data have been obtained, the ESCo must submit the report to the GSE (Energy Services Manager), which has the task of approving the request and subsequently issuing the securities.
Once the request is approved, the recording of hydrocarbons saved to the environment starts.
Whenever your plant reaches a spared TEP, the Energy Services Institute will issue a white certificate in your favor.
Conclusions
We have seen that a white certificate is nothing more than a title that certifies the thermal or electrical savings, obtained following the upgrade of a machine or plant.
They can be requested both by individuals and by companies, but always relying on an ESCo (Energy Service Company), which monitors and certifies the energy performance achieved.
The real strength lies in the possibility of accumulating certificates as you use your plant.
So the bigger it is and the more your plant consumes, the more you will earn in white certificates.