Regulations

Amendment of the Renewable Energy Certificates Application and Management Procedure

Article I

The Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection of the MOEA (hereinafter referred to as the Bureau) specifically devised this procedure to provide guidance for processing the application and management of renewable energy certificates (hereinafter referred to as certificates).

Article II

The National Renewable Energy Certification Center of the Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the T-REC Center) is responsible for the following certificate application and management processes:

  • Accept applications and implement document reviews.
  • Conduct on-site inspections of renewable energy certificate.
  • Issue inspection report on renewable energy certificate.
  • Register power generation data of renewable energy certificate.
  • Issue certificates.
  • Execute certificate management.

Article III

Accept application and review documents

  • The Applicant must complete the "Renewable Energy Certificate Application Form" (Table TC-01), and submit the following documents to the T-REC Center:
    • Applicant certification documents.
    • Renewable energy power facility registration documents issued by the competent authority.
    • Renewable energy power facility description documents.
    • Electrical circuit wiring description documents.
    • Equipment layout configuration documents.
    • Renewable-energy-based electricity retailing enterprises shall submit documents certifying the intent of renewable-energy-based electricity generating enterprises to sell electricity.
  • If documents in Item 2 of the preceding subparagraph have not been obtained, the following documents may be used as replacement for the application:
    • Applications for new power facility may be submitted with the documents on the approval of the establishment and expansion of renewable energy power facility or approval documents for facility for future reference.
    • Applications for existing power facility may be submitted with the original power facility registration documents.
    • After the T-REC Center accepts the application, it shall complete document review within 14 work days. If any non-compliance with regulations are found, the Bureau shall notify the Applicant to make corrections within 14 work days. When necessary, the review period may be extended for another 14 work days. Applications will be directly rejected for applicants that fail to complete the corrections within the deadline.

Article IV

On-site inspections of power facility

  • After the T-REC Center confirms that the power facility is connected to the grid, it shall fill out the audit plan and collect the assessment fees after the applicant's confirmation.
  • The assessor shall conduct site audits in accordance with the audit plan. Scholars and experts may be hired to jointly conduct the audit.
  • On-site inspections shall be carried out according to the following audit items:
    • Renewable energy power facility type and layout.
    • Renewable energy power facility verification.
    • Renewable energy power facility operation status verification and power certification.
    • Other relevant equipment setup conditions.
  • Defects in site audits are identified according to the following principles:
    • Major defects: Failure of the power facility or watt-hour meter, failure to install watt-hour meters qualified in inspections at the grid connection points, where the accuracy of the watt-hour meter is less than class 1 or does not meet renewable energy requirements, or other major deficiency items that may cause the facility to be unable to generate power, or cause the inability to measure the power generation volume or inaccurate power generation volume.
    • Minor defects: Where the equipment is operational but certain equipment is damaged or the actual installed capacity is inconsistent with the application documents, or where the watt-hour meter exceeds the effective period of its certification and causes issues in future power generation volume registration.
  • After completing the on-site inspection, the assessor shall fill out the " Renewable Energy Certificate Facility On-site Inspection Record (Table TC-02)" and have the Applicant representative sign on the inspection record. When the Applicant representative refuses to sign, assessors shall record detailed facts.
  • When major or minor defects are identified and verified in an inspection, the Applicant must submit the "Renewable Energy Certificate Facility On-site Inspection Corrective Action Plan" (Table TC-03) within 10 days. After review and verification by the T-REC Center, a second surveillance must be conducted after the correction of major defects; the correction status of minor defects shall be verified in the regular follow-up and audits in the following year.
  • Applicants that fail to submit a corrective action plan, effectively make improvements to deficiencies according to the corrective action plan, or make improvements to major defects confirmed through on-site inspections in accordance with the period specified in the preceding subparagraph shall be deemed disqualified.
  • Where the Applicant is subject to conditions specified in Subparagraph 2 and found to meet on-site inspection requirements or exhibit minor defects, it shall provide supplementary information for power facility registration within six months after the on-site inspection. However, the Applicant may apply for one extension, of no longer than six months, from the T-REC Center with legitimate reasons. Applicants who still cannot provide supplementary information after the extension shall be deemed disqualified.

Article V

Issue inspection report on renewable energy certificate facility

  • Applicants determined by the T-REC Center to be compliant based on its review are provided with the " Renewable Energy Certificate Facility On-site Inspection Report" (Table TC-04) and approved for registration of the accumulated power generation for Certificate.
  • Defects in site audits are identified according to the following principles:
    • Report number.
    • Applicant.
    • Facility name and address.
    • Facility number.
    • Energy category.
    • Equipment installed capacity.
    • Annual estimated electricity generation.
    • Audit date.
    • Issuance date.
  • The T-REC Center may disclose information of renewable energy certificate facility. However, information that contains personal data shall not be disclosed without the Applicant's approval.

Article VI

Register renewable energy certificate facility data

The Applicant shall register power generation data on the platform of the T-REC Center in accordance with the following methods:

  • Independent direct supply and self-use power generation:
    • Automatic transmission is used to register power generation data every 15 minutes.
    • Applicants who do not adopt automatic transmission must register power generation data for the previous month prior to the third day of each month.
    • Where there is redundant electricity wholesale, the Applicant shall register the electricity wholesale amount from the previous month and submit the notice for the fee of renewable energy from the previous month in the feed-in tariffs scheme prior to the third day of each month. The T-REC Center shall register the power generation data after deducting the redundant electricity wholesale amount.
  • Those who adopt grid-connected direct power supply or wheeling shall submit the electricity bill notice from the power transmission and distribution operator and the notice for the fee of renewable energy from the feed-in tariffs scheme. The T-REC Center shall register the power generation data each month.
  • Where the Applicant fails to register its power generation data in a timely manner, it shall complete power generation data registration within 10 days of receiving a notice from the T-REC Center. The power generation data thus registered shall be included in the data of the following month. Where the Applicant fails to register its data after two consecutive notices, the cumulative calculation of power generation shall be suspended and shall only be renewed after the Applicant registers its power generation data.

Article VII

Issue certificates

  • A certificate is issued for every 1,000 kWh of registered power generation. The T-REC Center shall collect the examination fee from the Applicant based on the number of certificates and register the certificates.
  • The Applicant may prepay the certificate examination fees for the current year.

Article VIII

Follow-up inspection of renewable energy certificate facility and follow-up verification of power generation.

  • The T-REC Center may execute follow-up inspection of renewable energy certificate facility and follow-up verification of power generation regularly each year. However, where the power generation data is automatically transmitted or provided by the electricity transmission and distribution enterprise, or where the installed capacity of the facility is less than 50 kW, regular follow-up inspection of renewable energy certificate facility may be implemented once every three years.
  • Where the T-REC Center questions the registered power generation data based on analysis results from comparison by the power generation monitoring system, the cumulative power generation data shall be retained, and the T-REC Center shall notify the Applicant to implement an ad hoc equipment follow-up audit or power generation data follow-up audit. The Applicant shall cooperate with the on-site verification within 14 work days after receiving the notice. However, if there are legitimate reasons, the Applicant may apply for one extension from the T-REC Center of no longer than one month.
  • When conducting the ad hoc power generation data audit, the auditor shall fill out the "Certified Renewable Energy Equipment Power Generation Audit Record" (Table TC-05) and have the Applicant representative sign on the audit record. When the Applicant representative refuses to sign, auditors shall record detailed facts.
  • After confirming correctness of on-site equipment audit or power generation follow-up audit, the power generation data during the retention period shall be restored.
  • Where the Applicant cannot cooperate with on-site audits or where a major flaw is found in the audit, the registration of power generation data shall be suspended. In addition, certificates shall not be issued for power generated in the retention period. The registration of power generation shall resume after the Applicant meets the criteria in the re-audit.

Article IX

Change of certified equipment and termination of registration

  • Where there are changes in the basic Information or related documents of the certified equipment registered by the Applicant, or where there is other evidence that would influence the registration, the Applicant may fill out the "Certified Renewable Energy Equipment Change Application" (Table TC-06) within one month after the day the event occurred and apply for changes with the T-REC Center.
  • The Applicant must complete the "Certified Renewable Energy Equipment Registration Termination Application" (Table TC-07), and apply for the termination of registration with the T-REC Center.

Article X

Transfer of Certificates

  • The Applicant must provide the following documents when applying for certification transfer:
    • "Renewable Energy Certificate Transfer Application" (Table TC-08).
    • Transfer documents.
  • Transferred documents specified in Item 2 of the previous Subparagraph may contain the following items:
    • Applicant and Assignee.
    • Certificate contract period.
    • Certificate transfer frequency.
    • The power user name, power usage number, and regulatory serial number of the Assignee of the transferred certificate. The regulatory serial number is not required if the Assignee does not have a number.
  • After the transfer application is confirmed by the T-REC Center, the Applicant shall submit the number of certificates to be transferred to the T-REC Center based on the agreed frequency of transfer.
  • After the T-REC Center verifies the number of certificates to be transferred, it shall collect service fees from the Assignee and register the results of the transfer on the T-REC Center's platform. The Assignee will immediately become the certificate holder and may use or declare the certificates. The Applicant and the Assignee may inquire related information on the transfer of certificates on the T-REC Center's platform.
  • The Assignee may prepay the certificate service fees for the current year.

Article XI

Registration of Certificate Use and Declaration

  • The certificate holder may use the certificate as proof of renewable energy use and in greenhouse gas emission inventory examinations, corporate social responsibility (CSR) declarations, and other declarations of environmental benefits. However, after the certificates are transferred, the Applicant may not use or declare the certificate.
  • The T-REC Center may provide information on the certificate holder's use or declaration of the certificate for inquiries by institutions responsible for greenhouse gas inventories, CSR evaluation institutions, or related government authorities.
  • Where the Applicant of the certificate transfers the certificate to another party after use or declaration, the registration of the transfer shall be invalid. The T-REC Center shall publish information such as the name, certificate year, and certificate number of entities that fail to correctly register the usage status of certificates on the T-REC Center's platform.