The Australian Government has launched a new round of consultation on its Guarantee of Origin (GO) scheme, which will certify the use of renewable energy and track emissions from low-carbon products.
The GO scheme, created under the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Act 2024, is due to start in late 2025.
It aims to support Australia’s clean energy transition by offering a trusted way to prove how and where electricity or products were made, and what emissions were involved.
Once in place, the GO scheme will help renewable electricity users, producers, and exporters back up their green claims with reliable data.
This round of consultation includes exposure drafts of three key documents; the Guarantee of Origin Rules 2025 (which outline how the scheme will operate), a methodology for calculating emissions from hydrogen made through electrolysis, and regulations on cost-recovery charges for participants
The GO scheme will issue two types of digital certificates. The Renewable Electricity GO (REGO) certificate will show when, where and how electricity was generated from renewable sources. The Product GO (PGO) certificate will track emissions from products like hydrogen through production, transport, storage and delivery.
The draft methodology sets out how to calculate emissions for hydrogen produced using electrolysis.
It uses a step-by-step, modular approach and follows Australia’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Determination.
Optional modules allow for extra detail, and co-products like oxygen can be used to lower a batch’s reported emissions. The same approach will later be expanded to other products such as green metals and biofuels.
The government is also consulting on how much participants will pay to be part of the scheme.
Draft regulations propose annual charges for registered activities like power production or hydrogen storage. These charges will help cover the Clean Energy Regulator’s costs for running the scheme. Hydrogen producers and related operators will have a phased-in fee structure to reflect their status as emerging industries.
Importantly, charges will still apply even if a facility is suspended, as the regulator must continue to manage and oversee compliance.
Alongside this, the government is seeking views on how energy storage should fit into the REGO part of the scheme. A new concept paper outlines a flexible approach for including different types of storage technologies, such as batteries and pumped hydro.
Feedback is invited on how the proposed rules would apply across different storage systems.
The consultation period runs until 18 July 2025. Industry stakeholders are encouraged to review the draft documents and provide input to help shape the scheme before it goes live.