S.I. No. 407/2025 - European Union (Renewable Energy) Regulations (2) 2022 (Amendment) Regulations 2025

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 22nd August, 2025.

I, DARRAGH O’BRIEN, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purposes of giving further effect to Article 19 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion and use of energy from renewable sources (recast)¹ hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Renewable Energy) Regulations (2) 2022 (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

2. In these Regulations, the Principal Regulations are the European Union (Renewable Energy) Regulations (2) 2022 ( S.I. No. 350 of 2022 ).

3. The Principal Regulations are amended –

(a) in Regulation 2 by –

(i) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “Directive”:

“ ‘Directive’ means Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast) as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/759 of 14 December 2021² , Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023³ , Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2024/1405 of 14 March 2024⁴ and Directive (EU) 2024/1711 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024⁵ ;”,

(ii) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “final customer”:

“ ‘final customer’ means a customer who purchases electricity, gas or district heating or cooling for own use;”, and

(iii) the insertion of the following definition after “guarantee of origin for gas”:

“ ‘guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling’ means a guarantee of origin that relates to heating or cooling produced from renewable sources, where the heating or cooling is distributed via a district heating or district cooling network;”,

(b) by the insertion of the following Regulation after Regulation 25A:

“Supervision and issuance of guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling

25B. (1) The Commission shall, after consultation with the SEAI, design, establish, publish and implement a supervisory framework for the issuance, registration, transfer and cancellation by electronic means, of guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling to producers of heating or cooling from renewable sources.

(2) Guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling shall be issued by the SEAI in accordance with the supervisory framework referred to in paragraph (1).

(3) The Commission and the SEAI shall ensure that guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling are accurate, reliable and fraud-resistant, and that the guarantees of origin and the supervisory framework comply with the standard CEN - EN 16325 to the extent that it is applicable to heating and cooling from renewable sources.

(4) The SEAI shall report annually to the Commission on the operation of the system for the issuance, registration, transfer and cancellation of guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling.

(5) The Commission may amend the framework referred to in paragraph (1) from time to time.”,

(c) in Regulation 26 –

(i) in paragraph (1), by the substitution of “A guarantee of origin for electricity, for gas or for district heating and cooling” for “A guarantee of origin for electricity or for gas”,

(ii) by the renumbering of paragraph (a), appearing after paragraph (1), as paragraph (1A),

(iii) by the substitution in paragraph (1A) of “for electricity, for gas or for district heating and cooling” for “for electricity or for gas”,

(iv) in paragraph (2) –

(I) by the renumbering of subparagraphs (i) and (ii) as subparagraphs (a) and (b),

(II) by the deletion of “or” in subparagraph (a),

(III) by the substitution in subparagraph (b) of “concerned, and” for “concerned.”, and

(IV) by the insertion of the following new subparagraph after subparagraph (b):

“(c) the use of guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling for the purposes of the provision by any district heating or cooling supplier, in bills or promotional materials sent to its final customers, of information in respect of the contribution of each energy source to the overall fuel mix of the supplier concerned.”,

(v) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (4):

“(4) For the purposes of demonstrating to final customers the share or quantity of energy from renewable sources in an electricity, gas or district heating or cooling supplier’s energy mix and in the energy supplied to consumers under contracts marketed with reference to the consumption of electricity, gas or district heating or cooling from renewable sources, the Commission shall ensure that the origin of the electricity, gas or district heating or cooling from renewable sources can be guaranteed as such within the meaning of the Directive, in accordance with objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria.”,

(vi) in paragraph (5), by the substitution of “A gas supplier, electricity supplier or district heating or cooling supplier” for “A gas supplier or electricity supplier”, and

(vii) in paragraph (6), by the substitution of “a gas supplier, electricity supplier or district heating or cooling supplier” for “a gas supplier or electricity supplier”,

(d) in Regulation 27 –

(i) in paragraph (2), by the substitution of “for electricity, for gas or for district heating and cooling” for “for electricity or for gas”,

(ii) by the insertion of the following new paragraphs after paragraph (5A):

“(5B) The supervisory framework for guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling may provide for the issue and immediate cancellation of a guarantee of origin for the purposes of taking into account its market value.

(5C) When a producer receives financial support from a support scheme for district heating or cooling, the market value of the guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling for a renewable energy unit for the same production shall be taken into account appropriately in the relevant support scheme applicable to that renewable energy unit.

(5D) It shall be presumed that the market value of the guarantee of origin in respect of a renewable energy unit of district heating and cooling has been taken into account appropriately in any of the following cases:

(a) where the financial support is granted by way of a tendering procedure or a tradeable green certificate system;

(b) where the market value of the guarantee of origin is administratively taken into account in the level of financial support;

(c) where a guarantee of origin is not issued directly to the producer but to a supplier or consumer who buys the energy from renewable sources either in a competitive setting or in a long-term renewable power purchase agreement.”,

(iii) by the insertion of the following new paragraph after paragraph (6):

“(6A) For the purposes of paragraph (4) of Regulation 26, guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling shall be valid for 12 months after the production of the relevant renewable energy unit.”,

(iv) by the insertion of the following new paragraph after paragraph (7):

“(7A) Guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling that have not been cancelled shall expire at the latest 18 months after the production of the relevant renewable energy unit.”,

(v) by the insertion of the following new paragraph after paragraph (9):

“(9A) The SEAI shall ensure that expired guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling from renewable sources are included in the calculation of the residual energy mix.”,

(vi) by the renumbering of paragraph (a), appearing after paragraph (10), as paragraph (10A),

(vii) by the insertion of the following new paragraph after paragraph (10A):

“(10B) For the purposes of disclosure referred to in Article 19(8) and (13) of the Directive, the SEAI, acting in accordance with the framework referred to in paragraph (1) of Regulation 25B, shall ensure that energy companies cancel guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling at the latest six months after the end of the validity of the guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling.”,

(viii) in paragraph (11), by the substitution of “for electricity, for gas or for district heating and cooling” for “electricity or for gas”,

(ix) in paragraph (12), by the substitution –

(I) of “for electricity, for gas or for district heating and cooling” for “for electricity or for gas”,

(II) in subparagraph (a), of “for electricity, for gas or for district heating and cooling” for “for electricity or for gas”,

(III) in subparagraph (b), of “electricity, gas or district heating and cooling” for “electricity or gas”, and

(IV) in subparagraph (c), of “electricity, gas or district heating and cooling” for “electricity or gas”,

(x) in paragraph (13), by the substitution of “Regulations 24(1), 25(2), 25A and 25B(1)” for “Regulations 24(1) and 25(2)” and the deletion of “for electricity”,

(e) in Regulation 28 –

(i) by the insertion after paragraph (2) of the following new paragraph:

“(2A) A guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling shall be issued by the SEAI in response to a request from a producer of district heating or cooling from renewable sources.”,

(ii) by the insertion after paragraph (4) of the following new paragraph:

“(4A) A guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling may not be requested for heating or cooling produced outside the State”,

(iii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (5):

“(5) A request for the issuance of a guarantee of origin for electricity, for gas or for district heating and cooling shall not be considered properly made until –

(a) in the case of electricity, SEMO,

(b) in the case of gas, GNI, and

(c) in the case of district heating and cooling, SEAI,

has been provided with at least the following information by the applicant:

(i) the energy source from which the electricity, gas or district heating or cooling was generated or produced;

(ii) the start and end dates of generation or production covered by the request;

(iii) the name, address, location, type and capacity of the installation where the energy was generated or produced;

(iv) whether the installation has benefited from investment support;

(v) whether the unit of energy has benefited in any other way from a support scheme, and the type of support scheme;

(vi) the date on which the installation became operational.”,

(iv) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (7):

“(7A) The SEAI may request further information from a requester for the purpose of determining eligibility for the guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling and ascertaining the accuracy of the information submitted in accordance with paragraph (5).”,

(v) by the insertion of the following new paragraphs after paragraph (11):

“(11A) The SEAI shall, in accordance with the supervisory framework established under Regulation 25B(1), establish and maintain an electronic register of issued guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling which shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

(a) the date of issue of the guarantee of origin for the district heating and cooling;

(b) the name and address (if a body corporate, its registered place of business) of the person to whom the guarantee has been, or was originally, issued;

(c) the unique identification number for each guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling;

(d) the energy source or sources from which the district heating or cooling to which the guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling relates was produced;

(e) the start and end dates of production to which the guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling relates;

(f) the type and capacity of the installation where the energy was produced to which the guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling relates;

(g) where the guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling has been transferred, the name and address (if a body corporate, its registered place of business) of the last person to whom it has been transferred;

(h) where a guarantee or origin for district heating and cooling has been issued for a renewable energy unit in respect of which financial support from a support scheme is received, a statement to this effect;

(i) a list of any guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling revoked pursuant to Regulation 29.

(11B) The SEAI may refuse a request for a guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling where –

(a) it is not satisfied that the requester is a producer of district heating and cooling from renewable sources, and

(b) the application is incomplete or ineligible.”,

(f) in Regulation 29, by the insertion of the following new paragraphs after paragraph (4):

“(5) The SEAI, after consulting with the Commission, may revoke a guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling where it is satisfied –

(a) that the information provided in accordance with paragraphs (5) and (7A) of Regulation 28 and on the basis on which that guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling was issued is substantively incorrect,

(b) that the guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling was issued on the basis of any fraudulent behaviour, statement or undertaking, or

(c) for another stated reason that the guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling should not have been issued, is inaccurate or was issued to the wrong person.

(6) The SEAI shall give notice in writing as soon as is practicable to a holder of a guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling where a guarantee of origin pertaining to the holder has been revoked.”,

(g) in Regulation 30 –

(i) by the insertion after paragraph (2) of the following new paragraph:

“(2A) The supervisory framework established by the Commission under Regulation 25B(1) shall provide for the recognition of guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling issued by other Member States in accordance with Article 19(9) of the Directive.”,

(ii) by the insertion after paragraph (4) of the following new paragraph:

“(4A) The SEAI, acting in accordance with the supervisory framework established by the Commission under Regulation 25B(1), may refuse to recognise a guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling issued by another Member State only where it has well-founded doubts about the accuracy, reliability or veracity of the guarantee of origin and in such a case shall notify the Minister and the European Commission of such a refusal and its justification.”, and

(iii) by the insertion after paragraph (6) of the following new paragraph:

“(6A) The SEAI, acting in accordance with the supervisory framework established by the Commission under Regulation 25B(1), shall not recognise guarantees of origin for district heating and cooling issued by a third country except where –

(a) the European Union has concluded an agreement with that third country on mutual recognition of guarantees of origin issued in the Union and compatible guarantees of origin systems established in that third country, and

(b) only where there is direct import or export of energy.”, and

(h) in Regulation 31 –

(i) by the insertion after paragraph (2) of the following new paragraph:

“(2A) The issuance, transfer or cancellation of a guarantee of origin for district heating and cooling under these Regulations may be accompanied by the imposition of such reasonable and proportionate fee as is determined appropriate by the SEAI and approved by the Commission to cover administrative costs.”, and

(ii) by the insertion of the following new paragraph after paragraph (4):

“(4A) The SEAI shall make information on any fee decided upon under paragraph (2A) publicly available.”.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

20 August, 2025.

DARRAGH O’BRIEN,

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment.

1 OJ L 382, 21.12.2018, p. 82

2 OJ L 139, 18.5.2022, p. 1

3 OJ L 2413, 31.10.2023, p. 1

4 OJ L 1405, 17.5.2024, p. 1

5 OJ L 1711, 26.6.2024, p. 1