Earlier this year, Oman completed a significant milestone with the registration of Amin Renewable Energy Company’s (AREC) 105 MWac utility-scale solar photovoltaic system with the International Renewable Energy Certificate (I-REC) Standard Foundation’s renewable energy tracking standard known as I-REC(E). An I-REC(E) Certificate relates to each MWh of energy produced by a energy power plant and is completely factual and verifiable (e.g. location of the plant, energy source used).

Trading certificates make it possible to link the ownership rights of electricity from the place of production to the place of consumption, which leads to more transparent markets through which reliable claims can be made about one’s electricity consumption. Such a system will be a strong component of Oman’s transition towards integrating more renewable energy into its energy supply mix as the certificates create an additional income stream for in-demand, largely renewable, energy plants. End-users are willing to pay for this additional income stream as they are looking for reliable ways to report their emissions. Disclosure programs like the CDP (formally known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) and standards like the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG-P) require such evidence as an I-REC Certificate be provided by companies who want to report that their Scope 2 electricity emissions come from renewable sources. Companies might also use I-REC(E) Certificates for complying with renewable energy targets that are set internally by their company or to comply with other decarbonization goals that the company might have in place.

These types of certificates provide robust, transparent, and reliable tracking of renewable energy in the grid. The I-REC Standard Foundation is a standard that has a reliable track-record and is being implemented in over 50 countries globally, while its I-REC(E) Certificates are being purchased by RE100 member companies such as Apple, Nike, Microsoft, Google, and others.

• Gearing up for green hydrogen certification

The I-REC Standard Foundation is also expanding its list of product codes, many of which are already in beta-deployment such as for the C-Capsule Code for Carbon Dioxide Removals and a separate code for Hydrogen. The Hydrogen Product Code, in particular, is being developed by Avance Energy Labs LLC based out of Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

The entire premise of hydrogen playing a role in the ongoing energy transition relates to its potential to be produced (and ultimately consumed) with very little (to no) carbon footprint attached to it. This means that throughout its entire life cycle, a hydrogen-product (or a hydrogen-derivative) must be able to demonstrate what carbon emissions are associated with it. Currently, 97% of hydrogen globally is produced using fossil fuels or high-carbon production pathways (including by-product hydrogen).

When looking at the conventional production of hydrogen using fossil fuels, production is the most carbon intensive process of the product’s entire life cycle as compared to other components within the life cycle such as procurement of the fossil fuel or downstream transport of the hydrogen-based product to the end-user. Production typically involves the reformation of a fossil fuel such as natural gas into hydrogen via steam methane reforming or autothermal reforming. Along the way, copious amounts of carbon dioxide are given off in the process.

Moreover, international regulations and policies such as those related to green hydrogen, are moving towards similar requirements when demonstrating how their products are lower carbon compared to others. Since Oman is setting itself to be a significant producer of green hydrogen in the coming decades, certification of renewable energy in the grid provides a basic foundation needed to support that goal. Thus, any country that wants to be a global ‘export’ country for hydrogen will need to have an international mechanism in place such as I-REC(E) that is accepted by ‘importing’ countries.

How is certification done and validated? Is I-REC now the main provider of certification services in Oman? In each country, the I-REC Standard Foundation accredits an entity for validating project registrations and verifying renewable energy production. In Oman, our company, Three Pillars Consulting, has been accredited and is fulfilling this roll since January of 2021. Each project must demonstrate adequate evidence to fulfill the administrative and technical requirements for registration with the I-REC Standard. We then audit this information to ensure it meets quality control requirements and specifications of the standard. Similarly, when a project wants to issue I-REC(E) Certificates for energy it produces, it must go through a similar round of documentation submission, data verification, and auditing before the certificates are generated.

Therefore, producers are currently developing alternative pathways to generate hydrogen, one of which is electrolysis of water using sources of electricity that are powered by renewable energy. With this method, there would be little (to no) GHG emissions during the production of hydrogen.

However, to ensure such claims, producers will need to provide evidence that they produced and consumed their own renewable electricity. If a producer does not have their own renewable energy systems, then they will need to demonstrate that they procured renewable electricity from the grid either with certificates such as I-REC(E). It is also worth noting that electricity is an input to all hydrogen production pathways and is not just relevant for renewable energy related production.

• Any other issue of relevance

There are of course other aspects that will need to be implemented to ensure that Oman has the appropriate systems in place, allowing for robust tracking and reporting of its sustainability initiatives. For example, producers, consumers, and other entities that wish to report their carbon emissions need up-to-date and reliable information that they can rely on when preparing their GHG reports. National databases relating to things such as Residual Emissions Factors for the grid and sector-specific emissions factors for Scope 3 GHG reporting will help to improve the process of reporting from development of one’s GHG inventories to the validation and verification of those results. With our support, the Environment Authority’s Climate Affairs Department has recently developed two such databases. One is for tracking Oman’s commitments to the Paris Agreement (as well as the Montreal Protocol for Ozone Depletion Substances). The other database is for carbon reporting for companies that require a climate affairs license. The hope is that such transparent and reliable data will support further development, planning and research for integrating sustainability in Oman’s economy.

Moreover, international regulations and policies such as those related to green hydrogen, are moving towards similar requirements when demonstrating how their products are lower carbon compared to others. Since Oman is setting itself to be a significant producer of green hydrogen in the coming decades, certification of renewable energy in the grid provides a basic foundation needed to support that goal. Thus, any country that wants to be a global ‘export’ country for hydrogen will need to have an international mechanism in place such as I-REC(E) that is accepted by ‘importing’ countries.

How is certification done and validated?Is I-REC now the main provider of certification services in Oman?

In each country, the I-REC Standard Foundation accredits an entity for validating project registrations and verifying renewable energy production. In Oman, our company, Three Pillars Consulting, has been accredited and is fulfilling this roll since January of 2021. Each project must demonstrate adequate evidence to fulfill the administrative and technical requirements for registration with the I-REC Standard. We then audit this information to ensure it meets quality control requirements and specifications of the standard. Similarly, when a project wants to issue I-REC(E) Certificates for energy it produces, it must go through a similar round of documentation submission, data verification, and auditing before the certificates are generated.

Therefore, producers are currently developing alternative pathways to generate hydrogen, one of which is electrolysis of water using sources of electricity that are powered by renewable energy. With this method, there would be little (to no) GHG emissions during the production of hydrogen.

However, to ensure such claims, producers will need to provide evidence that they produced and consumed their own renewable electricity. If a producer does not have their own renewable energy systems, then they will need to demonstrate that they procured renewable electricity from the grid either with certificates such as I-REC(E). It is also worth noting that electricity is an input to all hydrogen production pathways and is not just relevant for renewable energy related production.

Any other issue of relevanceThere are of course other aspects that will need to be implemented to ensure that Oman has the appropriate systems in place, allowing for robust tracking and reporting of its sustainability initiatives. For example, producers, consumers, and other entities that wish to report their carbon emissions need up-to-date and reliable information that they can rely on when preparing their GHG reports. National databases relating to things such as Residual Emissions Factors for the grid and sector-specific emissions factors for Scope 3 GHG reporting will help to improve the process of reporting from development of one’s GHG inventories to the validation and verification of those results. With our support, the Environment Authority’s Climate Affairs Department has recently developed two such databases. One is for tracking Oman’s commitments to the Paris Agreement (as well as the Montreal Protocol for Ozone Depletion Substances). The other database is for carbon reporting for companies that require a climate affairs license. The hope is that such transparent and reliable data will support further development, planning and research for integrating sustainability in Oman’s economy.