Guarantees of Origin

A guarantee of origin(GO) is a title that guarantees the origin of electricity from renewable sources. It is in electronic form and is issued by IGO-qualified plants, i.e., plants certified as producers of electricity from renewable sources.
For every MWh of energy fed into the grid by them, a GO title is issued by the Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), in accordance with Directive 2009/28/EC.

By obtaining GO, it is possible to make one's consumed energy "green energy," though without any technical change. Basically, the energy consumed is still the same, GO guarantees, however, that the exact same amount of energy is produced in another area, but from renewable sources. The purpose is to lower the level of CO₂ emissions and for this, it is independent of where the energy is produced.

When a company buys GO-guaranteed green electricity, it is actually continuing to take the same electricity from the grid that, in Italy, will be more than 60 percent generated from fossil fuels and imported nuclear power. However, GO guarantees that somewhere else on the continent someone has produced an identical amount of green power.

The types of GO tradable in the venue for trading guarantees of origin prepared by the GME (Gestore dei Mercati Energetici) refer to the following renewable energy sources:

- hydropower;

- wind power;

- solar;

- geothermal;

- other renewable sources.