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Biofuels, biogas, biomass and energy from waste

How will biomass and renewable fuels be treated under the CRC?

Renewable fuel sources (including biomass) will be zero rated, hence CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme participants will not have to buy allowances to cover consumption of those fuels. However, use of these fuels, along with any others, should be disclosed in the footprint report for each phase, outlining the type and quantity.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants are treated like any other electricity generation plants in the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, except that heat imports are zero-rated. This means whether the heat is used on site or exported to a third party, there will be no requirement to surrender CRC allowances for its use.

Where CHP plants are operated by third parties on behalf of CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme participants, under an energy services arrangement, they will be treated as part of the CRC participant, provided that the heat and electricity is provided exclusively to that single participant. Hence, the participant will need to surrender the necessary allowances for the primary fuel input into the CHP plant. However, if a CHP plant is serving numerous customers, the third party operating the plant will be considered responsible and will need to purchase allowances to cover the primary fuel input.

For further information please refer to the Government Response on the Consulation October 2009.

How is energy from waste treated in the CRC?

Energy from waste plants are treated like any other electricity generation plants in the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.

Where waste is used as an input into an energy generation process, the participant will be required to report the quantity of waste used, using the waste emissions factor listed in the fuel conversion factors table:


You can find this in Annex C of the document Carbon Reduction Commitment: Government response and policy decisions, which is available on the Department of Energy and Climate change website under the following link:


Electricity generated from this process, which is used on site, does not need to be reported under the CRC.


Where a prticipant exports electricity to the grid or to other users, it will be entitled to claim an electricity credit corresponding to the amount of the electricity exported. The credit is calculated using the grid average emissions factor.


Where waste is used as an input into any waste plant eligible for a Renewables Obligations Certificate (ROC) or Feed In Tariffs (FIT), any electricity for which ROCs or FIT has been issued must be reported in the same way as for other installations where ROCs or FIT are issued.