Chapter 6 - White, Green, and Black Certificate Trading: The Italian Experience

Abstract

This chapter describes the mechanisms for green (renewable energy) certificates and white (energy efficiency) certificates, as well as the operation of the Italian trading platform for these certificates. Black (GHG emissions reduction) certificates are related to the assigned amount of units (AAUs) under Italy's National Plan in E.U. Emission Trading System and are traded at the European level. Italy has demonstrated a growing sensitivity to environmental issues. The stabilization of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has become an important goal in national politics, with many measures adopted to promote economic sustainability in electricity production with renewable sources and energy end-use efficiency. The Green Certificate Mechanism introduced a market mechanism in Italy to stimulate electricity production from renewable sources, with the goal of replacing the old CIP 6/92 feed-in tariff system. The Green Certificate Mechanism goes through a chain of four links, which include the obligations of electricity producers, green certification, a market, and verification. At the end of each market session, the list of the settled transactions is sent to Gestore della Rete di Trasmissione Nazionale (GRTN) for a registry update, which is updated after verification. . For some participants Green and Black markets are likely to overlap, and it can be useful to have the same market platform to trade their certificates.