NIROCs
Northern Ireland Renewable Obligation Certificates (NIROCs) are available for every MWh (1000kWh) of accredited renewable generation.
Ofgem are responsible for the process of accrediting and issuing NIROCs to generators throughout the UK.
You can either opt to appoint NIE Energy to act as your Agent (for generators up to 50kW) and receive payment based on each kWh of generation or carry out the administration yourself.
From 1 April 2010 the Government introduced an increase in NIROC bandings for some technologies. Existing generating stations will remain on double ROCs, while stations accredited on or after 1 April 2010 may be able to avail of the higher ROC bandings and relevant payments as shown in the table below.
|
NIRO 2010 |
Agent customers |
Non-agent customers |
Existing Microgeneration |
2 ROCs |
8.32p/kWh |
£83.20/MWh |
Wind |
Up to 250kW |
4 ROCs |
16.64p/kWh (up to 50kW) |
£166.40/MWh |
250kW – 5 MW |
1 ROC |
n/a |
£41.60/MWh |
PV |
Up to 50kW |
4 ROCs |
16.64p/kWh |
£166.40/MWh |
50kW – 5MW |
2 ROCs |
n/a |
£83.20/MWh |
Hydro |
Up to 20kW |
4 ROCs |
16.64p/kWh |
£166.40/MWh |
20kW – 250kW |
3 ROCs |
12.48p/kWh (up to 50kW) |
£124.80/MWh |
250kW – 1MW |
2 ROCs |
n/a |
£83.20/MWh |
1MW – 5MW |
1 ROC |
n/a |
£41.60/MWh |
AD |
Up to 50kW |
2 ROCs |
8.32p/kWh |
£83.20/MWh |
50kW – 5MW |
2 ROCs |
n/a |
£83.20/MWh |
Biomass |
Up to 50kW |
2 ROCs |
8.32p/kWh |
£83.20/MWh |
50kW – 5MW |
1.5 ROCs |
n/a |
£62.40/MWh |
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Click here if you are 50kW or less - appointing NIE Energy to act as your Agent (Recommended).
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If you opt to carry out your own Ofgem / ROC administration
For Ofgem to accredit your renewable technology you must complete the Ofgem registration process. To do this you must register and apply online at https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/.
You can find a user guide here.
You will need to have an approved Ofgem generation meter installed to measure the total generation from your installation. If you do not have an approved meter installed you should contact your installer who can arrange this for you. If you already have a generation meter installed please click here to ensure it is Ofgem approved(
PDF document).
Receiving payment for ROCs
You need to take a meter reading from your generation meter each month or year and submit the reading to Ofgem. Ofgem issue ROCs on a MWh basis for generators who are managing their own ROC administration so they will round up or down the amount of generation to the nearest MWh, for example, 500kWh will be rounded up to 1 NIROC and less than 500kWh is rounded down.
For generators under 50kW managing their own NIROC administration, Ofgem will issue the appropriate number of NIROCs into your NIROC account and then you can transfer them to the NIE Energy NIROC account so that payment can be arranged through bank transfer (usually mid-end July).
For larger generators who submit monthly readings to Ofgem, a monthly transfer of NIROCs to the NIE Energy NIROC account will trigger a bank transfer for the appropriate amount arranged.
The current ROC price for 09/10 is:
