Most organisations confidently claim they’re backing renewable energy—but they’re missing a critical detail that post-Brexit changes have completely altered. REGOs, the Ofgem-issued certificates that prove your electricity genuinely came from green sources, aren’t working the way they used to. The paperwork behind every “renewable” label just became far more complicated, and getting it wrong could undermine your entire sustainability credibility.
What Are REGOs and Why They Matter for Your Renewable Claims
If you’re serious about proving your business uses genuine renewable energy, you’ll need to grasp REGOs—Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin.
Think of REGOs as official certificates issued by Ofgem, the UK’s energy regulator. Each REGO represents one megawatt hour (MWh) of renewable electricity generated from wind, solar, or hydro sources. They document exactly where your clean energy came from, when it was produced, and track it until you use it.
This matters because REGOs let you claim ownership of actual renewable energy. When you purchase them, you’re directly supporting green energy projects. By cancelling REGOs to your organisation, you own the environmental benefits associated with that renewable generation. Our energy procurement services help businesses secure optimal renewable contracts integrated with REGO strategies.
They become your proof for emissions reporting and help you hit Net Zero goals authentically. Without REGOs, your renewable claims lack credibility. Establishing clear benchmarks aligned with industry best practices ensures your energy claims remain transparent and verifiable to stakeholders.
They’re the only UK documents enabling businesses to verify clean energy sourcing post-Brexit, giving you the transparency and accountability that stakeholders expect from your sustainability commitments.
Which Renewable Sources Qualify for REGO Certification
Now that you grasp how REGOs work as proof of renewable energy, you’ll want to know which energy sources actually qualify for certification.
Understanding which renewable energy sources qualify for REGO certification is your next essential step forward.
The good news? You’ve got plenty of options to choose from:
- Wind energy – Both onshore and offshore installations generate one REGO per megawatt hour
- Solar power – Panels produce one certificate per MWh of electricity generated
- Hydroelectric and marine energy – Includes tidal, wave, and geothermal sources
- Biomass and biogas – Landfill gas, sewage gas, and biomass all qualify
Now, it’s equally important to understand what falls outside this framework. Nuclear power and fossil fuels like coal and gas are explicitly excluded from REGO certification. Ofgem issues one REGO per MWh of eligible renewable electricity generated in Great Britain and records allocation and retirement via the Ofgem Renewable & CHP Register. Beyond certification, businesses can leverage energy efficiency upgrades and strategic procurement to maximise the financial and sustainability benefits of renewable energy adoption. Integrating renewable energy options into your business operations can further enhance your sustainability objectives beyond certification alone.
This distinction matters because your renewable energy must originate from accredited generating stations across Great Britain and Northern Ireland to receive legitimate certification.
How to Apply for REGO Accreditation
Getting your renewable energy facility officially accredited is a straightforward process that starts with submitting an application through Ofgem’s online renewable electricity register platform. You’ll need to provide detailed information about your energy source, capacity, and location to verify you’re using eligible renewables like wind, solar, hydro, or biomass.
Once you’ve submitted your application, Ofgem validates that your facility meets all technical and legal requirements. This is where things move forward quite naturally—after accreditation, you’ll install metres to measure your energy output. These metres track every megawatt hour you produce, and you’ll report this data through the same online platform where you applied. The public availability of REGOs and associated information ensures complete transparency throughout this process. Utilising smart metres and submetres provides comprehensive data capture to verify your renewable energy generation accurately.
From there, Ofgem issues one REGO certificate for each MWh generated. Working with supplier-neutral brokers can help you navigate the accreditation process and understand how your renewable energy aligns with your business energy strategy. What makes this system work so well is its transparency and verification process, which ensures you’re joining a trusted community of legitimate renewable generators who are genuinely contributing real clean energy to the grid.
How REGOs Prove Your Fuel Mix to Customers
When you supply electricity to customers, you’ll need REGOs to back up your renewable energy claims in your Fuel Mix Disclosure—proving that the green power you’re selling actually comes from renewable sources.
These certificates validate your emissions reporting and show customers exactly how much of their electricity comes from wind, solar, or other clean energy, which builds trust and helps them meet their own sustainability goals. REGOs can be decoupled from physical electricity, meaning generators may sell the physical power to one buyer and the associated certificate to another, creating flexibility in how renewable attributes are marketed and traded. By implementing energy-efficient technologies alongside REGO documentation, you can further demonstrate your commitment to sustainability. Our compliance reporting support services ensure your REGO documentation is audit-ready and meets all regulatory requirements.
Fuel Mix Disclosure Requirements
To show customers where their electricity actually comes from, UK suppliers must disclose their fuel mix every year—and that’s where REGOs become your proof.
You’re required to publish this information annually by 1st October, covering the April-to-March disclosure period. This transparency matters because your customers deserve to know exactly what energy sources power their homes or businesses.
When you communicate this information, you’ll need to break down the percentage of each fuel type generating their electricity. You’ll also need to explain whether renewable energy actually backed your green tariffs, and crucially, how REGOs substantiate those renewable claims.
Here’s the key point: REGOs fundamentally certify that you’ve purchased legitimate renewable generation certificates matching your disclosed green electricity. Without them, you simply can’t claim 100% renewable on your fuel mix disclosure. This accountability isn’t just regulatory compliance—it builds genuine trust with your customers. Your sourcing partners collaborate with you to secure these certificates as evidence of genuine green supply. Aligning your REGO procurement with ISO standards strengthens your documented procedures and ensures stakeholder accountability.
When customers see exactly what they’re paying for and where that energy genuinely comes from, they can make informed choices about their energy provider. Comprehensive energy management approaches reinforce this commitment by ensuring tailored strategies complement your transparency efforts. That transparency is what separates suppliers who are serious about renewables from those just making claims.
Validating Renewable Energy Claims
REGOs serve as your proof that renewable energy claims aren’t just marketing talk—they’re backed by real, verified generation. You can validate these claims by checking your supplier’s Fuel Mix Disclosure on their website, which shows what percentage is genuinely renewable versus REGO-backed fossil fuel.
Once you’ve reviewed that, it’s worth confirming your supplier’s bundling status. This tells you what percentage of REGOs are actually matched with your electricity purchases. From there, you can verify retirement volumes on Ofgem’s public REGO register to ensure your supplier’s claimed green supply matches what they’ve officially retired.
Geographic matching is another important consideration. You’ll want to make certain your REGOs come from UK sources, since EU Guarantees of Origin aren’t recognised anymore as of March 2023.
To round out your validation process, look for third-party certification like GHG Protocol-compliant verification, which adds another layer of credibility to your supplier’s claims.
Transparency and Emissions Reporting
Your energy supplier’s claims about renewable power need proof, and that’s exactly what fuel mix disclosure provides. When you purchase a green tariff, you’re entitled to see the evidence behind those promises.
Think of it this way: suppliers match your annual electricity consumption with corresponding REGO certificates. Each certificate represents one megawatt hour of eligible renewable generation. The system works because the Ofgem Renewable and CHP Register tracks every single certificate issued, and fuel mix disclosure data becomes publicly available so anyone can verify the claims independently.
This transparency matters because it prevents double-counting and ensures certificates retire after use. So when you examine your supplier’s fuel mix disclosure, you’re actually checking whether their “green” claims reflect genuine renewable sourcing or whether they’re relying primarily on secondary market certificates instead. That’s the real value here—you get to make informed decisions that genuinely align with your sustainability values, rather than taking marketing claims at face value.
Where to Buy REGOs and How to Get Started
You’ve got two main paths to buy REGOs: you can either access them through your energy supplier’s green tariff programme, or you can purchase them directly from renewable generators and specialist brokers.
Green tariffs offer simplicity—your supplier automatically matches your annual electricity consumption with certificates—but direct purchases give you more control and transparency over exactly which renewable projects you’re supporting.
Larger businesses often choose direct purchasing because it lets you validate your green energy claims and report lower emissions with confidence.
Direct Purchase From Generators
When your business wants to secure REGOs directly from the source, it’s important to understand who’s legally allowed to make these purchases and what pathways are available. Only licensed electricity suppliers can buy REGOs directly on the open market—your business can’t purchase them independently. The good news is you can work through authorised suppliers or brokers who connect you with generators.
There are several direct purchase routes worth exploring. You might consider Power Purchase Agreements, which lock in long-term renewable electricity and REGO certificates at fixed prices. This gives you predictability and stability. Alternatively, open market brokers can facilitate transactions between multiple authorised parties, giving you more flexibility in finding the right match. Licensed suppliers also sell surplus REGOs on secondary markets, which can be a practical option. If you’re looking at larger volumes, direct generator relationships can enable bulk purchasing arrangements that might work better for your scale.
Working with your energy consultant makes navigating these channels much smoother. They can help you verify REGO authenticity through Ofgem’s public register, which is essential for keeping your sustainability claims credible and compliant. This verification step isn’t just a formality—it protects your business reputation and ensures you’re making genuine environmental claims.
Accessing Green Tariffs Programmes
Getting started with green tariffs and REGOs means finding the right supplier and understanding what you’re actually purchasing.
Small businesses can access renewables through supplier green tariffs that come with REGOs already bundled in. If you’re running a larger operation, you might want to buy Renewable Energy Certificates directly from generators or specialist brokers like Omnium—this gives you more control over your sourcing.
To make sure you’re getting genuine renewable energy, check your supplier’s annual Fuel Mix Disclosure documentation. You’ll find this on their website or in your statement, and it shows you the percentage of your energy backed by actual REGO certificates rather than just marketing claims.
Since licensed electricity suppliers are required to offer green tariff options, you’ll have genuine choices to consider.
The whole process flows quite naturally: you pick your tariff type, confirm that REGOs are backing it, and you’re directly supporting real renewable generation.
What makes this approach particularly appealing is that you’re essentially converting your energy bills into measurable environmental impact.
How REGOs Are Tracked and Retired
Since renewable energy generators produce electricity continuously, they need a system to prove what they’ve generated and how it’s been used—that’s where REGO tracking comes in.
You’ll encounter two main tracking approaches. The traditional method is Annual Matching, which covers April to March periods where suppliers retire REGOs yearly. More recently, 24/7 Real-Time Tracking has emerged as an hourly matching system using smart metre data, linking generation directly to your consumption. Both approaches feed into REGO Retirement, which prevents double counting by cancelling certificates after use. Finally, Compliance Reporting ensures official REGO numbers are backfilled by July, maintaining transparency throughout the process.
The shift towards hourly tracking matters because it guarantees renewable generation occurred during the exact hour you consumed it. Smart metres now connect your real-time usage with specific renewable sources, providing genuine traceability. You’re no longer relying on annual averages—you’re getting honest proof that your energy came from renewable sources when you actually used it. This represents a meaningful step forward in how we verify and account for renewable energy in the grid.
Why Brexit Changed REGO Recognition in the UK
Brexit fundamentally reshaped how the UK’s renewable energy certificates work across European borders. When the handover period ended on 31 December 2020, the EU stopped recognising UK REGOs entirely. You couldn’t use European Guarantees of Origin in UK systems anymore either.
The UK initially kept accepting EU certificates for roughly two years. However, the government consulted businesses in 2022 and made a formal announcement: UK recognition would cease on 1 April 2023.
This created a supply crisis. You’d previously relied on approximately 42 TWh of renewable energy imported from Europe annually—that’s 28% of your total renewables supply. Suddenly ineligible, this shortage drove up REGO prices markedly and increased market volatility throughout 2023.
The impact rippled through the sector. Businesses that had built supply chains around European imports faced immediate disruption. Prices climbed as demand outpaced the available domestic stock, and the market became increasingly unpredictable. Energy providers scrambled to secure certificates from UK sources alone, which simply weren’t sufficient to fill the gap left by European supply.
You now depend entirely on domestically-sourced certificates. This shift has forced the renewable energy sector to accelerate investment in UK generation capacity and develop new trading relationships within domestic markets.
