Södra can now offer Guarantees of Origin (GoOs) for its renewable electricity. The GoOs are recognised by the EU, following the certification of Södra’s Mönsterås pulp mill according to EU standards.
“We believe in renewable energy and want to give our customers the opportunity to take advantage of our renewable electricity,” said Henric Dernegård, Energy Coordinator at Södra.
Renewable energy is produced in Södra’s pulp mills using raw material from the forests owned by Södra’s members. Since 2010, Södra has been self-sufficient in terms of electricity production and sells any surplus on the open electricity market. Södra is now certified according to the European Energy Certificate System (EECS). This is a standard for cross-border trade in GoO certificates.
Södra’s European customers have shown an interest in GoO-label electricity. In May, the mill at Mönsterås was classified according to the EECS, and since then, the mill has produced 190 GWh in bio-based GoO-label electricity. This corresponds to the heating requirements of around 7,600 houses.
“Many of our European customers are electricity-intensive and already purchase renewable products from us in the form of paper pulp. They can now purchase renewable GoOs from us as well, which is an added value that we think strengthens our business,” commented Dernegård.
A GoO certificate corresponds to one MWh and is an electronic label showing where and how the electricity is produced. In Södra’s case, this electricity is bio-based, but it can also be sun, wind or water-based, for example.
