Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Renewables Obligation definition

What does Renewables Obligation mean? In practice, the Renewables Obligation is the UK scheme under which licensed electricity suppliers must source a proportion of their supply from renewable generation, evidenced by Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs). Accredited generators earn ROCs per MWh; suppliers comply by presenting ROCs or paying a statutory buy‑out price. The buy‑out fund is recycled to compliant suppliers, underpinning ROC value. Support levels are “banded” by technology. The regime is set out in secondary legislation (Renewables Obligation Orders) made under the Electricity Act 1989 in Great Britain, with a separate but aligned Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO). The scheme closed to most new generating...

RO sustainability: GHG and land criteria for solid and gaseous biomass and bioliquids, with Ofgem reporting/audit and May 2025 guidance updates (Great Britain)

Published by a LexisNexis Energy expert

Practice notes

How are the sustainability criteria relevant to the RO?

The renewables obligation (RO) was created to drive investment in renewable power projects. It achieved this by requiring retail electricity suppliers — who buy electricity directly or through intermediaries from generators — to obtain a rising share of their wholesale supply from renewable sources. The proportion to be met is determined by the Secretary of State (SoS) for Energy Security and Net Zero (ESNZ), which assumed responsibility for the UK’s energy policy from the former Department for Business, Energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) on 7 February 2023.

Suppliers demonstrate compliance by submitting Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), evidencing purchases of renewable electricity. To receive ROCs, generators must be accredited under the RO as producing electricity from renewable sources. Prior to full accreditation, certain baseline eligibility conditions had to be satisfied, alongside additional obligations for plant using solid or gaseous biomass, and for bioliquids. These requirements are commonly referred to as the “sustainability criteria”, though in practice they comprise two distinct elements: the greenhouse gas criteria and the land criteria...

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Matthew Collinson

Matt has specialised in energy and infrastructure projects since 2006, including in City practice and as an industry consultant. He has spent more than half his career as a general counsel in regulated energy supply and network businesses, and has written extensively on regulation of the gas and electricity sectors....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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