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Renewable energy units

Renewable energy units (HBEs: hernieuwbare brandstofeenheden) are the units that companies, within the Energy for Transport compliance system, use to comply with their annual obligation and their obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the calendar year 2020.

Please note: the information available on this page is only relevant for 2018-2021.

Energie voor Vervoer Updated information on the new regulations can be found here.

One HBE represents 1 gigajoule (GJ) of renewable energy that is delivered to the Dutch transport market. HBEs are created by claiming deliveries of renewable energy in the Energy for Transport Registry (REV: Register Energie voor Vervoer). Companies  must have an account in the REV to hold and trade HBEs.

Types of HBE

There are three types of HBE: HBE Advanced, HBE Conventional and HBE Other.

Companies subject to an annual obligation require a minimum share of HBE Advanced (HBE-A) and may use a maximum share of HBE Conventional (HBE-C). HBE Other (HBE-O) is used for the remaining share of the annual obligation.

The feedstock in the claim for delivery of renewable energy determines the type of HBE that is created. The table below shows the origin of various types of HBEs.

See also: Feedstock and double-counting.

Trading system

Under the Energy for Transport compliance system, the Dutch government uses a trading system where participants can cooperatively deliver their mandatory share of renewable energy in the most cost-effective way. They can choose whether to deliver and claim delivery of renewable energy themselves thereby creating HBEs, or to buy HBEs to comply with their obligations.

REV account holders can trade HBEs with each other. All companies  subject to an obligation, claiming companies , and other holders of an Excise Warehouse License can have an account in the REV.

Energy for Transport follows the European directives, but is implemented under Dutch legislation. Companies  cannot trade HBEs internationally or use them in connection with regulations in other countries. Conversely, companies  cannot transfer units from comparable systems in other countries to the REV.

Once created, an HBE cannot be revoked, because it has been credited incorrectly. If the claiming operator has incorrectly claimed an incorrect amount of renewable energy, the HBEs created incorrectly remain valid and can be traded.

3 types HBEs

HBE reports

The NEa is legally obliged to publish a number of reports based on data in the REV. One of these reports is the HBE report. This report provides periodic information to support the market. The HBE report is published five times each year.

Every HBE report provides insight into the total number of HBEs that are available in accounts in the REV. The report distinguishes between the number of HBEs created by claims and the number of banked HBEs. The HBE report of 4 March also provides insight into the total number of HBEs required to comply with the annual obligation.

The report dates are:

  • 4 January
  • 4 March
  • 10 April
  • 4 July
  • 4 October

The three types of HBE will be reported from 4 July 2018.

You can find the HBE-reports here (Dutch)