Do you own electric cars in your fleet and operate charging stations? Then you have the opportunity to benefit from GHG quota trading. With the entry into force of a new regulation (38th BImSchV) in January 2022, the GHG quota has become relevant for EV drivers and operators of charging stations. It is intended to create incentives to reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector.
In addition, there are specific governmental requirements that you need to consider and implement in order to generate added value with your existing charging infrastructure. Therefore, this blog informs you about the topic of GHG quotas, why charging stations have to be compliant with calibration law, why a notification to the Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environmental Agency) is required and how you can use especially public charging stations for the GHG quotas.
How does the GHG quota work?
The GHG quota commits mineral oil companies that sell and trade diesel or petrol in Germany to reduce their CO2 emissions by a fixed percentage (quota) with various options for action. According to estimates, this quota will increase continuously in the following years and will even be around 25 percent in 2030. There are many additional added values for both the operators of charging infrastructure and the drivers of electric vehicles:
By using eCars and providing public charging stations, drivers of electric vehicles as well as operators of charging infrastructure actively contribute to the reduction of climate-damaging CO2 emissions. All they have to do is apply for the flat-rate CO2 emissions from the German Federal Environment Agency and then offer them for sale to the mineral oil companies that are obliged to reduce them.
How high is the GHG quota currently?
With the reev GHG quota, you currently receive a lump sum of currently 300€ for each pure electric vehicle in your fleet. For each kWh charged at public charging stations, you receive an additional 15 cents per kWh.
GHG quota for public charging stations
At each publicly accessible charging point that you operate, you can generate additional revenue via the GHG quota. The prerequisite is that at least Ad Hoc charging is activated as a user group at the charging points and that the charging points have been registered with the Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency).
What are the requirements for the GHG quota to be claimed for publicly accessible charging points?
- The charging group must be compliant with calibration law and publicly accessible in the sense of the Charging Station Ordinance (LSV).
- At least ad hoc charging must be activated as a user group at the charging points. In this case, eRoaming is not a must, but can be activated additionally.
- The charging points must have been registered with the Bundesnetzagentur.
- The support mechanism of the GHG quota is a German instrument, therefore the application is only permitted in Germany.
Why does the charging station have to comply with calibration law for the GHG quota to be credited?
The legal requirements stipulate calibration conformity for the correct recording and transparent billing of chargeable charging processes in public charging. The electricity meters installed in charging stations must guarantee measurements that comply with calibration law in order to be able to state the electricity consumption in a legally secure manner.
In addition to the LSV (Charging Station Ordinance), there is also the so-called Verification Law Act, which came into force in 2015. Due to special regulations, deadline extensions and other provisions, the law has only been fully applicable since 1 April 2019. Detailed information on this can be found here: Calibration law in eMobility Different handling at state level, goodwill periods and exemptions from the local calibration authorities have also dragged out the conversion period for charging stations here.
It should also be mentioned at this point that charging stations in Germany that comply with calibration law are mandatory in order to be able to invoice the charging processes to third parties. However, we as reev cannot make a binding statement about the submission of exported receipts to the tax office.
In order for us at reev to be able to legally protect our customers and ourselves, we now only offer public charging for charging stations that comply with calibration law, and thus of course also the use of GHG quotas at public charging stations.
Is every kWh charged at the public wallbox subsidised?
You currently receive 15 cents for each kWh charged. This applies to all publicly accessible charging points and regardless of which eVehicles are charged at these charging points and whether the users are created in your systems. Thanks to the consumption-based recording (per kWh), which is possible with the reev Dashboard Pro, among other things, you can have all previous charging processes of the current calendar year retroactively credited to the GHG quota.
Where can I apply for the GHG premium?
The Umweltbundesamt (UBA, Federal Environment Agency) is responsible for verifying the prerequisites for counting electric power towards the GHG quotas. The UBA also issues the corresponding certificates. As a charging infrastructure operator, you do not have to apply for the issuance of the certificate yourself. This is done by your eMobility service provider, for example reev.
Is a parallel report to the UBA necessary, which certifies the quantities for GHG quota?
On the basis of the certificates, an offset can be made against the greenhouse gas quota of an obligated company. However, this so-called “quota trading” is not the responsibility of the UBA. It is carried out by a service provider. reev will be happy to take care of this for you, so that you do not have to incur any costs. Find out how you can benefit from the GHG quota in your reev Dashboard Compact or Pro.
Would you like to find out more about the GHG quota and how you can use it to operate your charging infrastructure economically?