Latvia’s first biomass trading platform BioEx has been included as an eligible exchange in the Cabinet of Ministers’ Regulations on Sustainability and greenhouse gas emission saving criteria, criteria for electricity produced from biomass fuels and the procedure for substantiating, certifying and monitoring compliance with these criteria. The amendments to the Cabinet Regulations entered into force on July 19.
The inclusion in the Cabinet Regulations means that, with the participation in the BioEx platform, biomass buyers do not need to undergo additional compliance procedures and biomass sellers do not need to be additionally certified under one of the voluntary certification schemes.
This means that the BioEx Exchange will now serve as a de facto compliance mechanism for market participants, i.e. if your company buys or sells biomass on the BioEx platform with the relevant compliance mark RED BioEx, it therefore meets the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) sustainability and emission savings criteria in Latvia,
says Gunārs Greiža,BioEx Board Member.
On June 20 of this year, BioEx submitted a formal application to the Ministry of Climate and Energy requesting to be included in the Annex to the Cabinet Regulations and submitted a description of the trading platform’s procedures and solutions under the RED II criteria and a self-declaration under the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 11, 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. After reviewing the submissions, on July 13 the Government approved the inclusion of BioEx in the Annex to the Regulations.
BioEx is the first biomass trade platform in Latvia, ensuring regular trading sessions, registration of market participants, distribution based on qualification criteria, reports on the quality of the delivered biomass and accounts, biomass energy calculator, system support, guarantee management and other functions necessary for efficient transaction management.
The latest version of the platform includes also long-term transaction auctions with delivery period of three to 12 months, as well as the choice of the date for future auctions and restrictions on the minimum and maximum delivery volumes.
BioEx was established by companies with competence in heating supply and IT solutions, combining knowledge about the sector with expertise on how to develop a digital platform for better trading. 75% stake in BioEx belongs to EcoHeat Holding – a Latvian group of companies, specializing in environmentally-friendly heating system installation in urban and industrial buildings, as well as metalworks and manufacturing. Meanwhile 25% stake in BioEx belongs to FortySeven Software Professionals – a European IT consultation and full-cycle software development company with more than 10 years of experience in different projects, including in banking and fintech sectors, supplies and energy sectors, as well as public administration.
