URE issued the first certificate for the FIP premium and the first guarantee of origin for biomethane

The Energy Regulatory Office (Urząd Regulacji Energetyki, URE) for the first time issued two documents key to the biomethane market: a certificate entitling the holder to support under the FIP system, and a guarantee of origin. The first document is dated 24 September 2026, the second 25 September. The information was published on 30 September 2026. The announcement does not indicate which installations the documents concern; the guarantee covers biomethane injected into the grid in the first half of 2026, that is before the agricultural biomethane plant in Komorów started up (25 September 2026).

The FIP certificate

FIP (feed-in premium) is a top-up to the market price: the producer finds a buyer for the biomethane itself, and when the market pays less than the guaranteed rate (in the act: a fixed purchase price for biomethane, equal to the reference price), the missing part (the negative balance) is covered by the Settlement Administrator, that is the RES settlement operator. The certificate issued on 24 September confirms that the given producer may sell biomethane injected into the grid on such terms. The system will be used by installations with a total capacity of up to 1 MW expressed as electrical capacity. The route to the document runs through the producer's declaration that it intends to sell biomethane at the fixed purchase price; it attaches the required annexes to it, and on this basis the President of URE issues the certificate.

The guarantee of origin

The second document, of 25 September, concerns biomethane from a renewable installation that entered the grid in the first half of 2026. The guarantee is evidence for the end customer that a specified amount of gas comes from RES. The producer must apply for it in writing, and unlike FIP it is not public aid. Entries in the guarantee register and trading in them are handled by the Polish Power Exchange (Towarowa Giełda Energii, TGE).

Why it matters

The two documents close the first complete regulatory chain for biomethane in Poland: connection and injection, operating support and confirmation of origin. Only now can investors, banks and buyers see how the procedures work in practice, how long they take and what documents are required. Guarantees of origin may be required in contracts with industrial and foreign buyers, because they make it possible to demonstrate the renewable origin of biomethane and that its attribute has not been accounted for elsewhere (double counting).

Significance for the industry in Poland

For subsequent producers it means that the procedure is feasible, and the first precedent can be used in preparing their own applications. The key remaining point is adoption of the Act on Renewable Energy Sources: the amendment, passed by the Sejm and Senate, introduces biomethane auctions in two baskets (below 2 MW and from 2 MW of electrical capacity) with the right to coverage of the negative balance for 20 years and an obligation of first sale of biomethane within 48 months of the close of the auction session, rules on combining operating and investment aid, and provisions on direct pipelines (notification to the President of URE within 30 days of the start of supply and 14 days of decommissioning). These provisions were awaiting the President's signature; earlier regulations contained in the wind turbine act had been vetoed in August 2025.

What to watch

The source gives no figures on the volume of guarantees or the amount of the premium. It is worth checking in the TGE register how guarantees are handled in trading.