To use energy crops as an eligible energy source for the Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin (REGO) or the Renewable Energy Target (RET), you need to understand the eligibility requirements, obligations and documentation that applies.
Facilities and power stations should follow this guidance when registering their systems and creating certificates.
Requirements for using energy crops
Participants must:
- use eligible energy crops
- carry out due diligence checks before processing
- measure energy accurately and consistently
- maintain evidence and documentation that:
- supports registration and certificate eligibility
- tracks the material through the supply chain.
Eligibility
Energy crops are an eligible energy source for the REGO and RET only if they’re not biomass from a native forest.
Biomass such as woody crops (or plantations) is considered an eligible energy source if the following applies:
- It comes from a woody crop or plantation and has an operational plan.
- The plantation land was not cleared of native vegetation after 31 December 1989.
- The plantation is managed in accordance with a state code of practice approved under the Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Rules 2021.
If there is no applicable approved code of practice, the plantation must be managed in accordance with Responsible Wood’s Australian Standards:
- Chain of Custody of Forest Products (AS 4707)
- Sustainable Forest Management (AS/NZS 4708).
Eligible energy crops
- Wood harvested from a Commonwealth, state or territory-approved plantation for the purpose of renewable electricity generation
Ineligible energy crops
- Fossil fuels and any by-products, materials or waste products derived from fossil fuels
- Biomass from a native forest (see section 34 of the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Rules 2025 for a definition of native forest)
- Non-native environmental weeds harvested for control and eradication (this may be eligible as wood waste)
- Manufactured wood product or by-product from a manufacturing process (this may be eligible as wood waste)
- Sawmill residue such as shavings and chips (this may be eligible as wood waste)
- Wood waste from agricultural production
Some waste from agriculture may be eligible as biomass-based components of municipal solid waste, noting that land clearing for agriculture is excluded.
Due diligence requirements
Facilities using energy crops must understand and meet their due diligence requirements under the:
Read the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry guidelines to help facilities meet their due diligence requirements.
If the same company or organisation processed and harvested the raw log, timber products are exempt from the due diligence obligations.
Measuring energy crops
All facilities must comply with either the:
- Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Measurement Standard 2025 (for REGO)
- metering requirements (for RET).
These set out the technical requirements for electrical meters that must be installed at the facility to determine how much electricity is being generated.
With every certificate claim, facilities must provide us with:
- meter data from compliant meters
- the mass (in tonnes or otherwise) of each type of energy source burnt
- the calorific value of each type of energy source burnt.
We use these values to estimate how much electricity should be generated from eligible biomass. We check this against the meter data to verify claims.
If your facility is burning both eligible and ineligible energy sources in the same burner, we use the values to subtract the ineligible energy sources from the electricity generated.
Evidence and documentation
Participants using energy crops must prove they meet eligibility and scheme requirements when registering their facility or creating certificates.
This includes keeping accurate records and providing documentation to support certificate claims.
Chain of custody and audit trail
Facilities must maintain a chain of custody. This is a traceable set of records that shows how energy crops were collected, stored, analysed and processed. All records must be kept for 7 years.
The chain of custody must:
- identify who handled the energy crops at each stage
- state the purpose of movement
- include the date and time of collection and delivery
- include all relevant approval documents.
These records form your audit trail.
Responsibility for documentation
The facility’s eligible registered person (for REGO) or nominated person (for RET) is responsible for:
- making sure sufficient evidence is provided to us
- declaring the documents are complete and accurate.
However, each person in the supply chain plays a role in collecting and maintaining documentation.
Documentation requirements by role
View the documentation requirements for different participants in the supply chain and when facilities must submit them.
| Requirement | Documents required | When facilities must submit it |
|---|---|---|
| Have approval to establish the plantation. |
| With the first certificate claim that uses energy crops from a plantation the facility hasn’t sourced from before. |
| Prove the plantation was not cleared of native vegetation after 31 December 1989. |
| With the first certificate claim that uses energy crops from a plantation the facility hasn’t sourced from before. |
| Requirement | Documents required | When facilities must submit it |
|---|---|---|
| Have approval of the crop harvesting operation. |
| With the first certificate claim that uses energy crops from a plantation the facility hasn’t sourced from before. |
| Requirement | Documents required | When facilities must submit it |
|---|---|---|
| Prove biomass comes from an eligible crop harvesting operation. |
| With every certificate claim that includes energy crops. |
| Requirement | Documents required | When facilities must submit it |
|---|---|---|
| Prove biomass comes from an eligible crop harvesting operation. |
| With every certificate claim that includes energy crops. |
| Prove generated electricity can be traced back to an eligible crop. |
| With every certificate claim that includes energy crops. |
| Prove processer has complied with illegal logging legislation. |
| With the first certificate claim that uses energy crops from a plantation the facility hasn’t sourced from before. |
Best practice
- Embed quality management systems (QMS) and industry best practice principles into your internal governance documentation (e.g. standard operating procedures and work instructions)
- Conduct and record regular internal audits to ensure your governance arrangements and QMS account for any changes in people, processes, IT systems and suppliers
- Complete the generation data template in Online Services accurately for every REGO certificate claim
- Complete the energy crops eligibility assessment sheet for every large-scale generation certificate claim
Following best practice can help you reduce the risk of non-compliance.