How EWE gained visibility and control of its guarantee of origin portfolio

Fragmented portfolio data with manual, labor-intensive processes

Managing guarantees of origin is complicated when handled manually, especially for companies like EWE who operate on both the buy and sell sides. As Andre explains: 

“We used to manage GoOs through spreadsheets and manual, time-consuming processes, which created lots of extra reconciliation work and sending files between teams.”

These manual processes included: 

• Reconciling each GoO transaction between internal records and the HKNR registry 
• Manually allocating available GoOs to counterparties based on their requirements
• Exporting and reconciling data from multiple sources (MS Access, Excel, and SAP) for invoicing 

This approach also increased the risk of input errors and delayed deliveries, and made it difficult to optimally allocate GoOs (in full or partial deliveries) to different buyers depending on their needs, as EWE had no real-time view of available GoOs alongside its delivery obligations.

Centralizing guarantees of origin in one platform  

EWE set out to simplify its GoO management and gain better visibility of its GoO portfolio, while also reducing manual, repetitive work. It needed a solution purpose-built for its complex needs on both the buy and sell side, but that could still integrate with existing systems.

After some research, EWE chose renewable energy certificate specialist CerQlar as its partner for this project. From the start, both teams worked closely together to map EWE’s existing workflows for registering trades, reconciling data with the registry, and invoicing counterparties. 

This was a vital stage to ensure a smooth transition for EWE’s trading operations team from the old processes to the new, more efficient way of managing GoOs with the CerQlar platform: 

“CerQlar was there to support us throughout the implementation, from the first kick-off call to the ‘go live’ day and everything in between. We gained a much clearer understanding of the complexity behind GoO and certificate management, and our teams were able to adopt the platform in a way that allowed us to start realising value as the implementation progressed.”

Unlike many EU registries, the HKNR does not have an API but that was not an issue as CerQlar allows HKNR registry data to be easily imported and automatically matched to trades that EWE entered in the platform. 

Once CerQlar was fully implemented, EWE’s team could start using CerQlar to register, track, and manage its GoOs end to end.   

Getting real-time visibility and control of EWE’s GoO portfolio 

Now, EWE has a centralized view of its entire GoO portfolio and delivery obligations in one platform that can be easily reconciled with the HKNR registry and is integrated with EWE’s existing ETRM and accounting systems. 

This means the trading operations team can register GoOs that are bought or sold, easily reconcile their records with the registry, optimally allocate deliveries to counterparties, and give finance the details they need to invoice accurately and on time. 

All GoO data is entered and stored in a standardized format, ensuring consistency and making it possible to manage energy certificates from different registries within the same platform. The impact of this was clear across EWE’s operations:

Before CerQlar		With CerQlar
Manual matching of transactions between Excel and the registry	→	Automated attribution of buy trades between CerQlar and the registry
Deliveries validated by manually checking the registry	→	Deliveries quickly verified through integrated HKNR data import
Complex multi-step invoicing process (Access→Excel→SAP)	→	Simple Excel export of completed deliveries ready for invoicing via its ERP/accounting system
Low visibility on trade-to-invoice flow	→	End-to-end traceability across all steps
Time-intensive, error-prone processes for managing GoOs	→	Automated, auditable workflows for managing GoOs end to end

Automating processes to save time, reduce errors, and increase transparency across the GoO lifecycle

By using CerQlar to manage the entire guarantee of origin lifecycle, EWE has replaced labor-intensive processes with automated workflows and can optimize its GoO deliveries based on its delivery obligations and existing inventory of GoOs.  

Andre adds: 

“We now have full visibility of all our GoO activity in one place, which helps us work more efficiently and minimize the risk of errors which can lead to fines or frustrated counterparties”.

Reduced manual effort with automated workflows  

Tasks that once took hours of manual data cross-checks between different sources are now completed in minutes. This has been especially impactful for reconciling EWE’s internal data with the registry, as trades can now be easily matched, and completed deliveries are automatically verified against HKNR data. 

The platform also allows users to quickly switch between buy and sell sides, verify GoO volumes and dates, and view the entire GoO portfolio in one place which further increases operational efficiency and ensures any details can be quickly edited if needed. 

Improved operational efficiency and optimal GoO deliveries

With a real-time view of its market position and flexible filtering options, EWE can easily slice and dice data to create custom views of its trades and delivery obligations, such as by registry or by status. This helps EWE optimally allocate GoOs to counterparties based on their specific needs. 

Example: if a counterparty requests a renewable energy GoO with limited other criteria (such as country of origin, technology type etc), EWE can allocate low-cost GoOs to that buyer, and reserve premium GoOs for counterparties with very specific needs, such as wind energy produced in a certain region.  

Protect reputation with end-to-end traceability of every certificate

By managing GoOs end to end in one platform, EWE can easily trace the full lifecycle of each certificate. This transparency helps EWE identify and resolve issues quickly, meet audit and compliance requirements, and protects EWE’s reputation in the market. 

Faster, more accurate invoicing processes 

Once a GoO is delivered to a counterparty and the transfer is confirmed in the registry, EWE can immediately issue an invoice. With CerQlar, this invoicing process is faster and more accurate as the platform’s invoicing module automatically groups delivery data by counterparty, so EWE can simply export clean Excel sheets ready for upload into its ERP/accounting system.

This is especially valuable for companies like EWE that sell large volumes of GoOs—with varying prices—to counterparties, which is very complicated, time-consuming, and error-prone when invoicing is carried out manually.  

Continuous improvement to respond to changing market conditions 

As the GoO market continues to evolve, CerQlar works closely with customers like EWE to ensure the platform and its features meet their needs: 

“It’s great to have the CerQlar team there to help us continuously improve our processes, and explore the possibility of adding new features as the GoO market evolves.”

For EWE, getting even more granularity on its delivery obligations and optimizing its allocation of GoOs are key focus areas. CerQlar is collaborating with the team to further enhance these capabilities and support EWE’s next phase of process improvement.

Ready to get started with CerQlar? 

Want to learn how you can manage your GoO portfolio more efficiently? Book a demo with one of our experts to see how CerQlar can simplify your GoO management.