Can GCs be issued for carbon‑free generators that do not receive EACs?

Yes. Many grids only issue Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) for renewable technologies, leaving out other carbon-free generators—e.g., nuclear, large-scale hydro, geothermal or emerging zero-carbon fuels. The Granular Registry can still track, trade and retire hourly certificates for those assets by operating under EnergyTag Configuration #2 (“GC scheme supplements the EAC scheme”).

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How Configuration #2 works in practice

Step	What happens	Who is responsible
1 — Meter data	The plant’s revenue-grade meters (or ISO/utility telemetry) send hourly generation data to the Granular Registry.	Measurement Body / ISO
2 — Certificate issuance	The Registry issues one Granular Certificate (GC) for every net-MWh, stamped with the hour, location, technology, emissions factor, etc.	GC Issuer (Granular Registry)
3 — No double counting	The asset owner attests that no other EAC or claim will be created for the same MWh. The Registry periodically reconciles issued GCs with settlement data.	GC Issuer + Asset Owner
4 — Trading & retirement	GCs can be transferred, bundled into tariffs, or retired to support 24/7 CFE reporting and market-based Scope 2 accounting.	Market participants

Because there is no pre-existing EAC for these MWh, the GC becomes the sole environmental-attribute instrument for that electricity. All claims—Scope 2 disclosures, 24/7 matching, carbon-free power tariffs—flow from the retirement of that GC.

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What if the local EAC programme expands later?

If the grid operator or regulator someday starts issuing conventional EACs for these carbon-free sources, the pathway simply migrates to EnergyTag Configuration #1:

1. The local registry mints the new EACs.

2. The Granular Registry converts (or “fractionalises”) them into hourly GCs at issuance.

3. The underlying EACs are cancelled, keeping a single chain of custody.

No certificates are duplicated and market participants keep the same hourly-level data they already rely on.

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Key safeguards

• Single source of truth – Only the Granular Registry can issue certificates for the covered asset until an official EAC scheme is in place.

• Independent meter data – Hourly generation is verified via ISO settlement feeds or a qualified reporting entity.

• Full EnergyTag compliance – All roles (Issuer, Registrar, Measurement Body, Account Holders) follow the EnergyTag Standard, maintaining auditability and interoperability with other GC systems.

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Whether a plant is renewable or simply carbon-free, the Granular Registry can provide the complete certificate lifecycle—issuance, transfer, retirement—needed for credible 24/7 and Scope 2 claims, even when the local market has no traditional EAC mechanism in place.

Can these stand‑alone GCs be used under the GHG Protocol’s Scope 2 market‑based method?

Yes – provided the GC scheme meets the eight Scope 2 Quality Criteria. A Granular Certificate that follows the EnergyTag Standard already meets those criteria even without an underlying REC/GO:

GHG Protocol quality criterion	How a GC‑only scheme complies
Legal validity	Scheme documented; accepted by local regulator or contractual law.
Registry & tracking	Independent, auditable registry prevents double issue/transfer/use.
Exclusive ownership	Retirement cancels the GC permanently for a single beneficiary.
Auditable	Third‑party or registry audit of issuance, transfer, cancellation.
Vintage	Hour‑stamped; falls within the reporting year (or stricter if desired).
Geographic relevance	Certificate generated in the same balancing area as consumption (or per programme rules).
Emission factor	GC records technology‑specific or zero‑emission factor.
Transparency	Scheme rules and retirement evidence available for assurance.

Maintaining the retirement certificates and audit trail allows the reporting entity to enter these GCs in the Scope 2 market‑based column with a zero or specified emission factor, exactly as it would for standard RECs/Guarantees of Origin.

Key takeaway: Hour‑level GCs created under EnergyTag Configuration #2 can be counted toward Scope 2 targets—even when no traditional REC or GO exists for that generator—so long as the scheme continues to meet the GHG Protocol quality criteria above.