How to Make the Most Profit From GO Sales?

Guarantees of Origin
Reading time 3 minutes

To maximize profit from Guarantees of Origin (GO) sales, renewable energy producers should consider these notable points that can shine light on their sales efforts:

1. Volume and Market Access

The pricing of GOs is influenced by various factors, including supply dynamics, regulatory frameworks, and seasonal changes in energy production. For instance, in Europe, spring and early summer prices can fluctuate significantly, due to abundant hydroelectric power from Norway, which can flood the market. Naturally, this environment tends to favor larger producers who can sell GOs in bulk, thus securing better prices by leveraging volume in their sales negotiations.

Smaller producers aren’t totally shut out, though - It’s possible to pool or aggregate GOs amongst producers, allowing them to access larger deals to catch the interest of buyers who wouldn’t have been interested before. Smaller producers can use Soldera to implement this pooling strategy, converting individual GOs into bulk offerings, which improves their market position and access. The outcome? With increased sales volume, smaller producers can benefit from better pricing.

2. Timing - Fresh GO’s Are More Expensive

Volume isn’t the only thing to factor in - you need to keep an eye on time. Not only is GO issuance not backdated whatsoever (meaning it’s imperative to get started ASAP!), but notoriously, GOs have a one-year expiration, making timely sales crucial, so that you aren't left bag-holding all the way until expiry (or more likely, selling your GOs at uncomfortable losses). Fresh GOs also fetch better prices, as they are naturally more desirable than older GOs — they allow traders a larger window to speculate inside before expiry, alongside giving corporate buyers maximum flexibility to meet targets. This time advantage has made newly-issued GOs particularly attractive: For example, throughout the majority of 2024, 2023 issued GOs were priced 2-3x lower. Looking ahead, 2025 issue GOs are currently valued at nearly 2x the price of 2024!

One effective strategy is dollar-cost averaging sales of fresh GOs, where producers sell their GOs when they are issued monthly as opposed to waiting for a better price that may not arrive within that tricky 12 months. This method reduces the risk of loss from the possibility of market dips, without sacrificing gains during price spikes. A handy way to look at passive strategies and automation is through a conventional financial lens. Whilst you might fancy yourself a trading guru, it’s pretty well known that most managers don’t beat the broader market, and would’ve done better instead just sitting back and letting a passive strategy run its course. Market indices often provide consistent, predictable returns by spreading investments across various assets, which helps mitigate risks associated with individual stock volatility. Similarly, Soldera spreads out sales to remove human emotion, alongside offering forward hedging strategies against volatility.

3. The Role of Automation & Passiveness

Automating your GO processes can greatly improve efficiency and profitability, especially in a market with limited price transparency for buyers and difficult-to-use government registries. With the time-consuming bureaucracy of GO markets, it’s understandable why GOs can be low on a producers list of priorities. Automated platforms provide the time-savings to make GOs a top priority again, completely streamlining the sales workload from compliance to transaction management. This allows producers to focus on their core operations and lower administrative burdens (with Soldera, by 95%!), while benefiting from enhanced pricing through aggregated and frequent sales.

Conclusion

Regardless of whether you’re familiar with GOs or completely new to them, nearly all producers can enhance their profits in the GO market by contributing towards bigger-volume deals, selling quickly every month and automating management. For existing GO producers who aren’t keen on monitoring markets and tedious administrative work — Soldera is the time-saving tool you’ve been longing for.

Oliver Bonallack
LinkedIn
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Additional income is already waiting

Guarantees of Origin can only be traded for the first 12 months after the moment of production, so it does not make sense to wait long.