Commission Regulation (EU) No 601/2012 (repealed)Show full title

Subsection 3 U.K. Calculation factors

Article 30 U.K. Determination of calculation factors

1. The operator shall determine calculation factors either as default values or values based on analysis depending on the applicable tier.

2. The operator shall determine and report calculation factors consistently with the state used for related activity data, referring to the fuel’s or material’s state in which the fuel or material is purchased or used in the emission causing process, before it is dried or otherwise treated for laboratory analysis.

Where such an approach incurs unreasonable costs, or where higher accuracy can be achieved, the operator may consistently report activity data and calculation factors referring to the state in which laboratory analyses are carried out.

Article 31 U.K. Default values for calculation factors

1. Where the operator determines calculation factors as default values, it shall, in accordance with the requirement of the applicable tier, as set out in Annexes II and VI, use one of the following values:

(a) standard factors and stoichiometric factors listed in Annex VI;

(b) standard factors used by the Member State for its national inventory submission to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;

(c) literature values agreed with the competent authority, including standard factors published by the competent authority, which are compatible with factors referred to in point (b), but they are representative of more disaggregated sources of fuel streams;

(d) values specified and guaranteed by the supplier of a material where the operator can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the competent authority that the carbon content exhibits a 95 % confidence interval of not more than 1 %;

(e) values based on analyses carried out in the past, where the operator can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the competent authority that those values are representative for future batches of the same material.

2. The operator shall specify all default values used in the monitoring plan.

Where the default values change on an annual basis, the operator shall specify the authoritative applicable source of that value in the monitoring plan.

3. The competent authority may only approve a change of default values for a calculation factor in the monitoring plan pursuant to Article 15(2), where the operator provides evidence that the new default value leads to a more accurate determination of emissions.

4. Upon application by the operator, the competent authority may allow that the net calorific value and emission factors of fuels are determined using the same tiers as required for commercial standard fuels provided that the operator submits, at least every three years, evidence that the 1 % interval for the specified calorific value has been met during the last three years.

Article 32 U.K. Calculation factors based on analyses

1. The operator shall ensure that any analyses, sampling, calibrations and validations for the determination of calculation factors are carried out by applying methods based on corresponding EN standards.

Where such standards are not available, the methods shall be based on suitable ISO standards or national standards. Where no applicable published standards exist, suitable draft standards, industry best practice guidelines or other scientifically proven methodologies shall be used, limiting sampling and measurement bias.

2. Where online gas chromatographs or extractive or non-extractive gas analysers are used for emission determination, the operator shall obtain approval from the competent authority for the use of such equipment. The equipment shall be used only with regard to composition data of gaseous fuels and materials. As minimum quality assurance measures, the operator shall ensure that an initial validation and annually repeated validations of the instrument are performed.

3. The result of any analysis shall be used only for the delivery period or batch of fuel or material for which the samples have been taken, and for which the samples were intended to be representative.

For the determination of a specific parameter the operator shall use the results of all analyses made with regards to that parameter.

Article 33 U.K. Sampling plan

1. Where calculation factors are determined by analyses, the operator shall submit to the competent authority for approval for each fuel or material a sampling plan in the form of a written procedure, which contains information on methodologies for the preparation of samples, including information on responsibilities, locations, frequencies and quantities, and methodologies for the storage and transport of samples.

The operator shall ensure that the derived samples are representative for the relevant batch or delivery period and free of bias. Relevant elements of the sampling plan shall be agreed with the laboratory carrying out the analysis for the respective fuel or material, and evidence of that agreement shall be included in the plan. The operator shall make the plan available for the purposes of verification pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 600/2012.

2. The operator shall, in agreement with the laboratory carrying out the analysis for the respective fuel or material and subject to the approval of the competent authority, adapt the elements of the sampling plan where analytical results indicate that the heterogeneity of the fuel or material significantly differs from the information on heterogeneity on which the original sampling plan for that specific fuel or material was based.

Article 34 U.K. Use of laboratories

1. The operator shall ensure that laboratories used to carry out analyses for the determination of calculation factors are accredited in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17025, for the relevant analytical methods.

2. Laboratories not accredited in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17025 may only be used for the determination of calculation factors where the operator can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the competent authority that access to laboratories referred to in paragraph 1 is technically not feasible or would incur unreasonable costs and that the non-accredited laboratory meets requirements equivalent to EN ISO/IEC 17025.

3. The competent authority shall deem a laboratory to meet the requirements equivalent to EN ISO/IEC 17025 within the meaning of paragraph 2 where the operator provides, to the extent feasible, in the form of and to a similar level of detail required for procedures pursuant to Article 12(2), evidence in accordance with the second and the third subparagraph of this paragraph.

With respect to quality management, the operator shall produce an accredited certification of the laboratory in conformity with EN ISO/IEC 9001, or other certified quality management systems that cover the laboratory. In the absence of such certified quality management systems, the operator shall provide other appropriate evidence that the laboratory is capable of managing its personnel, procedures, documents and tasks in a reliable manner.

With respect to technical competence, the operator shall provide evidence that the laboratory is competent and able to generate technically valid results using the relevant analytical procedures. Such evidence shall cover at least the following elements:

(a) management of the personnel’s competence for the specific tasks assigned;

(b) suitability of accommodation and environmental conditions;

(c) selection of analytical methods and relevant standards;

(d) where applicable, management of sampling and sample preparation, including control of sample integrity;

(e) where applicable, development and validation of new analytical methods or application of methods not covered by international or national standards;

(f) uncertainty estimation;

(g) management of equipment, including procedures for calibration, adjustment, maintenance and repair of equipment, and record keeping thereof;

(h) management and control of data, documents and software;

(i) management of calibration items and reference materials;

(j) quality assurance for calibration and test results, including regular participation in proficiency testing schemes, applying analytical methods to certified reference materials, or inter-comparison with an accredited laboratory;

(k) management of outsourced processes;

(l) management of assignments, customer complaints, and ensuring timely corrective action.

Article 35 U.K. Frequencies for analyses

1. The operator shall apply the minimum frequencies for analyses for relevant fuels and materials listed in Annex VII. Annex VII will be reviewed on a regular basis and in the first instance not more than two years from this Regulation entering into force.

2. The competent authority may allow the operator to use a different frequency than those referred to in paragraph 1, where minimum frequencies are not available or where the operator demonstrates one of the following:

(a) based on historical data, including analytical values for the respective fuels or materials in the reporting period immediately preceding the current reporting period, any variation in the analytical values for the respective fuel or material does not exceed 1/3 of the uncertainty value to which the operator has to adhere with regard to the activity data determination of the relevant fuel or material;

(b) using the required frequency would incur unreasonable costs.