Green Electricity

The electricity that powers our homes can be produced by a number of different sources - have you ever thought about where yours comes from?

All utility services are definitely not equal - some are much greener than others!

If every time you switch on a light you feel a pang of guilt, now might be the time to switch your electricity to a 'green' supplier.

When electricity is manufactured conventionally, it produces emissions such as sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide. These pollutants not only add to global warming but also contribute to acid rain. Electricity produced using renewable energy produces far less environmental damage, and comes from natural resources like water, sun and wind.

Green energy can be loosely defined as energy from renewable or sustainable sources, for instance, wind power, solar energy, biomass energy and hydro power. There are also 'waste to energy' projects where a large proportion of the energy comes from biomass (or plant material), although using waste as a fuel for power generation may not be very sustainable.

Equally, while small scale hydro power is considered renewable, the environmental impacts of large scale hydro make it difficult to exploit in an eco-friendly way. The information provided by suppliers about these different tariffs is not always transparent and consumers are left confused about their environmental benefits, or even how they add to the renewable energy supplied. At the time of writing there is no scheme in place to verify suppliers' claims about the environmental benefits or 'greenness' of their tariffs.

But just because there is plenty of choice for green electricity it doesn't mean they are all good choices. In fact many of the so-called green electricity offerings do not stand up well to close scrutiny. For example, less money than you might expect is being spent directly on generating extra power from renewable sources on top of that already legally required of the energy firms.

As a result, consumers may not be making the positive contribution they had hoped for. Friends of the Earth has come to a similar conclusion, leading it to withdraw its online rating system for green energy suppliers.

So, at the moment, opting for a green tariff tends to mean one of three things:

'Green' source electricity: where an energy supplier will guarantee to buy, from a renewable generator, a percentage of electricity to match every unit of electricity used by the customer.

'Green' fund: tariffs designed to support the building of new renewable sources of electricity generation, environmental causes or new research and development projects.

Carbon offset: tariffs help reduce or offset the carbon dioxide emissions or carbon footprint.

There is very little consensus when it comes to green energy. The best way to judge a supply offer is to ask whether it is using any extra cost paid by consumers to invest in new renewable electricity sources. And what kind of sources is it using?

You can also think about installing your own off-grid power in your own home, for example by installing a photovoltaic (PV) panel. Or you could buy shares in a locally based renewable energy scheme, such as a community wind or hydro project.

You should also remember that even if you are buying green electricity, it is important not to waste power by being as energy efficient as possible - a kilowatt not used is the cleanest kilowatt of all!

OTHER WAYS TO GREEN POWER

An ethical power supplier such as Ebico charges all its customers the same price regardless of how they pay. It uses the income generated by direct debit customers to bring down prices for pre-pay and quarterly consumers. Pre-pay customers will see much lower prices, while direct debit payers will still get competitive prices, plus the knowledge they are helping to improve social justice.

Carbon offsetting

Some energy firms (e.g. Ebico) will help you offset the CO2 produced by your home - and your whole lifestyle. The scheme is designed to help reduce the impact of your home's annual carbon emissions, and is calculated using your home's energy usage as well as the number of flights and car journeys you make per year


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