Which? names Ecotricity as a top Eco Provider
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皇冠体育app鈥檙e delighted to reveal that consumer champion Which? has chosen Ecotricity as one of only three energy companies deserving of their
Which? looked at 40 energy suppliers and assessed them based on:
鈥� The amount of power they generate or buy directly from green generators
鈥� How much of the electricity they sell is renewable
鈥� Whether they match customers鈥� energy use with renewable power
鈥� Whether they use carbon intensive power like electricity generated from fossil fuels
鈥� How much green gas they sell
鈥� Their transparency 鈥� are they open on their website about their energy sources?
鈥�Our Eco Providers are long-standing sustainable frontrunners鈥� 鈥�
Building new sources of green energy
Which? placed particular importance on how much green power a supplier generates themselves, or buys directly from green generators.
It鈥檚 a key question. For energy companies, the only kind of action that makes a genuine difference in the fight against climate change is building new sources of green power. Anything else is just fudging around the issue.
皇冠体育app鈥檝e always done this - we call it turning bills into mills. This was directly recognised by Which? who noted that Ecotricity 鈥減uts customers鈥� money towards building new renewable generation.鈥�
皇冠体育app鈥檙e always conscious of the fact that it鈥檚 our customers who make all this possible. 皇冠体育app have a responsibility to choose projects that will make the biggest impact in creating a green Britain.
That鈥檚 why, right now, we鈥檙e building two large solar parks next to two of our existing wind parks in Leicestershire and Devon, using the latest bifacial technology. 皇冠体育app鈥檙e also installing our first grid-scale battery, to store green energy for when it鈥檚 most needed.
Next year, we鈥檒l be bringing the first ever geothermal energy to Britain, generating electricity from hot rocks deep under Cornwall. 皇冠体育app鈥檙e also building the country鈥檚 first green gas mill near Reading - this will make enough green gas for 4,000 homes, using grass as a feedstock.
Let鈥檚 end greenwashing
Choosing a green energy supplier isn鈥檛 always simple because it can be a murky business. Greenwashing 鈥� claiming something is greener than it really is 鈥� has become so widespread in the energy market that the regulator OFGEM is considering taking steps to control it, and we hope they do.
Which? says: 鈥淚t鈥檚 so murky that the government department BEIS has called for evidence to 鈥榚xplore the extent of 鈥�greenwashing鈥� in the energy sector鈥�. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published new guidelines on making environmental claims too.鈥�
If you choose green energy for your home or business, you might expect that the money you pay would go towards increasing the amount of renewable power in the National Grid. That isn鈥檛 necessarily happening right now. Certificates called REGOs (鈥淩enewable Energy Guarantees of Origin鈥�) can be used to make energy sound greener than it really is.
The problem with REGOs
For each unit of green energy made, a REGO is issued, like a birth certificate. However, REGOs can be detached from the green energy itself and sold separately. This becomes a problem if trading green certificates is all a supplier does. About 50p spent on certificates will cover a typical household鈥檚 energy for a whole year, but the energy actually supplied to the house could come from any source.
鈥�The Committee on Climate Change said that unbundling REGOs from power 鈥榗ould mean that the supplier of the green tariff is not actually purchasing renewable electricity, but it鈥檚 simply purchasing the certificate鈥欌€� 鈥�
Some companies buy green energy along with REGO certificates from generators and supply it to their customers. This is better. However, the energy is typically from a source that鈥檚 already been built. It already exists and is part of the national supply. When one company buys it, another one loses it 鈥� it鈥檚 a transfer of existing green energy.
Trading green energy and certificates does have a role to play, as creating demand for them increases the value of green energy, and incentivises more sources of it. Ultimately though, to directly make a difference, trading has to be combined with actually building new sources of green energy, as that is the only activity that moves the dial.
As Britain鈥檚 greenest energy company, we鈥檙e aware that we need to walk the walk. 皇冠体育app鈥檙e always transparent about where our energy comes from - something Which? recognised with full marks for this section of their analysis.
Sustainability is there in everything we do and we鈥檙e aiming to be carbon neutral by 2025, while continuing to build more green energy sources.
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