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Fri, 2nd Apr 2021 12:02:00 |
Green energy tariffs often 'misleading' |
Energy suppliers offering environment-friendly tariffs are not always as green as they sound, experts say.
Many "100% renewable" electricity tariffs use energy generated by fossil fuels, which is then "offset" for a small price.
Sustainable energy think tank Regen complains of "loose language and loose marketing" around green energy tariffs.
But industry body Energy UK says all renewable tariffs help to transform the grid for a low-carbon future.
The vast majority of energy suppliers now offer green tariffs and many promise 100% renewable electricity as standard.
However, some energy companies accuse others of "greenwashing" - using marketing spin to make "dirty" electricity seem clean.
"The sale of green tariffs increased remarkably in the period since 2015. In fact, it doubled between 2017 and 2018," says Rob Gross, the director of the UK Energy Research Centre.
For many consumers, electricity which is environmentally friendly plays a role in which supplier they choose.
That was the case for Su in Gainsborough, who told the Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2: "The tariff we're on at the moment has 100% renewable electricity, so they source all their energy from renewables. So wind, solar, hydro."
We explained to Su that the supplier she was with sources the majority of its electricity from the wholesale market, which includes energy generated by gas and coal.
Then it purchases cheap renewable energy certificates called REGOs to effectively "offset" this. That allows her supplier to legally call the electricity "100% renewable".
In response, Su said: "I'm not very impressed with that at all. To claim that all your energy is sourced renewably and then to do that is very misleading.
"That's not giving consumers an informed choice about where they're getting their electric from."
Johnny Gowdy is a director at Regen, a not-for-profit organisation supporting the transition to a net-zero energy future.
He says: "The good news is, there's a lot of demand for green energy products and that's why the industry is responding to that.
"So there's a success story here which has been muddied somewhat by loose language and loose marketing around green energy tariffs."
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