There are many different types of “Green/Renewable” energy tariffs available to customers on the UK energy market. Understanding which “green” tariff is for you can depend on what the club wishes to achieve. UK energy suppliers all publish their fuel mix, so as the user can understand where their energy is sourced. Many suppliers use “greenwashing” to offset their carbon footprint and make their energy tariffs “green”
The Energy Club is here to help you understand and explore the option of switching to a green/renewable tariff.
As these methods of producing energy are often slightly more expensive, the Energy Club can provide a simple and transparent comparison, so your club can make an informed decision as to whether a green/renewable energy tariff is for you.
See below for a brief summary of the options to help make an informed decision.
Green Energy
Renewable energy is energy created from the environment that can be replenished and has little impact on the environment. It means we aren’t relying on the burning of fossil fuels, producing greenhouse gasses and damaging the environment. Examples of these are wind power and solar power. These are less reliable than a power station, as they rely on environmental conditions in order to produce optimum levels of energy. Often suppliers using these methods of production rely on an array of production methods to ensure that they can maintain the required power levels.
Renewable Energy
This is classed as green energy as mentioned above, however not a ‘fully’ green tariff. For example hydroelectric power is not considered as a full green energy solution due to the clearing of forests and damming of rivers is seen as damaging the environment.
Clean Energy
In recent years there has been a lot of debate as to how the country can come away from the reliance of fossil fuels. With the UK striving to reduce this every year, in 2022 40.8% came from fossil fuels whereas in 2023 only 33% came from these sources. One contributing factor is the decision that nuclear energy is now classed as a “clean energy source”. The result of this is that more money is being spent on developing nuclear power stations.
Offsetting (REGO) Energy
Commonly know as carbon neutral energy a technique used by suppliers to reduce their energy carbon footprint. However, the energy is often still produced in some part with fossil fuels. The supplier purchases REGO to balance out the carbon footprint of production of the energy. This is also known as carbon offsetting or greenwashing.