| How green is your green electricity? |
| Written by Ecotivity | |
 Friends
of the Earth say that the generation of electricity is the single biggest
contributor to the gas emissions that causes global warming. Swapping your energy hungry traditional light
bulbs for energy efficient ones and making sure that your electrical appliances
aren't left on standby may well cut emissions caused by electricity generation
by a couple of percent' but this saving is only a fraction of what is necessary
to prevent a global warming catastrophe. If you?re a person that is really
serious about doing your bit to help avert global warming, you should really
switch to 'green' electricity.
Here in the UK there are now around a dozen different green electricity tariffs to choose from' and whilst the electricity they promise to supply promises to be from 100% renewable sources (usually wind or hydro in the UK) some of the companies that sell green electricity have a less green side to them and are also profiting from electricity generated in coal or nuclear power stations. Fortunately, last year, the Ethical Consumer Research Association assessed the suppliers of electricity that was generated from 100% renewable sources and provided an ethiscore rating out of 20. The scoring system applied looked at the overall impact of each electricity entire operation to allow the more discerning green consumer to make the most informed decision when choosing their green power supplier. So which companies achieved the best scores: well here they are: Ecotricity , Good Energy and Green Energy UK all scored the join top score of 15. Many of the bigger electricity companies that advertise a green tariff lost out on point because their scores reflected that they also generate electricity that they sell under different tariffs from coal, gas or nuclear Power Stations. This does not mean that the electricity that the sell as green is not green, simply that they also have a less ethical face to their business.
With the smaller players winning the highest ethical ratings' what does this mean to the cost that you as a consumer will pay for switching to green tariff electricity supplied by a smaller company. If you want to avoid the bigger producers it doesn?t necessarily need to cost you more: Ecotricity, for example, say that their green tariff will cost you no more than your regional supplier of fossil fuel or nuclear produced electricity. Meaning that switching green energy is not only good for the environment also won?t cost you the earth.
Technorati tags: green electricity
          Tags: electricity co2 renewable global warming |
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