A plug for greener energy
by Klara Pokorna
When I was asked to write an article on switching to green energy suppliers in Brighton and Hove I jumped at the chance and passionately began to investigate and research the available options. I spent hours looking at suppliers websites, scrutinizing other articles and eco-magazines and, finally, when I assumed I had all the necessary information, I sat down and thought everything seemed pretty straightforward. I was ready to write an objective and accurate article. If you’re now expecting a 'but’ you won’t be disappointed...
But...by coincidence I came across an article by Jeremy Smith and my dreams of churning out a clear easy article fell apart. There was a moment when
I thought I’d give up, and save some energy by turning off the computer and doing something else instead. But no, there has to be a way to get the bottom of the green energy questions...
From the above-mentioned author I learnt that as consumers we tend to believe anything nicely or well presented and this is a technique many energy
suppliers employ. On their websites you can calculate how much CO2 emissions you will save a year if you switch to them or their plan. They’ll proudly tell you that switching might save something like the equivalent of a jumbo jet’s worth of emissions flying from London to Miami and back. But behind all these these impressive figures, what really matters are the principles behind the company.
When choosing a energy supplier, or examining the different green supply options from companies, you should take into account where the energy is
actually coming from. Are they deeply committed to pushing renewable sources or are they just selling off their legally mandated 4.9% (sometimes just
bought from another supplier to meet government targets) - probably at a higher premium than their usual stuff (see www.electricityinfo.org). Also how do they invest their profits - and where else do their profits come from?
According to research carried out by the Ethical Consumer magazine, the three energy suppliers which come out on top for ethical practice are Ecotricity, Good Energy and Green Energy. These companies all supply green energy only. Ecotricity reinvests into development of new wind farms and Green Energy puts its profits back into small green energy generators.
At the bottom of the Ethical Consumer list were PowerGen, SeeBoard (owned by EDF Energy) and London Energy. If you’re wondering where these companies fell short, they use nuclear power and their environmental reporting and workers-rights practices seem questionable. Electricite De La France (EDF)
which owns both SeeBoard and London Energy, operates sixty nuclear power stations in France and the company is listed in Friends of The Earth’s ‘Carbon
Dinosaur’ report, whilst E.ON, which owns PowerGen, provides consulting, engineering and support services for nuclear power stations.
As you can see, as ever for us weary consumers, there’s always hidden dilemmas to be discovered and making an informed choice is never easy. In the end
all I can do is point to some of the issues and provide you with the contacts I found in order to help you make your choice.
In particular the Uswitch website is worth a look as it takes into account many useful factors such as financial situation, location, desire for green
technologies etc. In addition to electricity, you can also look into changing your gas and water supply.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the possible alternative future of electricity supply, check out www.myspace.com/newenergyconcept
for a plan to increase wind power use and www.trec-uk.org.uk for amazing stuff about the latest sun-related innovation, concentrated solar-power, which has great potential for realising some of the vast amounts of free untapped energy constantly bombarding our planet. And remember, being conscientious and saving/using none will always be greener than ‘green’ energy!
Uswitch: www.uswitch.com
Ecotricity: www.ecotricity.com or call
08000 326 100
Good Energy: www.good-energy.co.uk
or call 0845 456 1640
Green Energy: www.greenenergy.uk.com
0845 456 9550