The term green electricity is used to describe electricity generated from renewable sources such as wind, wave and solar power which, have less impact than fossil fuels create far less pollution and are infinitely renewable. So this also includes other non-fossil and non-nuclear sources such as tidal power, geothermal, biomass, biogas, landfill gas and energy from waste.
By 2010, legislation will require all suppliers to buy 10% of their electricity from renewable sources. They will also need to provide other information related to emissions and radioactive waste.
Changing to a greener supplier
Changing to a green energy supplier is easy. You won’t need a new meter, wiring or anything else and will receive exactly the same service through the National Grid as before. This is because all suppliers feed the Grid, making it impossible to say how any particular units of electricity were generated.
However, green energy companies who offer a 100% renewable energy guarantee, buy as much electricity from renewable sources as they supply to their customers. (But note, some companies offer combination schemes where they guarantee to buy some electricity from renewable sources and also put money into green energy funds).
Even when changing to a green supplier, the aim should still be to use less energy in the home so that companies need to generate less.
