green energy myths

Richard_Wiggs

I heard conflicting information about green energy, does it all come from the same place as the big boys have told me,so paying a premium for a green supply is a waste of money.
We are happy to pay that premium IF the supply is green and environmentally friendly, as we only have one planet to cal home ?

May be this is something Martin Lewis could do a piece about, digging down to the truth of green

System

Richard_Wiggs wrote: »

I heard conflicting information about green energy, does it all come from the same place as the big boys have told me,so paying a premium for a green supply is a waste of money.
We are happy to pay that premium IF the supply is green and environmentally friendly, as we only have one planet to cal home ?

May be this is something Martin Lewis could do a piece about, digging down to the truth of green

No it doesn’t all come from the same place. Some comes off my roof, as I do not use all the PV Solar energy that my roof produces. Suppliers have various green wholesale sources. Some buy from wind turbine generators or PV solar farms. Some produce their own green energy. When you buy green energy from a supplier all they are guaranteeing is that if you use 3000kWhs/year, the supplier will purchase 3000kWhs from a green supplier/source that will be entered into the Grid. There is no guarantee that if you pay for green energy that any energy that you use is actually green in origin.

Cardew

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy-efficiency/switching-utilities/buying-green-electricity

How green are green tariffs?

• There is a lot of debate around whether buying electricity from a green tariff means that your electricity is 100% renewable. All renewable electricity generated is connected to the grid, along with all the non-renewable generation, and we all draw electricity from that same pool. The carbon content of mains electricity is calculated on this basis, so it is not possible for one user to claim they are using carbon free electricity based on their electricity supplier.
• Green tariffs are no substitute for energy efficiency and you should always do whatever you reasonably can to reduce your current use of electricity and other fuels before considering spending money on a green tariff.

Energy Saving Trust does not recommend specific suppliers of green tariffs.

Cardew

Hengus wrote: »

No it doesn’t all come from the same place. Some comes off my roof, as I do not use all the PV Solar energy that my roof produces. Suppliers have various green wholesale sources. Some buy from wind turbine generators or PV solar farms. Some produce their own green energy. When you buy green energy from a supplier all they are guaranteeing is that if you use 3000kWhs/year, the supplier will purchase 3000kWhs from a green supplier/source that will be entered into the Grid. There is no guarantee that if you pay for green energy that any energy that you use is actually green in origin.

I still don't know how this works.

Take the excess PV electricity from your roof. You are paid the FIT(subsidy) and export price by one of the major suppliers; the smaller suppliers opt out of the scheme. These firms do not know how much electricity you export so pay you for an assumed 50% of your total generation.

NigeWick

Richard_Wiggs wrote: »

We are happy to pay that premium IF the supply is green and environmentally friendly, as we only have one planet to cal home ?

I know 98% of my electricity is green because it comes from my roof. The other 2% comes from a company that offers green electricity, plus a two year subscription to an EV charging network that also offers renewable electricity.

It all depends on how much one can afford to pay to be green. I can afford to be an early adopter and have solar panels, a battery and electric vehicle. I believe that the prices of solar, batteries and EVs will come down quite rapidly as more people buy these things. I have also put my name down for a Vehicle to Grid smart charging trial where I could import electricity when it's cheap and export to the grid when it is expensive. The benefits are that I can get paid for providing electricity at peak times earning me a bit of cash, and, there will be less need of expensive fossil burning electricity generation at those peak times.

Cardew

NigeWick wrote: »

I have also put my name down for a Vehicle to Grid smart charging trial where I could import electricity when it's cheap and export to the grid when it is expensive. The benefits are that I can get paid for providing electricity at peak times earning me a bit of cash,

Given that every 'cycle' shortens a battery's life/capacity, have you researched the savings from the export/import set against degradation of your(very expensive) battery?

Most batteries in electric vehicles are lithium-based. A lithium battery is liable to lose capacity for every full charge and discharge it undergoes, a process that’s called a cycle. The more cycles a battery does, the more it’ll degrade and lose capacity.