Now that you’re up-to-date with what a green energy tariff is, we’ve compiled a concise collection of the leading energy suppliers and a who’s who of the eco-specialists on the market today.
EDF Energy
EDF’s Climate Balance tariff is for their existing customers. It works with a sense of off-setting your carbon usage: 0.42 pence per unit of electricity and 0.147 pence per unit of gas used is first matched by EDF and then contributed into a running fund to develop sustainable energy projects and offset CO2 emissions. Their Green Tariff works through a similar process: this green fund has been set up so that all-year support and investments can be made into initiatives supporting community based and educational projects, such as developing and installing microgenerational equipment (ie., solar panels and wind turbines) for schools and neighbourhood projects.
Scottish and Southern Energy
Scottish and Southern Energy have teamed up with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and concentrated their efforts to protect and support Britain’s ecology and local wildlife. When you make the switch, £10 for gas and £10 for electricity donations will be made in your name; as well as an added donation of £5 for every year you remain with the tariff.
ScottishPower
ScottishPower’s H20 tariff focuses on the renewable source of hydro-power. Every unit of electricity used by their customers will be matched by ScottishPower as they’ll generate the equivalent by using their hydro-power stations in Lanark, Galloway and Cruachan. As well as this great way of supporting local renewable power generation, ScottishPower offer another method of investing in renewable energy: their Green Energy Fund means that for a flat donation of £10.50 a year you’ll be able to support the development and day-to-day running of energy projects around the UK.
NPower
Like a lot of the leading energy suppliers, npower offers a ‘matching’ tariff, where for every unit of electricity used they’ll meet it with a unit of renewable energy to be pooled back into the National Grid. They too have a green fund set up, but they themselves will make the £10 donation in your name to help support developing renewable power schemes.
British Gas
One of the most encouraging things about British Gas is that they do not charge their customers to make the switch from a standard tariff to a green one. Plus, they guarantee to source their electricity for this tariff from a variety of renewable sources.
As well as the leading energy companies creating greener tariffs, there are also green energy companies who specialise in offering environmentally aware tariffs. Here are the leading two currently on the market place:
Ecotricity
Ensuring that their electricity is derived from renewable sources, Ecotricity are also keen investors in building, running and developing renewable sources. As well as running wind farms across the UK, in 2006 they invested £7 million in wind energy.
Good Energy
Not only do Good Energy supply 100% ‘clean’ electricity sourced from renewable energy sources – including wind, solar and hydro power – they also provide a unit by unit equivalent service which match your energy consumption and invest the amount of units back into the National Grid. On average, customers have saved two tonnes of CO2 a year and brought back their carbon footprint by about 1/3.
For more information on green energy check out the EcoSwitch comparison page onsite, or find out what it will cost you to make the switch today to a more eco-conscious tariff by clicking on the ecotricity link below.
