UK Launches First Certified Supply Initiative for Renewable Energy Companies

Buying alternative electricity for your business just got more transparent in the United Kingdom. A lot of companies like to talk the talk when it comes to finding renewable energy companies to do business with, but in the U.K. they will now have the opportunity to really put their money where their mouths are. SmartestEnergy, the country's biggest purchaser of renewable electricity from the independent generation sector, is starting an initiative to make this possible in conjunction with their new Tariff Emission Factor Model, according to the environmental news source ClickGreen.org.uk. 

"A growing number of large businesses are looking to reduce their carbon footprint by buying 100% renewable electricity and we believe this energy label will support that ambition," said Robert Groves, SmartestEnergy's Chief Executive Officer. "We recognize some organisations will want to go further and specify the types of renewable electricity they buy... we can also support that." 

Developed with the support of the Carbon Trust, a not-for-dividend company that helps organisations reduce their carbon emissions and become more resource efficient, the new model allows SmartestEnergy to designate renewable energy labels for power suppliers to specific customers so that the end client will know exactly how the energy is generated originally. 

In the United States for example, the cost of generating electrons accounts for only half the cost of electricity today compared to about two-thirds in 1995 when the average cost to deliver investor-owned electricity was 7.1 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the Edison Electric Institute. 

The label will be made annually for all renewable energy companies involved, which will show prospective customers the carbon footprint of given power companies. The certification will allow these businesses to feel confident in what they're buying and they can relay the information to their potentially environmentally-minded consumers. 

"This new service from SmartestEnergy, supported by the Carbon Trust’s expertise in carbon footprinting, is providing exactly the kind of transparency required to ensure that suppliers of electricity are not contributing to double counting or under reporting of corporate emissions, by enabling certificates to be tracked and attributed to specific tariffs or customers," Groves said. 

The growth of renewable energy companies has exploded over the last decade or so with the majority of people becoming more concerned about such matters.