Good Energy and the Good Energy Group has gone through various forms and brand names before arriving where we are today. Here’s a brief history of the UK’s only dedicated 100% renewable electricity supplier.
We started life in 1997 as the Monkton Group, the UK-arm of a pan-European organisation, which worked to develop the demand and supply of renewable energy across Europe and encourage individuals to invest in and buy renewable energy.
In 1999 a subsidiary of the Monkton Group called Unit[e] started supplying 100% renewable electricity to homes and businesses across England, Scotland and Wales. At this time, Unit[e] was a completely new kind of energy company, providing domestic consumers with a choice and the opportunity to make a difference to help tackle climate change through buying 100% renewable electricity.
In 2002, Juliet Davenport became CEO of the Monkton Group and Unit[e] made its first share offering to the then 5000 customers. More than 600 customers bought shares in the firm, allowing the company to buy Delabole Wind Farm in Cornwall, and to further expand the business.
In 2003, Unit[e] started to be rebranded as Good Energy. The aim was to make the brand more easily recognisable and easier to spell and search for on the Internet. Today if you search for ‘good energy’ you will find us top of the list! The logo on the left was our first attempt at rebranding and we still use it occasionally to keep the Good Energy brand our own!
In 2004 Good Energy made our second share offering and raised more money to invest in the business. In the same year, Good Energy launched our HomeGen scheme to pay microgenerators for all the power they generate and use at home. Since then the scheme has won us loads of awards and national recognition as a real innovator in the sector.
In 2007 Good Energy made our third share offering, raising additional funds from customers and independent investors. This provided us with the buffer we needed to be able to grow the company to 25,000 customers and survive the rocky road of trading renewable energy. Since then both the size of and the experience within the company has meant that the job has become more and more straightforward for us.
2008 saw the launch of The Good Energy Shop, an online retailer offering advice and products to help customers become more energy efficient and reduce their carbon emissions and bills. We also launched Good Energy Gas and HotROCs, the UK’s first renewable heat incentive, We were pleased to pick up an award for HotROCs in the 2009 Sustainable Housing Awards.
Today the majority of the Group’s shareholders are also its customers. Good Energy Generation is in the process of repowering Delabole Wind Farm so that it can generate renewable electricity for even more Good Energy customers. We have also launched a website, www.generateyourown.co.uk to provide in-depth advice on generating your own renewable energy at home.
10 years is a significant milestone and we’re proud to have seen both Good Energy and the UK renewables sector come a pretty long way in that time. Here’s to the next 10 years and the really big changes on the way!
