3 procurement principles for a truly renewable electricity supply
In August 2023, the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) published a list of principles for businesses to look out for to guarantee they are getting a truly renewable electricity supply.
In this article, we take a look at the principles, and evidence how Good Energy meets every single one.
1. Renewable
According to the UKGBC, energy suppliers should match 100% of the electricity imported from the grid with REGOs from UK generators. They should buy these coupled to prevent double counting, and REGOs should be retired.
At Good Energy, we buy our 100% renewable electricity directly (via PPA) from a community of over 2,000 independent renewable generators – covering solar, wind, AD and hydro.
We purchase REGOs alongside the electricity, and we ensure that the full value of the REGO is passed onto the generator. All REGOs are retired by us to prevent greenwashing.
No fossil fuel generation is included in Good Energy’s fuel mix.
We have been the top rated Which? Eco Provider for Energy for three years running. Our tariffs have also been accredited as Uswitch Green Tariff Gold Standard since the scheme launched in 2019.
2. Additionality
According to the UKGBC, electricity procurement should lead to the creation of new, additional renewable generation to drive a net change in emissions at a system level. Energy suppliers should qualify how they are meeting the principle of additionality in their operations, through investment in additional or repowered renewable capacity, storage, or Research and Development.
At Good Energy, we purchase our power from small scale renewable generators, providing a route to market for developers of decentralised energy. These generators are located on the distribution network closer to where electricity is being used and are essential to a net zero electricity system.
Between October 2022 and September 2023, two thirds of the PPAs we’ve signed have been with ‘new connections’ – new generators who are adding to the amount of renewable electricity supplying the grid.
Good Energy is a registered installer of solar panels and battery storage, working with both domestic and commercial customers.
We offer very competitive export tariffs for generators of all sizes, helping to make renewable energy generation a sensible financial choice, as well as an environmental one.
3. Time matched
According to UKGBC, most renewable electricity products currently match demand with supply on an annual basis. This leaves consumers exposed to a proportion of fossil fuels from the grid during periods of higher demand and lower generation output.
Energy suppliers should support consumers to maximise their time matched percentage, helping them to be more confident that they are receiving renewable electricity and driving demand for flexible renewable generation technologies.
At Good Energy we match over 90% of our total customer electricity usage with renewable generation on an hourly basis. 2023 is currently tracking at 95% real time matching.
We have just launched an Hourly Matching platform for large businesses, to show where their renewable power comes from for every hour of the day. Customers that use the platform receive clear data on their hourly energy usage for multiple sites and the percentage matched directly to our renewable generators. This makes carbon reporting easy and proves the electricity is 100% greenwash free.
Watch how we match the power used by inland surf destination, The Wave, with our generator community.
