The importance of locally generated energy
At Good Energy we’re always talking about being local – we’ve included it in our guide to becoming eco-friendly, and we love telling our customers that they’re an average of 3.86 miles away from one of our renewable generators. But perhaps we haven’t always been clear on exactly why choosing local is best when it comes to choosing an energy supplier.
Simply put – there are lots of reasons to choose local energy! If you’re someone who wants to support the creation of a better, more sustainable future, then local is part of the solution. Let’s look at why…
1) Local provides energy security
This really is key. With our uncertain future in the face of Brexit, being able to rely on businesses and service providers within the UK helps give us more stability as a country. This can be expensive, and the ease of which we can buy in energy from different countries can fluctuate with changing world relations.
Local, renewable energy generated in the UK protects and futureproofs our energy needs as a country. At Good Energy, we only buy power from the UK energy market – from small independent generators from Cornwall to Conwy. We buy directly from the generators themselves too, guaranteeing not only that our energy is the real green deal, but also giving these small generators an income from their work that they can put back into their local economy.
2) Local energy builds infrastructure and increases output
In the case of renewable electricity, increased investment in local areas means that it’s likely that there will be more development for increased capacity – either through enhanced generation or energy storage. This has a knock-on effect, increasing the renewable generation capacity within the UK as a whole. Imagine that each community project or business was able to increase their generation infrastructure enough to have even a 5% increase in annual output, the impact on the total renewable mix within the UK would be colossal.
With the much-welcomed announcement that the UK will be moving away from fossil fuel powered cars by 2040, there’s going to be a greater demand for electricity with the growth in electric vehicle usage. Increased investment and generation in renewables can help to maintain a stable and renewable National Grid going forward.
3) Local requires less transportation
There’s an environmental and economic cost associated with transporting goods, that’s true whether you’re buying energy or eggs. A fair amount of energy is required to ship barrels of oil from Russia, for example, and that has an environmental and cost impact.
Many of us are thinking smarter about where our food comes from, checking the labels on produce to see whether it’s locally grown or if it has a massive carbon footprint having been imported from Brazil. So let’s apply that same logic to buying energy!
By using a local supplier you can actively choose to eliminate some of the environmental cost, reducing your carbon footprint and sometimes even getting a cheaper deal.
At Good Energy we don’t import fuels from abroad, all of our electricity has been generated right here in Great Britain using wind, sun and rain. We use hundreds of renewable generators around the UK with a wide range of renewable generation methods to provide a balanced and inclusive portfolio to help match our customers’ demands.
4) Local creates more jobs
Investing in local communities and businesses, whether it’s for renewable generation or not, means that they’ll have more opportunity to grow and expand. This creates more jobs, more opportunities and encourages greater development within the local community. While this is excellent for the local economy, it can lead to much larger changes on a national or international level, and increase opportunities for social mobility.
Take Good Energy as an example – we’re based in the small Wiltshire market town of Chippenham and we have our very own call centre here too. This means that if you want to update your account, call about an issue or make a payment over the phone your call stays in the UK and the person answering it is being paid the real Living Wage to make sure your problem is sorted as quickly as possible. This isn’t the case with all energy suppliers.
5) Local ensures a fair price is paid
Cheaper isn’t always better. In a race to the bottom line, everyone gets hurt. By choosing local and deciding to pay a fair price for the product that you’re purchasing, you’re making a statement. You’re saying that you care about how your electricity is generated. You care about where your electricity comes from. You care that renewables have a future, and that the future is sustainable, secure and supportive of the individuals involved in generating it.
If you care where your electricity comes from, choose Good Energy!
