Dissatisfaction with the dirty three energy retailers – Origin, AGL and EnergyAustralia – is proving common amongst participants in the MASH+ solar panels bulk-buy. The Hub Foundation is receiving a steady stream of enquiries from people who want to move to a green electricity retailer that publicly supports the Renewable Energy Target and generate all, or most, of their electricity from renewable sources.
Greenpeace has recently published ‘The Green Electricity Guide’, an independent study which they say has been developed to “help inform Australians about which electricity retailers really are as ‘green’ as they say they are.”
“Up till recently, Australians concerned about where their electricity comes from and who is selling it haven’t had much of a choice. And in some states and territories that’s still the case, with no choice at all”, according to the Green Electricity Guide.
“But increasingly many of us have the choice to purchase from a range of electricity retailers with very different environmental credentials. There is a growing difference between the old retailers which still remain dominant and rely on burning fossil fuels in the power stations they own, and a newer breed of more forward-looking companies that are providing cleaner energy in smarter ways.”
Here in Victoria, we are fortunate to have the greatest choice of green electricity retailers. The top four green retailers in Victoria, as identified in the Green Electricity Guide, are:
- #1 Powershop
- #2 Diamond Energy
- #3 Momentum
- #4 Red Energy
The seven criteria that all retailers were ranked on can be viewed here, they are:
- Investment in renewable energy
- Emissions intensity
- Greenpower options
- Whether they offer a good deal for solar
- Position on Australia’s Renewable Energy Target
- Coal seam gas investments
- Whether they are prepared to rule out purchasing electricity generated from burning native forest vegetation
The electricity companies that get a green rating in this report receive high scores on most of the above 7 criteria. “They typically generate all or most of their electricity from renewable sources, do not invest in or undertake coal seam gas activities, do not burn native forests for electricity generation and mostly are advocates of expanding Australia’s Renewable Energy Target”, according to Green Electricity Guide.
