Are all green electricity the same?
Understand the differences between Carbon-Neutral & Renewable Electricity.
Looking for the best electricity plan is pretty complicated as it is. Throw in green electricity plans into the mix, and it gets even harder to compare. Each retailer has different plans with varying degrees of ‘green’-ness, e.g. 25% renewable, 50% solar, 100% carbon-neutral, etc. Are they even green in the first place?
Let us help you sort through the confusion. But, first, let’s take a look at the different types of electricity.
Conventional Electricity
Conventional electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, releasing carbon emissions into the air. These carbon emissions trap heat in our atmosphere, causing global warming. This is obviously neither green nor sustainable. Therefore, by consuming conventional electricity, you are indirectly generating carbon emissions.
Most electricity plans in Singapore fall into this category.
Renewable Electricity
Renewable electricity is generated from renewable sources, such as solar, wind, or hydro. They are inherently carbon-free because the generation process does not emit any carbon. Thus, renewable electricity is green and sustainable.
If you want to purchase green and sustainable electricity plans from renewable sources, look out for Renewable Energy Certificates.
Renewable generators receive 1 REC for 1 megawatt-hour of clean energy that they generate and supply to the grid. Retailers will buy these RECs to match your consumption and redeem it on your behalf, so you can claim that you are using renewable electricity. You can read more about RECs in this article.
Only a handful of retailers in Singapore offers this plan, and it is usually more expensive. Some retailers try to make it more attractive by purchasing RECs for only a certain percentage of consumption, e.g. 25% renewable electricity, 50% solar power, etc.
If you are looking for affordable 100% renewable electricity, check out our price plans here.
Carbon-Neutral Electricity
Carbon-neutral electricity refers to any sort of electricity that is carbon neutral, which could mean two things:
- The electricity generation process does not emit any carbon (e.g. solar power), or
- The electricity generation process still emits carbon but uses carbon credits to reduce or offset the emission.
Most of the green electricity plans offered by retailers in Singapore are carbon-neutral. They are attractive because they are affordable and often as cheap as conventional energy.
How green are these, you ask? Let’s take a deeper look.
What is carbon credits?
A carbon credit represents the emission reduction of one metric tonne of CO2.
Buying carbon credit means investing in environmental projects that reduce carbon emissions to compensate for emissions that you generate (either directly or indirectly). Some examples of carbon offsets projects are reforestation, tree planting, carbon capture technologies, etc.
A third party validates and calculates the potential amount of CO2 that can be reduced through these carbon offset projects. Once certified, the carbon credits can be traded to balance out one’s carbon footprint.
If the amount of carbon generated from producing your electricity equals the amount of carbon credits that you purchase, it means your electricity is carbon-neutral.
The catch
If you look closely, these carbon credits do not actually generate clean electricity. It only helps to mitigate the carbon emission from electricity generation.
So, one could continue to burn fossil fuels to generate electricity and fund tree planting initiatives somewhere else in the world and market it as green electricity.
To top it off, green electricity claim is unregulated in Singapore; companies can claim they are green without adhering to any regulations. Therefore, it is up to the consumers to determine how green each electricity plans are.
Summary
So next time, if you are on the lookout for green electricity plans, you can start comparing them by asking whether they are carbon-neutral or 100% renewable. Also, check if they use carbon credits or RECs. We want to help you make a more informed decision, so you know where your money goes.
In the grand scheme of things, every little bit helps. So whether you choose to offset your carbon footprint or purchase renewable energy, it helps to slow down the rate of global warming and fight climate change.
Ultimately, picking the right electricity plan for you is determined by your budget, commitments, and priorities. However, if you want to use renewable electricity without breaking the bank, check out our offerings. We supply affordable renewable electricity, which is made possible by cutting out redundant processes, reducing overhead costs, and streamlining our operations. In addition, we will report to you on the amount of RECs we redeem on your behalf, so rest assured that your electricity supply is 100% renewable.
We believe that a more sustainable future starts from the transition towards renewable energy, and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. See how much you can save now.
