Ecotricity

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An Ecotricity wind turbine at Greenpark, Reading, England, generating green electricity for approx 1000 homes.

Ecotricity is a green energy company based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England specialising in wind power.

1 History
2 Criticism
3 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

After conducting a survey of allegedly green energy companies, The Ecologist Magazine reported that, in 2004, Ecotricity invested over £900 per customer on building new wind turbines to generate sustainable energy.^[1] That amounts to more than 100 times the amount invested per customer by Powergen, Npower and Scottish Power, who all market themselves as green energy suppliers, and compares with several other green energy suppliers who directly invest nothing in creating additional renewable energy capacity on the UK electricity grid.

Since 2004, Ecotricity's site, WhichGreen.Org, has cited Ecotricity's contribution to new green energy sources, per customer, as £117 in 2005, £275.00 in 2006 and £555.36 in 2007. With Scottish & Southern Energy, for example, averaging around £2-16 per customer in the same period.^[2]

Ecotricity was also a finalist in the 2007 Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy. The awards congratulated Ecotricity for their environmental contribution, stating that 'The company's turbines are delivering 46 GWh/year of renewable electricity and avoiding around 46,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. The installed capacity is expected to double by the end of 2007.'^{[citation needed]}

Figures dated March 2007 show increase of renewable energy on Ecotricity's standard tariff has risen to 24.1% with a further increase to 30.7% expected by 2008. This percentage is generated purely from wind turbines Ecotricity have helped to build.^[3]

Ecotricity also provide a 100% renewable Energy tariff in which other renewable energy is brought in along with the energy provided by turbines that they have helped build.^[4]

[edit] Criticism

As of August 2007, only 20.2% of energy supplied by Ecotricity comes from renewable sources. While this is higher than the UK average, ^[5] one other "green energy" company, Good Energy, sources 100% of the energy it supplies from renewable sources. However, Good Energy's historical^[6] lack of direct investment in renewable energy infrastructure has also met with criticism.^[1]