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How does Greenswitch work? Your money is used to buy clean renewable energy from sources such as sun, wind, water and waste. This energy is fed into the electricity grid to replace the power you take out. Normally this would be replaced with energy from fossil fuels.
Compared to fossil fuels such as coal and oil, renewable energy is easily replenished. It also creates fewer emissions that lead to global warming and affect our health.Will I get a discount from the money I pay to my retailer No. The money which you pay through GreenSwitch is only the difference between the cost of standard fossil power and Green Power. The generator also gets a payment through the wholesale market when the power is fed into the grid. Unfortunately as of this time renewable energy is more expensive to produce than fossil power.Do I have to change my energy retailer? No. Payments for renewable energy are made on the basis that you pay for energy to be fed into the grid to replace what you take out. If renewable power is not fed into the grid to cover your usage then it would need to be replaced with CO2 producing fossil power.
Why do I have to pay extra to do the right thing by the environment? At present renewable energy costs more to produce than coal or gas fired power. However the more that customers specify Green Power the larger and more viable the industry will become making renewable energy cheaper.Are all renewable energy sources the same? All generation will have some impact, whether it be visual, social, political or disturbance to native fauna. GreenSwitch does not see its role as an advocate of any particular type of renewable power, but hopes to encourage users to form their own opinions.
Who is behind Greenswitch GreenSwitch is a business unit of the not-for-profit Global Green Plan environmental organisation.Does purchasing GreenSwitch allow us to display the Green Power logo on our premises or products. In most cases Yes. The criteria for displaying the Green Power logo is controlled by the Green Power authority and can be found at their website link. Green Power Authority WebsiteI'm confused by how GreenSwitch and Green Power in general works. Perhaps the easiest way to imagine it, is to think of the national energy grid as a large lake. This lake is surrounded by houses and also by sources of water (rivers streams etc.). When your house draws water from the lake (grid) it lowers the water level and the water pressure (voltage) available to the houses. We can refill the lake from any of the sources but some have less long term environmental effects than others. These renewable sources are similar to the Green Power generators but they cost more to access and require a greater payment than the other less environmentally friendly alternatives. By paying the extra money through a Green Power provider such as GreenSwitch the lake is replenished through the renewable source therefore removing the requirement to refill from the non renewable source.By keeping my current retailer and also paying GreenSwitch, am I not paying twice for electricity? No. Because renewable power costs more to generate, Green Power generators receive two payments for the electricity they produce. One from the Green Power provider through Green Power sales and the other through the standard power charges that your grid retailer pays via the National Energy Market . |
