Did you know that a quarter of your personal carbon footprint is caused by Electricity and heat (i.e. heating and hot water)? A lot of CO2 can be saved by using green energy.
Green electricity is produced from renewable sources. These include wind and hydropower plants, solar power and biogas plants. Conventional electricity, on the other hand, is generated from fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) or nuclear power. I don't need to emphasize that the latter is harmful to the environment. But let's start from the beginning!
This is how we get the electricity
The Federal Environment Agency described it in a very understandable way: “You can visualize it like a large water basin: There are various inflows that fill it and also various outflows through which the water is taken directly from the basin. This means that “mixed” electricity is always distributed via the power grid. There is no physical distinction between one kilowatt hour (kWh) of green electricity and one kWh of nuclear electricity. The ecological difference is not in the product itself, but in the manufacturing method. "
Wow, I wasn't even aware of that before. So electricity is electricity. So why should I use green electricity if it is ultimately mixed with electricity from fossil fuels anyway? Quite simply: the more people use green electricity, the better. Because this changes the entire electricity mix. So if the majority of people get sustainable electricity from environmentally friendly sources such as wind turbines or solar, that is better for the environment.
How do I recognize real green electricity?
But be careful: not all green electricity is the same. Conventional providers such as RWE, E.ON or Vattenfall advertise with green electricity, but at the same time also feed electricity that is obtained from hard coal or nuclear energy into the water basin. That calls for greenwashing and reminds me of the meat producers who have now realized how much additional money can be made through vegetarian and vegan meat substitute products.
If you want to be completely correct here, you should pay attention to the following when choosing the provider:
1. Pure provider of green electricity
As already mentioned, providers can offer conventional electricity in addition to green electricity. How honest you mean it with the offer remains questionable. Therefore, you should rely on a provider that only supplies green electricity.
2. Green electricity label
The electricity price always includes the EEG levy (Renewable Energy Act). It is used to finance the expansion of renewable energies. However, the planned expansion is not enough. It is therefore important to support the energy transition beyond this EEG surcharge. You can tell whether the provider does this, for example, from the Grüner Strom label.
3. Origin of the green electricity
Does the information say where the provider gets the green electricity from? If not, then it is better to keep your hands off it, because by buying certificates, gray electricity (electricity of unknown origin or also from fossil production) can be washed green.
The green electricity provider Polarstern
One provider from whom green electricity can be obtained without hesitation is Polarstern . There is no large corporation behind the provider that renders its pockets through greenwashing. The provider is independent of coal and nuclear power plants and only offers 100% green energy. And not only with electricity, but also with heat, which is an absolute specialty in the energy market.
Because it is important not only in Germany to advance the energy transition, but all over the world, Polarstern invests 20 euros per year for each of its customers in the expansion of renewable energies in Cambodia and Madagascar. In Cambodia, the money is being used to build biogas plants made of bricks and clay and operated with animal dung. And in Madagascar there are large solar systems for entire villages that make WiFi and electricity possible.
