The GreenPower Program (the Program) is a government managed scheme that enables Australian households and businesses to displace their electricity usage with certified renewable energy, which is added to the grid on their behalf.
The Program was launched in 1997 after considerable consultation with the energy industry and various non-government organisations including the Australian Consumers Association (now Choice), Greenpeace, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
The aims of the Program are to:
Facilitate the installation of new renewable energy generators across Australia beyond mandatory requirements;
Encourage growth in consumer demand for renewable energy;
Provide consumer choice for, and increase consumer confidence in, credible renewable energy products;
Increase consumer awareness of renewable energy and greenhouse issues; and
Decrease greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity generation.
By purchasing GreenPower, households and businesses commit their GreenPower Providers to purchasing the equivalent amount of electricity from accredited renewable energy generators, which generate electricity from sources like wind, solar, water and bioenergy.
By purchasing GreenPower, customers are helping to support the renewable energy sector in Australia. This is because the GreenPower Generator not only receives the wholesale electricity price for the renewable energy it provides to the grid, but also the bulk of the small premium paid for GreenPower through the purchase of Large-scale Generation Certificates. Since 2009 more than $500 million has been invested back to generators through GreenPower purchases.
As well as driving investment in Australia’s renewable energy sector, households and businesses that purchase GreenPower are reducing their impact on the environment, because the energy they purchase has no net greenhouse gas emissions.
The majority of Australia’s electricity retailers offer certified GreenPower Products, which can be identified by the GreenPower ‘tick’ logo. Because GreenPower meets the highest environmental standards, the 'tick' logo is used to indicate the renewable energy you are purchasing is the best choice for the environment.
GreenPower can also be purchased through decoupled GreenPower Providers, which don’t supply electricity but purchase and surrender Large-scale Generation Certificates. Either way, it amounts to the same thing – more certified renewable energy is added to the grid on the customer’s behalf.
In order to ensure this is the case, the GreenPower Program organises publicly available independent auditing of GreenPower Providers’ sales and purchases each year. So, when you buy GreenPower, you know your money is being invested back into the renewable energy sector. To access quarterly reports and annual audits from GreenPower click here.
