Bristol environmental charity The Soil Association is demonstrating its commitment to a more sustainable future by signing up to a groundbreaking new way of sourcing its energy.
The charity, which is developing natural solutions to some of today’s biggest environmental and health challenges, has become one of renewable electricity firm Good Energy’s first business customers to use the scheme to provide unprecedented levels of detail on how its power is matched on an hourly basis with renewable sources such as solar farms.
This information helps businesses understand how their power is generated and simplifies carbon reporting by providing game-changing levels of transparency – vital in the fight against ‘greenwashing’.
Chippenham-headquartered Good Energy is the first UK energy supplier to share hourly energy matching data with its larger business customers.
These customers use an online platform, provided in partnership with French clean energy software provider Granular Energy, to see which generators are supplying their renewable electricity.
Daily, weekly and monthly trends show when their matching is highest, allowing businesses to slash their carbon emissions by shifting their usage to times of higher renewable power generationz
The platform also shows when more power is being used than expected, avoiding inefficiencies and saving money.
The Soil Association, which seeks to help people understand the provenance of the food and products they buy so they can make more sustainable choices, said hourly matching enabled it to take the same approach with how it sources its energy.
Soil Association head of PR, Pete Williams, said: “We’re always trying to connect people with the source of their food and where their products are coming from, in the same way Good Energy are showing us exactly who’s helping to produce our energy.
“Many people say they feel powerless in the face of climate change, but we all make choices, not matter how small, that can have a benefit.
“And when you look across business, communities and individuals, choosing renewable energy adds up to a massive difference.”
Good Energy has been supplying renewable electricity for almost 25 years, sourced from a UK network of 2,000 solar farms, wind farms, hydroelectric schemes and other projects.
Chief executive Nigel Pocklington said: “To build a zero-carbon grid that’s free from polluting and expensive fossil fuels, we have to get better at using renewable electricity as it’s generated and storing it for when it’s needed.
“Hourly matching provides business owners with truly transparent insights into how they’re powering their operations and how they can be more sustainable.
“It’s the future of renewable energy use in the UK and will play a key role in supporting the transition to a cleaner and greener economy.”
