Green Power labels and Energy Efficiency

A work report by Clean-E

Green Power labels aim at stimulating clean electricity production. However the cleanest kilowatt-hour that can be produced is, in fact, the kilowatt-hour that does not have to be produced. Consequently integrating energy efficiency investments in Green Power labelling systems seems a logical step to focus upon.

Clean-E (Clean Energy Network for Europe) is investigating how this integration can be executed. In November 2006, it published a work report on this topic entitled Options for the integration of energy end-use efficiency and energy services into green power products and labels.

Extra cost paid back

The primary thesis is that the supplement paid by customers for green electricity can be used to finance energy efficiency activities. Those activities may be implemented in the customers’ own installations or not. In the former case, the resulting reduction in electricity consumption will eventually offset the extra cost of green electricity.

Bollino Verde will be guinea pig

According to Clean-E, customer acceptance must be investigated before offering these kinds of programmes to consumers. It is essential that consumers are to fully understand and embrace the concept.

The Italian labelling body Bollino Verde will conduct a first practical test of the concept worked out on paper by Clean-E.

Assuring additionality

Clean-E sees the integration of energy services as a third way to assure the additionality of green power labels; that is, the amount to which those labels lead to additional environmentally friendliness of electricity production. The other two ways are:

• Expanding green power generation over and above the baseline defined by existing sources and public support
• Reducing the environmental impact of existing green power plants on top of legislation