What’s involved?
Many of us don't realise that more than 80% of our electricity is generated by burning coal. This creates greenhouse gas pollution that is contributing to the overheating of the Earth - commonly known as global warming (or climate change).
If all Australians switched to clean, renewable energy (Green Power) today, Australia's total greenhouse pollution would be cut by 30%. That's the equivalent of more than 40 million cars!
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+What is Green Power+
The "Green Power site":http://greenpower.gov.au defines Green power as: "government accredited clean, renewable energy sourced from the sun, the wind, water and waste. Green Power reduces greenhouse pollution and is purchased on your behalf by your electricity company."
Green Power is delivered to your house in the same way as your existing electricity. There are no special adapters to use and no special equipment to install. All you need to do is contact your electricity supplier and ask about their Green Power options.
+How much does it cost?+
Green Power costs a bit more than standard "black" power (power generated from burning coal). How much more depends on a number of factors, including your provider, where you live, whether or how much of your electricity is off-peak, and how much Green Power you purchase.
You can usually choose how much Green Power you want as a percentage of your total electricity usage - a range of 10% (i.e. 10% Green Power/90% "black" power) and 100% Green Power (i.e. no "black" power) is available.
All this might sound a bit confusing, but if you are thinking of switching to Green Power, you can usually get an estimate on how much more your bill will be by calling your electricity provider and asking them about your options and what the extra costs would be.
Some suppliers offer Green Power for as little as $1 extra a week. Be sure to shop around - there may be a number of different electricity providers that service your area. It's fairly easy to make the switch.
You can also save $$ by "conserving electricity":http://www.actnow.com.au/Action/Sustainable_energy_ACTION.aspx which will help keep the cost of switching to a minimum.
+What if I can't afford 100% Green Power?+
If you can't afford 100% Green Power straight away, you can still make a difference by switching your home power across to Green Power - using even 10% Green Power makes a difference.
Every bit of power we get from renewable energy not only helps the environment through less emissions, it also helps to support the companies that are doing the right thing and encourages other companies to start moving towards renewable energy sources.
+How do I switch to Green Power?+
Green Power is delivered to your house or office in the same way as your existing electricity - all you need to do is contact your electricity supplier and ask about their 'accredited Green Power' options. But be sure to shop around - there may be a number of different electricity providers that service your area.
The Green Power site has a "list of accredited providers":http://www.greenpower.gov.au/pages/Home-Who-Sells.php . WWF-Australia has a "similar list":http://wwf.org.au/ourwork/climatechange/greenpower/ that includes links to each of the website pages related to the provider's Green Power products - which can save a bit of search time.
When you are shopping around, keep your last few bills handy so that you can tell the salesperson the kilowatt hours (a measure of how much electricity you use) from your bill.
If you're connecting your electricity for the first time (or you threw out your bills) see if you can get the details from the bill from a friend who lives in a similar size household.
+How do I know that my electricity provider is the "real deal"?+
Some electricity suppliers offer both accredited and non-accredited 'green' products. You may have read in the news that some of these options are not as green as others. How do you tell which ones are good, and which aren't?
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The easiest way to tell is to make sure that the options you are looking at are 'accredited Green Power' - also recognisable by the Green Power 'tick of approval'.
Accredited Green Power is power that has been certified by the Australian government to be "renewable energy sourced from the sun, the wind, water and waste".
+Your say+
If you are thinking of, or in the process of switching to Green Power, please leave a comment on this action if you run into any issues or have any questions.
+Related Links+
Some of these are mentioned above, but for quick reference:
"The Green Power website":http://greenpower.gov.au/
The official government website on Green Power.
"Power to Change":http://powertochange.com.au/
The Power to Change campaign is raising awareness about climate change and Green Power, and also offers accredited Green Power to customers.
"Electricity Watch":http://cana.net.au/electricitywatch/
A review of Australia's electricity retailers carried out by the Climate Action Network Australia (CANA) - a non-profit organisation with members from green groups around Australia. They've rated Australia’s electricity retailers so you can see how they perform when it comes to Green Power.
"Accredited Green Power options":http://wwf.org.au/ourwork/climatechange/greenpower/
An up-to-date list of Green Power providers with links to provider web pages and contact phone numbers.
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© 2008. First published on actnow.com.au
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