We take the sun, wind and water, and turn them into power
Why renewable energy?
Generating solar, wind and hydro power doesn’t release any CO2 (the greenhouse gas that’s to blame for global warming). As long as the sun keeps shining, the wind keeps blowing, and the currents keep flowing, there will always be a source of energy.
What’s the alternative?
The alternative to renewable energy involves getting power from burning dirty fossil fuels, which is how the world has been powered since the days of the Industrial Revolution. Coal and oil aren’t just outdated, they’re fossils in every sense of the word - the ancient remains of plants, algae and animals that were put under immense heat and pressure for millions of years. These fossil fuels hold a huge amount of trapped carbon, which is released into the atmosphere when they’re burned. That increase in CO2 creates a warmer planet, leading to extreme weather events and rising sea levels.
Last year, we committed to providing even greener energy - switching all our customers to 100% renewable electricity, at no additional cost. This is heaps more green than the 37.9% national average:
| Fuel
|
Octopus
|
National Average
|
| Coal |
0% |
3.9% |
| Natural gas |
0% |
39.4% |
| Nuclear |
0% |
16.6% |
| Renewables |
100% |
37.9% |
| Other |
0% |
2.2% |
| Total |
100% |
100% |
Source: Ofgem, 1st April ’19 to 31st March '20
How does the renewable energy supply chain work?
In a nutshell, renewable energy is generated and then added to the national grid, where it is mixed with energy from other sources. Finally, this mix is piped out to houses and businesses all over the UK.
It’s important to remember that when you sign up with a renewable energy supplier, they don’t pump green energy through a separate ‘green grid’ straight to your home. Instead, your money goes towards sending more green energy into grid, ensuring that the UK’s energy mix gets greener overall. By choosing Octopus Energy, you are essentially choosing to invest in renewable generation.
On any Octopus electricity tariff...
For every kWh of electricity we supply, we pump extra investment into renewable generation by buying REGO certificates to match (more about that later), as well as buying power directly from UK green generators for about 10% of the energy we supply. At the same time, our sister company Octopus Renewables, (Europe’s biggest investor in solar power), also generates mountains of new renewable power and adds that to the grid.
If you’re on our Super Green Octopus tariff…
We’ll do all of the above, and make the gas you use carbon neutral by supporting various renewable energy-based projects at home and abroad. We do this with the help of Brighton-based renewable charity, Renewable World.
If you’re on our brand new Co-op Community Energy tariff…
100% of the electricity that we supply on your behalf will come from community-based renewable energy projects across the country. We currently source energy from 79 sites like this, entirely owned and run by green-minded UK communities. The profits they make from selling their power to us – to you – goes towards creating more community-based renewable energy projects and other local environmental initiatives.
What kind of green energy are we investing in?
For every kWh of electricity you use, we buy that same amount of energy from the market alongside renewable energy ‘REGO’ certificates. On top of Octopus Renewables’ contribution, and our community energy project with Co-op, these certificates go directly to supporting UK renewable energy generation.
Though the specific amounts do vary, here's a breakdown of the different types of renewable generation we invest in:
Going beyond renewable generation
Octopus Energy is leading the industry when it comes to developing ‘smart technology’ to help build a more sustainable way of supplying, generating, using energy. The push-and-pull network of tomorrow will be ‘balanced’, allowing us to make the most of the renewable energy we generate, and helping to provide some much needed flexibility in the energy industry.
Read more about our green works
For a detailed explanation of all things we are doing to drive a green energy revolution, check out this blog, which covers all the things that make Octopus Energy so very green.
This blog shows what Octopus Renewables (our sister company) have recently been doing to advance renewable generation in the UK.
Find out how Agile Octopus, the world's first time-of-use energy tariff, is helping the UK maximise the potential of clean energy, allowing customers to get renewable energy especially cheap when there's plenty of it on the grid, and it might otherwise go to waste.
And, why not learn how we've paired our Agile tariff with smart tech to allow customers to use up all those clean energy electrons without ever having to think about it.
We're on a mission to bring low-carbon transport to the UK - if you think you could switch to a car that doesn't pollute the earth (or your lungs), it might be time to give our friends at Octopus Electric Vehicles a call.
Find out how we joined forces with pop stars, MPs, and Blue Peter gardeners to plant nearly 2,000 trees in schools and community spaces across the UK in support of the United Nations Environment Programme's BreatheLife campaign.
Read about how we've paired up with Renewable World to make sure our very greenest customers have even less of a carbon footprint by offsetting the carbon emissions of their natural gas usage through renewable energy projects around the world.
And there's plenty more. Just head to our blog to read about everything from solar storage to tree planting to our green partnership with Arsenal FC.
