UK firms buy ‘green energy’ proof from Europe but burn fossil fuel

By Paul Homewood

UK energy providers have turned to Eastern Europe to buy cheap green energy certificates that let them claim they provide 100pc renewable energy while continuing to rely on fossil fuels.

Such schemes are known in the industry as “dirty REGOs”, in reference to watchdog Ofgem’s Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) plan.

Under current government rules, suppliers can claim to sell 100pc clean electricity by purchasing REGO certificates from renewable generators such as wind farms.

So instead of paying for clean energy from the renewable sources, companies are buying paper certificates equivalent to a unit of green energy.

These certificates let firms market their tariffs as completely green, when they might actually be buying electricity from a coal-fired power station.

Now, industry insiders say that instead of buying these certificates from UK renewable generators, energy suppliers are purchasing them from Lithuania, the cheapest market for REGOs in the EU.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/01/11/uk-firms-buy-green-energy-proof-europe-burn-fossil-fuel/

I have long argued that “green energy” deals are little more than a scam, and that, no matter how many customers sign up for them, the amount of renewable electricity generated in the UK remains the same.

Most companies offering such deals merely shuffle bits of paper around, instead of actually buying renewable energy. Now we learn that some of these bits of paper come from countries like Lithuania.

Still, if it makes Guardian readers feel better!