Both Dong Energy and SEE have launched new green energy supply products aimed at helping businesses adopt clean energy and lower their reported emissions.
SSE Green, provided by SSE Business Energy, is aimed at supporting large industrial and commercial operations in the UK manage their Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG). The company will supply renewable energy matched to Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origins (REGOs), certifying that the purchased electricity has been generated exclusively through SSE’s portfolio of wind and hydro assets.
Meanwhile, DONG Energy is offering to supply 100% renewable energy from its offshore wind portfolio at no additional cost to energy from traditional sources. This means the Danish firm will cover the additional costs associated with adopting renewable energy, allowing firms to go green without the commercial disadvantage of higher energy costs.
Jeff Whittingham, managing director of DONG Energy sales, said: “We are taking this bold step because we believe that all businesses should have access to renewable electricity supply without paying a premium.
“If we are to embrace a truly sustainable energy future, we will need to take an integrated and forward-thinking approach to energy. One part of this is putting renewable electricity on an equal footing with traditional ‘brown energy’ sources.”
Following the removal of an exemption from the Climate Change Levy for renewable energy, demand among businesses has fallen which in turn has driven up the cost of clean electricity at a time when it had been selling at similar levels to other forms.
DONG Energy says REGOs now carry a higher value in the market and have led to renewable energy selling at a premium to businesses able to pay for the corporate responsibility benefits of such purchases.
The company says all businesses should have access to clean energy without incurring additional costs, particularly when the cost of doing business is already high.
“We are making this announcement at a time of tight budgets and fierce competition for businesses of all types and sizes that are under growing pressure to reduce carbon emissions and develop a sustainable business,” Whittingham added.
“It is also a time when cost is key and the additional financial burden of buying renewable energy might be difficult for some companies to justify on a commercial basis. We believe that by making this investment on behalf of UK companies, we can help to bring businesses one step closer to a sustainable energy future.”
The addition of new green supply products from DONG Energy and SSE is the latest indication of the growing green utility market, which is already experiencing fierce competition. Good Energy announced at the beginning of April that it would challenge rival supplier Ecotricity’s claim that it offered Britain’s ‘greenest tariffs’.
