Green Energy Republic

Good Ownership – how our customers have helped us to grow

 

 
Most people know that Good Energy is unique because of our 100% renewable electricity fuel mix.  It’s less well known that we are also largely owned by our customers – something we’re rather proud of, and a big point of difference with other energy companies.

Since Good Energy was first founded in 1999, we’ve always listened to what our customers want – and have made some key business decisions, like launching our award-winning Homegen product, in response to their feedback.  So in 2002, when we decided to raise capital and launched our first public share offering, we were delighted that more than 600 of our customers bought shares in the company. The funds we raised enabled us to buy Delabole wind farm in Cornwall, and to further expand the business.

We made two further share offerings in 2004 and 2007, raising additional funds from the public and our growing customer base, with many customers coming back for a second bite of the cherry. This provided us with the buffer we needed to be able to grow the company to over 26,000 customers and travel the sometimes rocky road of trading renewable energy. Funds from the third share offering also provided much of the capital we needed to invest in redeveloping Delabole wind farm, to more than double its output.

To date we’ve raised £2.7 million through share offerings, and the Good Energy Group has around 1700 shareholders, some 90% of whom are also our customers.

Good Energy Group plc, is the holding company for Good Energy’s electricity and gas supply businesses, Good Energy Generation and Good Energy Shop.  Ordinary shares in Good Energy Group are listed on Plus Markets.

We’re also investigating ways in which our existing customers and local communities will be able to participate financially in our new prospective wind farm developments. We’ll be making an announcement about this soon, so watch this space

Rewarding our shareholders

 

 
In December 2010 the Board decided to give our shareholders the good news that Good Energy Group would start paying dividends, and made a first payment of 2.5 pence per ordinary share. Our chairman, John Sellers, said: “As the company continues to go from strength to strength we feel the payments of dividends should be part of our natural evolution – and that our shareholders are entitled to a cash return for supporting our mission to help the UK achieve a 100% renewable future.”

Employee partnership

 

 
As well as offering our customers the chance to invest in our business, we also want to offer the same opportunities to our staff. So we’re planning to launch a Good Energy Employee Share Scheme, giving all permanent members of staff the ability to benefit from buying shares in the company. Our CEO, Juliet Davenport said: “Good Energy wouldn’t have achieved as much as we have without the hard work and commitment of our fantastic team. So it is only right that they should be able to share in the success of the company by being able to invest in it.”

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute any form of advice, recommendation or arrangement by Good Energy and is not intended to be relied upon by you in making any specific investment or other decisions. Appropriate advice should be obtained before making any such decision. 

SHOW THE ENVIRONMENT SOME LOVE THIS VALENTINES DAY

 

 
 
Get in the mood for Valentines Day Good Energy style. Here are some top tips on how to make this year’s Valentine’s Day your greenest yet.

Get the body of Adonis/Aphrodite - Rip those muscles, firm those thighs and wow your partner with a fantastic physique by... cycling to work. Walking or cycling instead of driving will tone your body, improve your fitness, and boost your stamina, not to mention cut your carbon emissions. Did you know 25% of all carbon emissions in the UK come from transport!

The perfect ice breaker - For that special someone at work who you really fancy, car-sharing journeys each morning and night could be the ideal way to get up close and personal. It’s also a great way of cutting your commuting emissions in two.

Wine and dine - If the car-sharing tactic does the trick, why not invite your companion around for dinner? After all, the route to their heart could well be through their stomach. Cooking for two commonly generates less emissions than individually prepared meals.

Salad of love - The lettuce species Lactuca serriola has an aphrodisiac quality, a fact discovered by the ancient Egyptians. You won't find it stocked in supermarkets so why not grow it at home and add it to salads to boost your romantic desires. Home grown produce reduces emissions caused by transportation or the machinery used in industrial scale food production.

Get lathered up - Sharing a bath with your partner can be a most intimate and loving act so, turn on the taps and start bonding. 40% of your energy bill is generated from heating and hot water. Sharing a bath will save you money and cut your carbon emissions.

007 HEAVEN- It would seem that James Bond is a keen advocate of energy efficiency. He has often wooed Russian agents by insisting that, ‘We must use bodily warmth to make it through to morning'. So why don't you turn the heating down and snuggle up. By turning your thermostat down by one degree you could make a 10% saving on heating bills.

And finally…

No lights please, we're British - It may be a little unadventurous to turn the lights off on intimacy but by preserving a little modesty you may encourage the relationship to ‘blossom’. Lighting your home makes up 15% of your electricity bill so switching them off will save you cash and reduces CO2.

Exploring a German approach to windfarms

 

 
From our ‘foreign correspondent’ John Colombi

Being in the wind industry it is quite easy, without noticing it, to become a turbine spotter. Pointing out wind farms when you spot them is one thing, but naming the make, model and year installed may come across as excessively geeky, particularly when the people you are with have no idea what an E66 pitch regulated 1.5MW turbine is.

I have just embarked on a trip to Aurich, Germany to see our turbine suppliers; Enercon, at their HQ. As the journey started, I found myself looking out of the window and scanning the land below for turbines. The first came at the start of the journey, the 3 turbines at Avonmouth docks, the next some time later just as we left UK airspace in the form of a medium sized offshore site. But that was it.

As we started flying over Germany the story couldn’t have been more gloriously different. I was treated to wind farm after wind farm, of all shapes and sizes and for miles and miles around. What really struck me was that for almost every village, town, industrial estate, or farm, there was a wind farm adjacent. In fact, the scale of the wind farm seemed to fit with the scale of the settlement – more houses, more turbines. It would certainly seem that the wind farms are generating the energy where it is being consumed.

 

 
When we got to Aurich, I was in my element, everywhere you look you can see them, always well positioned, tidy and well maintained. In a single view I could see smaller, older turbines from about 15 years ago as well as Enercon’s huge new 7.5MW E126 turbine (at nearly 200m to tip, it is double the size of the new turbines at Delabole and over 3 times as powerful). And the best bit – in 2010 wind power supplied 50% of the state’s electricity.

It is obvious to see that the German people embraced onshore wind technology some time ago, and in a big way. There is a notable difference in attitude compared with the UK - people are proud and knowledgeable about the wind industry. The taxi driver who picked us up from the airport spoke enthusiastically, and at length, about wind turbines, we discussed his favourite model and he praised Enercon for what they have done for the area and for the country.

They are right to feel this way, Enercon have quite an operation here. A lot of the other main turbine manufacturers sub-contract the production of a lot of their turbine parts including blades and towers, Enercon prefer to do as much as possible themselves. In addition to their assembly facilities they also have their own foundry for making the turbine moulds and a concrete facility for their concrete tower production. They even reinstated an old railway line adjacent to their factory to allow them to transport more by rail, saving 1200 truck loads every year; brilliant.

Enercon employ around 4000 people here alone, and have other production facilities around the world. No doubt this plays a major part in people’s attitudes towards the turbines, but they don’t just tolerate them because Enercon bring employment, they actually love them and they are proud of them. It reminds me of the sort of feeling you get from the people at Delabole, the sense of pride they have for ‘their’ turbines.

An argument often made by the anti-wind farm lobby is that onshore wind brings limited long term employment to the area. But what company is going to risk investing huge sums of money in bringing production or service facilities of this scale, or any scale, to an area where they cannot sell turbines because their potential customers cannot get planning permission to develop? Enercon’s sales teams get a huge amount of calls and emails from the UK enquiring about their turbines but most of those come to nothing, often because of planning delays or rejections.

In 2009 turbine manufacturer Vestas closed its factory on the Isle of Wight. The then Labour government tried to get them to stay, offering subsidies and urging them to work on producing onshore turbine blades for the UK. But Vestas did not just want money, they wanted a market place. They wanted customers who had permission to buy and install their turbines. This was not happening in the UK despite our abundance of wind resource.  

The environmental argument for onshore wind turbines is supported by an economic one. The UK needs a better planning regime so that the wind industry can have the confidence in our marketplace to invest in bringing their businesses here. It seems slightly odd that a country with less wind resource than us can have such an impressive, buoyant and healthy wind industry compared with our own.

On the spot over Electricity Market Reform

 

 
 
Our CEO Juliet Davenport recounts her experience talking Electricity Market reform with the Commons Climate Committee

Make no mistake; DECC has made clear that it views its Electricity Market Reform (EMR) project as the most important piece of work it is undertaking at the moment. Its implementation might not be as immediate as the Green Deal or as controversial as an early review of feed-in tariffs (FiTs), but its impact will be long lasting and will underpin the UK’s efforts to shift towards a more low-carbon lifestyle.

The House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) Chairman, Tim Yeo MP, will be keenly aware of this; since being elected as Chair of this important Committee last summer, he’s launched a series of inquiries into those issues making headlines. From grilling the Big Six about their recent price rises, probing the potential for the UK to face its own Deepwater Horizon disaster and cross-examining Chris Huhne about the recent UN Cancun Summit, Yeo and his Committee have focussed their work on those subjects where they can have most impact, both in terms of the public debate and on the Government’s own policy making process.

So the chance for Good Energy to appear before ECCC this week was a great opportunity for us to air our views on what we think the Government has got right and wrong in its EMR plans. We’re pretty proud of our unique position in the UK energy supply market; not just in terms of our commitment to 100% renewable electricity, but also because 1 in 20 of our customers are also renewable energy generators. Roughly 7% of generators registered on FiTs are Good Energy customers, and you’ll be hard pressed to find another supplier that has had the same long-standing commitment to helping those people undertake their own generation projects.

So what of the session itself? Preparing for it was like being back doing finals at university again; hours spent trawling through 140 pages of the deep technical detail of the EMR consultation followed by the prospect of a series of questions on how we felt the proposals would impact on the market if implemented.

Few could deny DECC Ministers’ commitment to the EMR programme – they see it as a once in a generation opportunity to put their stamp on the UK energy market for years to come, leaving a legacy to their time in Whitehall. But there is a real need to ensure that the political impetus that they have put behind the process is carried through. Make no mistake – renewable energy currently exists in spite of the current market, not because of it. The headline intention to take a radical approach to reform needs to go beyond column inches or speeches; it needs to be translated into policy on the ground, by the officials. Radical intentions need to be matched with practical sense. We believe that each of the four strands of reform must be implemented one at a time, starting with a carbon price, so that the impact of each set of changes on each other can be properly assessed.

One of key points we made to the Committee, was that there needs to be more recognition of what will and won’t encourage decentralised generation; during the session Good Energy found a perhaps unlikely ally in the Chief Executive of Drax, Dorothy Thompson, who agreed that whilst the proposed Contract for Difference FiT was greater for larger generators, above 100MW, it would do little to encourage larger numbers of smaller, decentralised generation projects below that level because the transaction and administration costs of participating in the scheme.

Why is this important? Well, as we also said, Good Energy’s reliance on a community of some 1,700 small scale generators means that our source of supply is completely decentralised. That means we have truly mixed portfolio of renewable generators, a characteristic that is absolutely vital to ensure security of supply through domestic renewables, by spreading weather risk as widely as possible. unlike the other major electricity suppliers, we’ve been able to freeze our prices during what has been one of the most bitter winters in years. So if the Government wants a mix of power for low-carbon, renewable sources then it needs to think long and hard about how it encourages this mix through decentralisation.

MPs are understandably concerned how these changes  will impact on their constituents’ bills and Good Energy was more than happy to respond to this. Under any scenario, the next 40 years are likely to see global energy prices increasing. Market reforms will add to short-term costs for consumers, but they will reduce the long-term price risk that would remain if we stick with an energy system that favours fossil fuels and imports over 60% of our energy. One way of helping consumers reduce their costs is through schemes like FiTs or Smart Meters; which can help households decrease energy usage and increase energy efficiency. Demand-side management will be key and our experience shows that having microgeneration at home is a key driver of behavioural change. . The coming weeks will see the Committee take oral evidence from a number of other witnesses, before retiring to make its conclusions, which are likely to be published in the Spring. The chance to feed our views into this important piece of work has been an exciting opportunity to ensure that the government gets practical and pragmatic feedback on policy around the EMR, and to play our part in ensuring that the UK gets the low carbon shift it needs. Whatever the Government’s final proposals, Good Energy plans to be fully engaged, pushing forward the debate on creating a 100% renewable future.

This article is also running on businessgreen.com

Government announces early review of feed-in tariff

 

 
This morning the Department of Energy and Climate Change made an announcement the renewables industry has been expecting for some time: it’s bringing forward a review of the Feed-in-Tariff – the very successful scheme launched last year to reward renewable energy generators for their generation. As Juliet wrote on our blog last week, it is the huge popularity of large-scale solar schemes which has sparked the review.

In a ministerial statement, Chris Huhne, secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said:  “Since the Spending Review, I have become increasingly concerned about the prospect of large scale solar PV projects under FITs, which was not fully anticipated in the original scheme and could, if left unchecked, take a disproportionate amount of available funding or even break the cap on total funding. Several large solar installations have already received planning permission. Industry projections indicate there could be many more in the planning system. In light of this uncertainty and the risk that such schemes could push FITs uptake off trajectory and may make the Spending Review savings difficult, I have decided to end the potential for damaging speculation and bring forward the review of the Scheme to look at ways of correcting these early teething problems.”

In response to the announcement, Good Energy’s CEO, Juliet Davenport, issued the following statement:

“FITs have proven to be the single most effective way of driving new investment in renewables in the UK. Thousands of households and businesses have signed up as a result of the incentive and Good Energy counts around 10% of these as customers. It is essential that the review builds on this hard work and momentum. The Government’s review represents a crucial window of opportunity to build a revamped FIT system, creating long-term certainty for all consumers and investors. This review could be the key to meeting the UK’s renewable targets and driving down carbon emissions - it’s critical they get it right.”

People who’ve already installed solar PV and are claiming their FIT can get some reassurance that the government won’t be moving the goalposts. Mr Huhne’s statement went on to say: “The government will not act retrospectively and any changes to generation tariffs implemented as a result of the review will only affect new entrants into the FITs scheme. Installations which are already accredited for FITs at the time will not be affected.”

And for those who are still considering it, rest assured that Good Energy will continue to lobby for a robust feed-in tariff which encourages independent generation at all scales – and will put the UK on the pathway to a 100% renewable future.

Update: Transition Town Marlow 100 Solar project

 

 
 
By Dave Hampton – the carbon coach

The Transition Town Marlow 100 Solar project is, essentially, a buyers’ club.  In late 2009, three members of TTM were looking to install PV and solar thermal panels for their own homes.  Philip Ditchfield and Willi Moore took the lead in researching the market, with the idea of forming a buying club. We wanted to find one high quality and ethical supplier, to share any advantage from doing several installations in the same place, at the same time. 

After much investigation we chose Freesource, not least because they are Good Energy’s chosen home generation partner.  Philip negotiated an excellent framework agreement: participants get a rebate cheque for a percentage of the total installation cost, with the percentage rising as more Marlow homes join the scheme by certain fixed dates.

We've some way to go to get 100 installations, but have already triggered a healthy discount step of 12%, bringing the price of a £10k solar PV installation down to £8,800 for anyone looking to install now.

Equally importantly, the Marlow scheme has attracted lots of publicity, and may have acted as a catalyst for many other transition towns across the UK to start their own buyers’ clubs.

Sometimes, what is needed to ‘press the go button’ is simply a line in the ground – a ‘decision time’.  One of these is coming up fast now, a March deadline after which the 12% Marlow rebate cannot be guaranteed.  People within a seven-mile radius of Marlow are welcome to join us, and will get the same rebate as if they had joined on day one.  No one in Marlow is making a penny from this project, but we are all very glad to have done it.

Visit the Renewable Energy Marketplace in Exeter

 

 

Interested in earning money from solar PV, but keen to find out more first? Renewable energy experts Regen SW are hosting a special event, The Renewable Energy marketplace, on 22 March 2011 at Westpoint, near Exeter. Sponsored by Good Energy, the show will give you the chance to hear from renewables professionals and meet different installers. As well as solar PV and solar thermal, it will cover all types of renewable technology including biomass, heat pumps, hydro and wind. Centred around a large exhibition, there will be opportunities to attend a series of workshops covering the different technologies and their benefits, details of the government incentives and remaining grant opportunities, and further insight for those already pushing ahead with projects. To book tickets, click here.

Investing in solar funds

 

 
Another way of helping grow the UK’s renewable energy capacity is by investing directly in a fund which invests in solar projects. A fund that makes use of FITs can generate fairly predictable cash flows over 20 to 25 years.

One way for UK-based individuals to invest in solar assets is through a Venture Capital Trust (VCT), a listed investment vehicle designed to offer investors an income tax rebate of 30% of the value of their investment, as well as tax free dividends and capital gains tax relief on disposal of shares. There are several such products currently available in the market, one of which, Ingenious Solar UK VCT, is purely UK-focused. You can find more information about this product at http://www.ingeniousvcts.co.uk/

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute any form of advice, recommendation or arrangement by Good Energy and is not intended to be relied upon by you in making any specific investment or other decisions. Appropriate advice should be obtained before making any such decision.

Solar on a social scale

 

 
Countering a popular fallacy that solar PV is the preserve of the affluent middle classes is Peabody, one of London’s oldest and largest housing associations. It’s been generating renewable electricity since 2006, with over 200MW peak of solar PV arrays spread across four of its properties. Some of the electricity generated is used in the buildings’ communal areas while the rest is exported to supply Good Energy customers with 100% renewable, independently certified green electricity.

With social housing making up around a fifth of UK homes, it is vital that housing associations are at the frontline of improving energy efficiency and renewable generation in homes. “As a social organisation,” says Peabody’s Environmental Sustainability Officer, Tessa Barraclough, “we recognise our responsibility to protect the environment for our generation and future generations. It is also about setting an example to residents and staff so they can see the kind of things we’re implementing as well as learning about the things they can do.”

But Peabody hasn’t stopped there: it’s launched a £23 million programme to install solar panels on selected properties across the capital, saving around 3,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Peabody’s first installations were financed by a grant, but it was the introduction of the Feed-in Tariff in April 2010 that made the association’s most recent renewable programme possible. “The FIT is the funding stream for the project and was absolutely key to making this work for us” says Tessa.  “Another driver was being able to bring PV and renewable technology to our residents. It’s important that we don’t just leave it to the people who own their own properties.”

Which solar supplier?

 

 
Good Energy works with several different solar suppliers and installers, chosen not only for their specialist skills in different areas of technology, but also because we believe they offer good value for money. Here are some of our recommended suppliers:

Established over four years ago, Freesource Energy supplies green energy systems ranging  from domestic homeowner schemes to large scale renewable energy systems for property developers, architects, farmers, landowners, factories, schools, hospitals and commercial businesses. Uniquely, Freesource Energy, based in Corsham, Wiltshire, is a British company offering British manufactured PV solar panels and even British funding for customer installations, from its own investors. In the last year, Freesource has experienced a dramatic increase in both interest and uptake of large-scale commercial solar projects from farmers, landowners, business, industry and developers, largely due to the Feed-in Tariff.

Since 1998, Solarcentury has helped thousands of homes go solar through its supply of PV systems to homeowners, through its respected regional installer network. Founded by Executive Chairman Jeremy Leggett and led by CEO Derry Newman, ex Managing Director of Sony UK, it is based in London, with 120 staff in the UK, France and Italy. Since 2010, it has worked with ethical investor Triodos Bank, to help customers finance solar installations with the Feed-in Tariff. Solarcentury also founded the schools initiative Solar4Schools, helping over 260 schools learn with solar and SolarAid, the charity helping rural African communities to replace kerosene with solar power. Its accolades include UK’s Fastest Growing Private Energy Company (Sunday Times) and a Guardian 'Global Cleantech 100 company'.

Covering Bristol, Somerset and the South West, Solarsense is a fully accredited installer of both solar thermal and PV systems and have installed over 3,100 such systems since 1994. Solarsense is dedicated to making the complete solar experience - from booking a survey to commissioning and servicing the system - as simple and hassle free as possible.  As an MCS accredited member of the Solar Trade Association and the Renewable Energy Association, Solarsense assures its customers a quality service and installations of the highest standard, and several of its installations have been award winners over recent years.

Southern Solar has been helping people across the south of the UK make the most of renewable energy since 2002. Specialists in the installation of both solar thermal and solar electrical systems, the company has built a strong reputation for delivering a high quality service to commercial, public sector and domestic clients, successfully completing thousands of solar projects. With five regional bases in Sussex, London, Bristol, Hereford and South Wales – and a new Oxford office underway – Southern Solar teams are able to survey, specify, install and maintain solar systems within a 100-mile radius of each base.

Founded in 1995, Sundog Energy has installed over a thousand PV systems – ranging from home systems to one of the largest and most complex arrays in the UK currently being fitted at Kings Cross Station. Its director, Martin Cotterell, sits on the Renewable Energy Association Consumer Code panel and is at the forefront of developing industry standards within the UK and internationally.  Last year, Sundog won the British Renewable Energy Developer award. It offers customers expert design for their PV project, installation by highly trained and experienced engineers, overseen by dedicated project managers.  It also aims to have the best record of customer satisfaction in the renewable energy market place while operating to strict ethical and environmental standards.