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Q1. How do you ensure that the correct amount of electricity is generated by “new” GreenPower Generators?
A1. We ensure that the correct amount of electricity is generated by “new” GreenPower Generators using renewable energy sources by purchasing the GreenPower Rights associated with that electricity and reporting these purchases as required under the National GreenPower Accreditation Program.
Q2. What is landfill gas?
A2. Landfill gas is a gas from the decay of biomass and one of the lesser known fuel sources for producing electricity. Organic matter, such as that buried in landfill sites, breaks down to produce methane gas and other landfill gases. Capturing and burning these gases enables the generation of electricity. The advantage of this method is that it prevents methane - a potent greenhouse gas – and other landfill gases from escaping into the atmosphere. Our current sources of landfill gas generation are located in Queensland, Victoria and NSW.
Q3. What is bagasse?
A3. Bagasse is a form of biomass which is derived from sugar cane. When sugar juice is extracted from sugar cane at the sugar mill, there is a fibrous cane material left over. This material is called bagasse. This bagasse is then burnt and the heat generated drives a steam powered electricity generator, which, in turn, supplies electricity to the national electricity grid. The electricity generator is normally located at the sugar mill so that no transport is required for the bagasse. This is one of the reasons why bagasse is so cheap. Our current sources of bagasse generation are located at various sugar mills.
Q4. What is low impact hydro?
A4. It means that there is low impact on the environment. It is a hydro electricity source which does not divert rivers ensuring natural environmental flows, or is generated from facilities built next to existing dams built for other purposes.
Q5. What are greenhouse gases and how do they cause the greenhouse effect?
A5. Greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorocarbons. These gases absorb and re-emit infra-red radiation, trapping heat and warming the Earth’s atmosphere, in a similar way to the glass in a greenhouse. Human activity such as land clearing and burning fossil fuels (e.g. coal and oil) have been increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere resulting in an enhanced greenhouse effect (i.e. global warming).
Q6. How does PureEnergy10 and PureEnergy Premium help protect the environment?
A6. The generation of electricity from renewable energy sources (such as wind, low impact hydro, landfill gas and bagasse) produces less greenhouse gases than the generation of electricity from coal. The more electricity that is generated from renewable energy sources, the less electricity needs to be generated from coal.
Generating electricity from renewable energy sources (instead of non-renewable resources such as coal) helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the greenhouse effect.
However, it is generally more expensive to produce electricity from renewable energy sources than from coal. The premium that you pay as a PureEnergy10 or PureEnergy Premium customer is used by us to purchase the GreenPower Rights and Renewable Energy Certificates associated with electricity generated from renewable energy sources. The money which the generator receives for these rights and certificates provides the generator with extra income over and above the income that it receives for the actual electricity. This extra income (together with extra income from the sale of other environmental credits) makes the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources more viable.
PureEnergy10 and PureEnergy Premium therefore contribute to the cost of generating electricity from renewable energy sources. They therefore contribute to the cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Q7. How does PureEnergy help prevent climate change?
A7. When you buy PureEnergy you are financially supporting the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources. Generating electricity from these sources (instead of non-renewable resources such as coal) helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are considered to be the main cause of climate change.
Q8. Will my electricity supply be affected in any way if I become a PureEnergy10 or PureEnergy Premium customer?
A8. No. The reliability of your electricity supply will not be affected in any way because there will be no changes to the way it is currently distributed from the national electricity grid to your premises.
Q9. Why is PureEnergy10 cheaper than PureEnergy Premium?
A9. PureEnergy10 is cheaper than PureEnergy Premium because the amount of renewable electricity generation to which EnergyAustralia commits is substantially less under PureEnergy10.
More specifically:
- under PureEnergy10, the amount of electricity which EnergyAustralia ensures is generated by “new” GreenPower Generators using renewable energy sources only corresponds to 10% of your electricity account; and
- under PureEnergy Premium, the amount of electricity which EnergyAustralia ensures is generated by “new” GreenPower Generators using renewable energy sources corresponds to all of your electricity account.
To put it another way, the number of Green Power Rights and Renewable Energy Certificates which EnergyAustralia would need to buy to supply you with PureEnergy Premium is 10 times the amount which EnergyAustralia would need to buy to supply you with PureEnergy10.
Q10. Why do PureEnergy10 and PureEnergy Premium products cost more than my normal electricity supply?
A10. Under a normal electricity supply contract, EnergyAustralia only has to purchase the relevant amount of electricity (ignoring the cost of network services, metering and so on).
However, a PureEnergy contract also involves the additional cost to EnergyAustralia of purchasing the GreenPower Rights and Renewable Energy Certificates associated with the relevant amount of renewable electricity.
PureEnergy10 and PureEnergy Premium therefore cost more than your normal electricity supply.
Q11. What is GreenPower accreditation?
A11. GreenPower accreditation occurs under the National GreenPower Accreditation Program. This is a national program that sets environmental and reporting standards for renewable energy products offered by energy retailers.
The National GreenPower Accreditation Program provides for “GreenPower Rights” to be created in relation to renewable electricity. These GreenPower Rights are essentially tradeable credits which a generator receives under the program for generating electricity from a renewable fuel source where the power station and fuel source have been approved under the program. A generator can sell these credits separately to the associated electricity. These credits provide an additional source of income to renewable electricity generators.
For more information on GreenPower accreditation, visit the GreenPower website – www.greenpower.nsw.gov.au.
Q12. Why should I choose GreenPower accredited products?
A12. If you choose a GreenPower accredited product, your energy supplier agrees to ensure that an amount of electricity which equates with a certain agreed percentage of your electricity consumption is produced from GreenPower Generators using renewable energy sources. Generating electricity from these sources (instead of non-renewable resources such as coal) helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Q13. What does a GreenPower accredited product guarantee for the accredited portion of the product?
A13. A GreenPower accredited product guarantees that, for the portion of the product that is GreenPower accredited, the equivalent amount of electricity will be generated by (generally “new”) GreenPower Generators and delivered to the national electricity grid. Under the National GreenPower Accreditation Program, a “new” GreenPower Generator is an electricity generator or increase in generator capacity which was commissioned or first sold energy (whichever is earlier) after 1 January 1997 (or the launch of the GreenPower Product, if earlier) and which is approved as a GreenPower Generator under that Program. To ensure that customer contributions to GreenPower result in renewable electricity generation which is additional to that used to meet energy suppliers’ compliance obligations under Commonwealth Government legislation, each supplier of GreenPower accredited products must purchase the relevant number of Renewable Energy Certificates with the result that the electricity generation covered by those certificates cannot be counted towards satisfying that compliance obligation.
Q14. Will electricity generated from renewable energy sources actually come to my house if I purchase PureEnergy10 or PureEnergy Premium?
A14. No, purchasing PureEnergy10 or any other GreenPower accredited product will not mean that electricity generated from renewable energy sources will be delivered to your house. Once generated and delivered to the national electricity grid, the electricity (which is largely the same in character irrespective of the energy source used in its generation) becomes pooled and cannot be identified by its generation source. The electricity which is supplied to your house comes from this grid and may be electricity generated from renewable energy sources, electricity generated from non-renewable energy sources, or a blend of both types of electricity.
If you choose a PureEnergy product, the reliability of your electricity supply will not be affected because there will be no change to the way that electricity is currently distributed from the national electricity grid to your home.
Q15. What is a REC?
A15. A “REC” is a “Renewable Energy Certificate”. RECs are essentially tradeable credits which a generator receives under the Federal Government’s “Mandatory Renewable Energy Target” program (known as “MRET”) for generating electricity from an accredited power station using an “eligible renewable energy source”. A generator can sell these credits separately to the associated electricity. These credits provide an additional source of income to renewable electricity generators.
We recommend that you visit the website of the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator at www.orer.gov.au.
For more information on RECs, go to http://www.orer.gov.au/recs/index.html.
Q16. What is global warming?
A16. The Earth is wrapped in an insulating blanket of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane. As the sun’s rays shine on the Earth, this blanket of gases traps some of the heat – which has the effect of warming the planet and keeping it at a relatively constant level. Without it, the earth would either get too hot or too cold and life would not be able to survive.
In effect the Earth is like a giant greenhouse. But instead of having glass panes which trap heat, the Earth has greenhouse gases.
Global warming is a gradual warming of the Earth's atmosphere and is believed to be caused by too many greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere by human activity such as burning fossil fuels (e.g. coal and oil), land clearing and increased farming. The increased concentration of these gases is like constantly adding more glass layers to the greenhouse, ultimately raising the temperature inside. Global warming has serious repercussions for our planet’s biodiversity, sea levels and weather patterns.
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