Good Energy

Good Energy

Type	Public limited company
Industry	Renewable energy
Founded	2003 (as Good Energy)
Headquarters	Chippenham, Wiltshire, England
Key people	Juliet Davenport, Chief Executive
Products	Renewable energy
Revenue	£64,300,000 (2015)
Number of employees	276 (2015)
Parent	Good Energy Group PLC
Website	goodenergy.co.uk

Good Energy is a British energy company based in Chippenham, Wiltshire that generates and purchases renewable electricity, and supplies electricity and gas to homes and businesses throughout the UK. Its CEO is Juliet Davenport.

History

The company was set up in 1997 as Ofex, an offshoot of the German power company Unit Energy Europe. The business was later bought by its management and changed its name to Good Energy in 2003.^[1]

As of the end of June 2016 Good Energy supplied 72,250 customers with electricity and 43,000 with gas. The company also administered over 124,500 feed-in tariff generation sites in 2016, making it one of the largest feed-in tariff administrators in the UK.^[2]

Good Energy has said its aim is to move the UK away from reliance on fossil-fuel, to a network of small, independent generators supplying local customers.^[3] The company sources some of its power from 800 small and medium-sized, distributed renewable electricity generators across the country, as well as investing in its own generation sources.^[4]

In 2012 Good Energy Group was listed on the Alternative Investment Market and raised an additional £4 million of investment.^[1][5]

On March 10th 2015, Good Energy announced it had partnered with energy start-up Open Utility to trial the UK's first renewable energy marketplace, 'Piclo', where generators and consumers buy and sell renewable energy directly at prices they agree on. The 6-month trial began in October 2015, and was funded by the DECC Energy Entrepreneurs Fund and Nominet Trust. It was also supported by Ofgem, the energy industry regulator.^[6]

In early 2016, 6.8% of the shares of the company were bought by their rival Ecotricity, making them the second largest shareholder.^[7] Ecotricity increased their holding to almost 25% in October 2016.^[8]

Wind and Solar Sites

As of January 2016, Good Energy had two wind farms (at Delabole, north Cornwall, and Hampole, South Yorkshire) and seven solar farms, with planning consent for a further three.^[2]

Delabole wind farm was the first commercial wind farm in the UK. In December 2008 planning approval was granted to Good Energy in order to refurbish the wind farm. The development was financed by an £11.8 million package including a £9.6 million loan from the Co-operative Bank and £2.2 million equity from Good Energy Group's own resources. In August 2010 the ten original turbines were decommissioned and replaced with four more powerful turbines.^[9] In February 2011 Delabole was officially reopened.^[10] In January 2013, Good Energy launched a community tariff offering people living near Delabole wind farm a 20 per cent discount on their energy bills.^[11]

Praise and awards

An independent review from the National Consumer Council in 2006 stated: “For those consumers who want a green electricity supply, pure and simple, (Good Energy's) is probably the closest they will get to it.”^[12] The NCC also found that, of twelve green supply tariffs, Good Energy's was one of only two that were going farther than they are required to by law^[13] (but see criticism section below). A 2007 Guardian article echoed the NCC's belief that Good Energy's was the best green tariff ^[14] and Good Energy has also been named Best Buy for green electricity by Ethical Consumer magazine.^[15]

Which? magazine named Good Energy best utility company for customer service in 2010, 2012, 2013,^[16] and best energy company for customer service in 2014.^[17]

Good Energy has won awards including: the Sunday Times' best Green Company, the Sustainable Housing Awards' Sustainable Innovation award for its HotROCs scheme, the Micropower Award for Innovation,^[18] the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Environment,^[19] the British Renewable Energy Company Award,^[20] the Observer Ethical Award for Best Online Retail Initiative^[21] and PLUS Markets CEO of the Year in 2010.^[22][23]

Lobbying activities

Good Energy campaigns for more renewable generation in the UK and was one of the signatories to the 2009 Ofgem guidelines which aimed to clear up confusion over 'green' energy tariffs.^[24]

In 2006, Good Energy commissioned Oxford University's Environmental Change Unit to review the green electricity market. Their report ^[25] put a strong case for an accreditation scheme to advise customers.

Juliet Davenport, CEO of Good Energy, sat on the Renewables Advisory Board until it was abolished in 2010^[26] and, formerly, on the Board of Regen SW, the South West’s renewable energy agency.^[27] She still sits on Ofgem’s Environment and Advisory group^[28] and Ofgem’s Microgeneration Steering Group.^[29][30]

Criticism

In 2005 an article by The Ecologist magazine noted that Good Energy had not invested directly in constructing new renewable capacity, instead purchasing electricity from third parties: "The reality is that switching to Good Energy has made absolutely no immediate difference to the source of electrons that powered my kettle. My electricity, like everyone else's connected to the UK's national grid, still comes mainly from whatever the closest power station is [...] So what is happening? When a company offers you a '100 per cent green' tariff what it is actually saying is that for every unit of electricity you use it will provide the national grid with the same amount but from a renewable source." ^[31]

Since then, however, Good Energy upgraded Delabole wind farm, replacing its turbines and increasing its output ^[32][33] and seven other generating sites. It also provides support to over 800 independent generators in the UK.^[34]

Good Energy validates its claim of supplying 100% renewably generated electricity through the Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin scheme.^[35][36] It also stated that on its main tariff it retires Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) at an equivalent economic value of 5% above statutory compliance levels that apply to all electricity suppliers.

In 2009 Dale Vince, chief executive of rival company Ecotricity, accused Good Energy of deliberately misleading customers over Renewables Obligation Certificates retirement and called on the National Consumer Council to amend or retract its report.^[37] However, Good Energy issued an open letter as a rebuttal indicating the issue was a fair accounting matter; Good Energy retired additional "ROC financial equivalents" rather than undiscounted ROCs,^[38] which was perhaps not well communicated to customers.^[39]

In May 2012, Good Energy received criticism for using G4S Utility Services as their meter-reading contractor.^[40] Good Energy responded that the relationship was the result of their original contractor Accuread being acquired by G4S in 2008 to form G4S Utility Services. Due to ethical considerations Good Energy discontinued their contract with G4S Utility Services and on the 1st of April 2013 appointed an independent company Lowri Beck as their exclusive contractor to provide meter reading services.^[41]

See also

• Green electricity in the United Kingdom
• Wind power in the United Kingdom
• Energy policy of the United Kingdom
• Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom

References

External links

• Official website
• Good Energy Group PLC corporate website
• Association for Environment Conscious Building: The Green Electricity Illusion
• Delabole Village website (wind farm)
• Peter Salisbury (4 May 2011). "Green Business: Good Energy". The Ecologist. Retrieved 12 April 2012. 

Electricity generation in South West England
Power stations	Coal Closed Carn Brea Castle Meads East Yelland Exeter Hayle Newton Abbot Plymouth Poole Portishead A + B Gas Active Chickerell Chippenham Indian Queens Langage Seabank Closed Princetown Geothermal Closed Rosemanowes Quarry Hydro Future Severn Barrage Wave Hub Nuclear Active Hinkley Point B Closed Berkeley Hinkley Point A Oldbury Winfrith Proposed/Future Hinkley Point C Oil Closed Portishead B Wind Active Carland Cross Cold Northcott Delabole Forrest Moor Goonhilly Downs
Organisations	Ecogen Ecotricity Geothermal Engineering Ltd. Good Energy Infralec Marine Current Turbines Mendip Power Group Npower Nuclear Electric Ovo Energy Pre-nationalisation electric power companies South Somerset Hydropower Group SWEB Energy Western Power Distribution Wind Prospect