What is green electricity?

What is green electricity?

Green electricity is electricity generated from renewable energy sources.

These sources mainly include:

• Hydropower; The conversion of energy from watercourses, lakes and oceans into electricity takes place in run-of-river power plants, storage power plants at dams or lakes.
• Wind power: Here, the kinetic energy of the wind is used for conversion into electricity via wind turbines, which can be installed on land (onshore) or in the sea (offshore).
• Solar energy: This is the conversion of solar radiation into electricity with the help of photovoltaic systems.
• Electricity from biomass: Electricity is generated with the heat produced by burning organic materials such as wood waste, vegetable waste from agriculture or even household waste.

Locally available and accessible renewable energies do not deplete any of the planet’s natural resources. They are clean energies. They do not harm the environment or the health of the population.

What does a GREEN electricity offer mean?

If you accept a green electricity offer, it does not mean that the electricity you consume directly at your home comes from renewable energy sources. Indeed, it is impossible to determine the origin of the electricity supplied at any given moment during the day.

All customers connected to the grid receive the same electricity, regardless of their supply contract. The share of electricity from renewable energy sources is the same everywhere.

So why can an electricity offer be green? An offer is called green if the energy supplier commits to feed a certain amount of green electricity into the grid that corresponds to the energy consumption of the customers who have opted for this offer.

Genuine green offers from suppliers are certified by independent institutions attesting to their renewable origin, such as the nova naturstroum offer from Enovos. We have the TÜV certificate from an independent institute.

This premium electricity offer comes from solar, wind, hydro and biomass sources in the Grand Duchy and other European countries. The green energy is generated on Luxembourg soil and in new and modern power plants in Europe.

Why switch to green electricity?

When you accept a green electricity offer, you actively contribute to the promotion of energy production from renewable sources. In fact, this contract obliges your energy supplier to purchase electricity from green energy producers or, to go even further, to invest in new renewable energy production facilities or in their refurbishment according to ecological criteria.

Thanks to your commitment, you are part of the energy transition. By giving preference to green electricity over fossil energies, you limit your share in the consumption of our planet’s natural resources. You also reduce your carbon footprint and lower emissions of pollutants.

By accepting the green electricity offer, you are part of the global consciousness. Consumers who opt for this also often pay attention to their energy consumption in other ways.

Green electricity in Luxembourg

In 2019, Luxembourg covered 12.2% of national electricity consumption through its own production based on renewable energy sources.

This net electricity production is broken down according to different renewable energy sources:

• 103 GWh in 31 hydroelectric units (+14 GWh compared with 2018) ;
• 281 GWh from 73 wind farms (+27 GWh compared with 2018) ;
• 130 GWh in 7,752 photovoltaic units (+ 12 GWh compared with 2018) ;
• 337 GWh in 40 biomass, biogas and waste incineration units (+65 GWh compared with 2018).

Source: Institut luxembourgeois de régulation, Key figures for the electricity market, 2019