This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2021) |
Company type | Cooperative |
---|---|
Industry | Electric power |
Headquarters | , |
Revenue | €5 million 395 GWh |
Number of employees | 77 |
Website | https://green-planet-energy.de/ |
Green Planet Energy (formerly named Greenpeace Energy) [1] is a German electric utility in the form of a registered association. The stated goal of the cooperative is the provision of environmentally friendly energy to the electrical grid.
As a founding member of the association, Greenpeace e.V. holds only five shares at €55 in the cooperative, otherwise the environmental group and the company are financially and legally independent, although they share the same office building in Hamburg. [2] The former use of the Greenpeace name was licensed under the condition that the energy cooperative met the Greenpeace e.V. quality criteria for "clean energy".
In 2021, after a significant media controversy on its fossil gas sales, Greenpeace Energy changed its name to Green Planet Energy in order to clarify the independence of the two separate entities Greenpeace e.V. as an NGO and Green Planet Energy. [3]
In 1998, Greenpeace Energy started a renewable energy initiative called "power shift". There, consumers could choose to switch to a green electricity provider. As more and more consumers agreed to switch to an environmentally friendly provider, Greenpeace found no electricity provider that met all the criteria for environmental sustainability and that was able to supply the increasing demand for sustainable energy. As a solution, Greenpeace Energy was founded in 1999, as an energy cooperative that provides 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. The areas of network management and energy billing originally were not adopted by Greenpeace Energy itself but by its affiliate company, Stadtwerke Schwäbisch Hall, as a service provider. In December 2017, Greenpeace Energy took over those services from Schwäbisch Hall and now manages them itself. [4]
Green Planet Energy chose to establish itself in the legal form of a registered cooperative (eG). The motivation for this decision was that it allows Green Planet Energy to be independent of banks and major shareholders and build equity on a wide base of shareholders to offer as well as favorable current. Therefore, until 2015 no returns were distributed to the shareholders. For 2020, distributions per share were 1.5 per cent.
Membership in the cooperative is formally dependent on the current reference - according to the statute, a cooperative member who "does not cover their demand for electrical energy supplies through the Cooperative" may be excluded. This right part of the cooperative is expressly not perceived, what results are based on the fact that some members of the cooperative power of Green Planet Energy can not relate. A cooperative member has at least one, and since October 2019 new members can hold a maximum of two hundred shares of €55 each. Members who joined the cooperative earlier may hold up to 400 shares. As usual with cooperatives, each member has only one vote at the General Meeting, regardless of the number of shares. In this way, a takeover, or any interference by large investors is excluded. By its own admission, the cooperative explicitly does not pursue the goal of maximizing profits.
From the border of 1,500 members occurs a representative assembly in place of the General Assembly. Fifty elected representatives of the members then represent the rights of the members. Since Green Planet Energy has significantly more members every four years, representatives are elected (the last election was 2019). The selection of representatives is made by a selection committee. The tasks of Representatives correspond according to cooperative law duties of the General Assembly: members can vote on motions, elect or discharge the Supervisory Board and the Management Board or released and vote on their workload, and decide on the distribution of any surplus.
Green Planet Energy works on the basis of the "Greenpeace criteria for clean energy." The determination of these criteria was carried out by the Greenpeace e. V., an adaptation to the market conditions was last held in November 2017.
Since 2011 Green Planet Energy has been selling the proWindgas product which was initially 100% imported fossil gas, and the company promised a gradual increase in the proportion of hydrogen generated from excess renewable energy. As of 2020 the share of hydrogen mostly oscillated below 1%. [5] Sales of 99% fossil gas presented as “eco-gas” have been criticized as contradictory [6] [7] as well as "greenwashing" of Russian gas. [8] In 2021 the company added further 10% of biogas, resulting in a mix of 1% hydrogen, 10% biogas and 89% fossil gas and declared it plans to replace all fossil gas by 2027. [9]
In 2015 Green Planet Energy attempted to sue the European Commission over approving state aid for the nuclear power plant Hinkley Point C "as a potential competitor on the energy market". The European Court of Justice eventually denied Green Planet Energy's request as inadmissible. [10] [11]
Green Planet Energy’s initial aim with its gas product was to promote hydrogen technology as an indispensable element of the energy transition and a means of advancing sector coupling in order to decarbonize sectors of economy where this cannot be achieved with renewable electricity directly. Meanwhile, green hydrogen has been widely recognized as highly relevant for a successful energy transition by (e.g.) the EU-Commission, national governments and important industries. The cooperative’s own feed-in of renewable hydrogen began in 2014 and as of 2021, five electrolyzers are producing green hydrogen for Green Planet Energy customers. Two of them are operated by Green Planet Energy itself. However, despite steeply increasing the volume of fed-in hydrogen, the proportion of windgas (green hydrogen) in the gas mix until 2020 remained around 1% because the increase in production was offset by the increase in the number of customers. [12]
In the meantime, Green Planet Energy’s gas product has the additional aim of accelerating the development of high quality biogas that is produced sustainably and without animal suffering. In order to be able to reduce the share of natural gas in proWindgas to zero by 2027, from 2021 on Green Planet Energy is adding an additional 10% of biogas that meets strict quality criteria to its gas mix. As published by Green Planet Energy in November 2020, the share of renewable gases is supposed to increase to 100% by 2027. [13]
According to Green Planet Energy Energy [14] the natural gas in its mix is composed as reflected by the import data for Germany provided by the Federal Network Authority (Bundesnetzagentur). [15] [16]
Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion with anaerobic organisms or methanogens inside an anaerobic digester, biodigester or a bioreactor. The gas composition is primarily methane and carbon dioxide and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulfide, moisture and siloxanes. The methane can be combusted or oxidized with oxygen. This energy release allows biogas to be used as a fuel; it can be used in fuel cells and for heating purpose, such as in cooking. It can also be used in a gas engine to convert the energy in the gas into electricity and heat.
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic or industrial biowaste. Biofuels are mostly used for transportation, but can also be used for heating and electricity. Biofuels are regarded as a renewable energy source. The use of biofuel has been subject to criticism regarding the "food vs fuel" debate, varied assessments of their sustainability, and possible deforestation and biodiversity loss as a result of biofuel production.
Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are fuels derived from sources other than petroleum. Alternative fuels include gaseous fossil fuels like propane, natural gas, methane, and ammonia; biofuels like biodiesel, bioalcohol, and refuse-derived fuel; and other renewable fuels like hydrogen and electricity.
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the environment, the economy, and society. These impacts range from greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution to energy poverty and toxic waste. Renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro, solar, and geothermal energy can cause environmental damage, but are generally far more sustainable than fossil fuel sources.
The Federal Network Agency is the German regulatory office for electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and railway markets. It is a federal agency of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and headquartered in Bonn, Germany.
Renewable natural gas (RNG), also known as biomethane, is a biogas which has been upgraded to a quality similar to fossil natural gas and has a methane concentration of 90% or greater. By removing CO2 and other impurities from biogas, and increasing the concentration of methane to a level similar to fossil natural gas, it becomes possible to distribute RNG via existing gas pipeline infrastructure. RNG can be used in existing appliances, including vehicles with natural gas burning engines (natural gas vehicles).
The energy policy of India is to increase the locally produced energy in India and reduce energy poverty, with more focus on developing alternative sources of energy, particularly nuclear, solar and wind energy. Net energy import dependency was 40.9% in 2021-22.
Biofuels are renewable fuels that are produced by living organisms (biomass). Biofuels can be solid, gaseous or liquid, which comes in two forms: ethanol and biodiesel and often replace fossil fuels. Many countries now use biofuels as energy sources, including Sweden. Sweden has one of the highest usages of biofuel in all of Europe, at 32%, primarily due to the widespread commitment to E85, bioheating and bioelectricity.
Fossil fuel phase-out is the gradual reduction of the use and production of fossil fuels to zero, to reduce deaths and illness from air pollution, limit climate change, and strengthen energy independence. It is part of the ongoing renewable energy transition, but is being hindered by fossil fuel subsidies.
Renewable energy in Finland increased from 34% of the total final energy consumption (TFEC) in 2011 to 48% by the end of 2021, primarily driven by bioenergy (38%), hydroelectric power (6.1%), and wind energy (3.3%). In 2021, renewables covered 53% of heating and cooling, 39% of electricity generation, and 20% of the transport sector. By 2020, this growth positioned Finland as having the third highest share of renewables in TFEC among International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries.
The Renewable Energy Sources Act or EEG is a series of German laws that originally provided a feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme to encourage the generation of renewable electricity. The EEG 2014 specified the transition to an auction system for most technologies which has been finished with the current version EEG 2017.
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Bioenergy forms a small part of the Turkish energy sector. There is unrealised potential to generate bioenergy using waste from the country's vast agricultural sector and forest resources. The possibility of expanding biogas, biofuel and bioethanol production and use has been suggested to supplement Turkey's energy needs, reduce dependency on fossil fuel imports and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
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The Gruener Strom Label association certifies green energy sources or production. The Bonn based association was founded at the initiative of EUROSOLAR in December 1998. The GSL e.V. issues two seals of approval – one, named Grüner Strom, introduced in 1999, is granted for green electricity, and the other, named Grünes Gas, introduced in 2013, is granted for biogas. By 1999, Grüner Strom was the first certification for electricity from green power sources in Germany.Grüner Strom and Grünes Gas are the only seals of approval in Germany, indicating endorsement by leading environmental organizations. The goal of products recommended by certification is to increase transparency in the green electricity and biogas markets and to advance ecologically sustainable energy supply.
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