Many of us have signed up with energy companies that offer 100% renewable electricity, so why not switch to a gas tariff that also promises to be carbon neutral? Energy firm Good Energy is hoping to tempt green households to do exactly that. This week the Chippenham-based firm started offering a domestic gas tariff that will allow customers to claim their gas usage produces no overall net carbon. Launched to coincide with the Paris climate change agreement signing yesterday, Good Energy’s “green gas” tariff will include 6% biomethane, produced in the UK from organic matter including manure and even sewage. The move makes it the latest supplier to offer green gas – produced from the 300 or so anaerobic digesters dotted around the UK, a small number of which directly feed the biogas they produce into the national grid. Good Energy says the overwhelming majority of its 39,000 gas customers will be automatically moved to the tariff. Other emissions produced by customers will be offset through carbon-reduction schemes that support local communities in Malawi, Vietnam and Nepal. After electricity, biogas is seen as the next step towards green energy, as more anaerobic digestion sites open up. Good Energy founder, Juliet Davenport, says customers of conventional power firms can cut their carbon footprint in half by switching to her dual-fuel deal: “Emissions from energy are one of the biggest causes of global warming, and the simplest way to cut your footprint is by switching to renewable electricity and carbon-neutral gas. We can all do something to drastically cut our reliance on fossil fuels.” She says domestic gas use in the home accounts for around 26% of most people’s carbon footprint. Good Energy is by no means the only firm offering green gas. Long-standing supplier Ecotricity, which takes 5% of its gas needs from anaerobic digesters, has plans to up this to 30% over the next few years. Ecotricity, which has declared green gas the antidote to fracking, has applied for planning permission to build its own plants using grass. A smaller firm, Green Energy UK, supplies 20,000 customers from its Ware HQ and offers 100% green gas; while new entrant Bulb, based in London, offers similar. Ecotricity founder, Dale Vince, says we are at the beginning of a revolution in gas, not from fracking but from British farms. “There are direct parallels with the success of green electricity in that we can make gas from renewables and put it straight into the grid – except it’s the gas grid. Theoretically we could produce 95% of domestic and commercial gas demand from the grass on marginal farmland by 2035, so there is vast potential to make a big contribution in reducing carbon emissions.” The big question, of course, is what will this cost you as a consumer? Energy tariffs have continued to fall in recent weeks, and a look at the best deals on offer using the Guardian energy comparison/switching service shows a big disparity in prices. The cheapest (non-green) dual-fuel tariff for a Hertfordshire home (prices vary slightly around the country) costs just £727 a year. It is from the relatively new Avro Energy. Scottish Power has the next cheapest deal at £729 a year. A bit more expensive is Ovo Energy and its light-green tariff, which offers 33% green electricity at £797 a year. Bulb, which claims all its power (including gas) is 100% renewable, is next at an attractive £850 a year. Green Energy, which makes the same promise, costs £1,038 a year. Good Energy is £1,064, followed by £1,083 for Ecotricity. These last three might seem expensive, but if you are on your firm’s standard tariff you are probably paying close to those prices anyway. All the prices above are for average use and assume you pay by monthly direct debit. Good Energy and Ecotricity have well regarded customer service. This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set. More information.
UK energy company Good Energy has launched a carbon neutral “green gas” tariff. It will include 6% biomethane produced within the UK using organic material such as sewage and manure. The firm says it is aiming to reduce its emissions by 50% from 2010 levels in order to meet EU climate targets. The founder of the company, Juliet Davenport, says that domestic gas is responsible for 26% of most individual’s carbon footprints. The biogas sector looks set to become more widespread as the number of anaerobic digestion sites increases. Other British companies, including Ecotricity, Green Energy UK and Bulb, also offer green gas. Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, states that 95% of British gas could potentially be produced from grass on marginal farmland by 2035.