Green Living Basics - Electricity and Appliances

From green gadgets to green tariffs

There can be no feasible solution to climate change that doesn't include a reduction in the carbon dioxide emitted from power stations. Most countries, including the UK, generate the over­whelming majority of their electricity in power plants fired by coal or gas. These plants kick out approximately a quarter of the greenhouse gases released by humans each year. Anyone wanting to reduce the emissions of their electricity use has three approaches at their disposal.

Perhaps surprisingly, there's a case to be made that none of these three steps will have much impact. Green tariffs don't typically deliver what most consumers would expect. And, the European Emissions Trading Scheme may diminish the benefits of reducing your power consumption or generating your own electricity. For this reason, you may want to consider joining Sandbag and removing carbon permits from the market in addition to reducing your own energy use directly.

The big picture

The current "fuel mix" of the UK electricity grid is dominated by natural gas, coal and nuclear energy, which represent 44%, 33% and 16% of the total respectively. The renewable contribution is less than 6% and much of this comes not from familiar clean energy technologies such as wind or solar but from burning the gas formed as our rubbish decomposes in landfill sites.

There are, of course, targets for increas­ing the contribution of renewable power sources, including a long-standing gov­ernment aim to generate 10% of the UK's electricity from renewables by 2010. This target now looks impossible to hit, so the focus has shifted to the European targets for 2020. By that year, the UK has a legally binding obligation to generate 15% of all its energy - including transport and heating fuels as well as electricity - from renewable sources. Meeting this target would probably necessitate at least a third of electricity to come from renewables.

Various technologies could help the UK meet the 2020 target, including tidal and wave power and solar electricity. But wind power is seen by most experts as the single most important clean energy source. Unfortunately, the erection of wind turbines continues to be consistently held up by opposition to planning applications.

So what can individuals do about all of this? One approach is to install some renewable generation capacity in your own home. Another is to voice your support for wind farms and other large-scale renewable power projects both in your local area and elsewhere. That might mean contacting your political representatives or it might mean getting involved in local pro-renewables campaigns.