Bonn, May 27, 2019. In 2018, around 1.3 terawatt hours of green electricity were certified with the Green Electricity seal of approval. This corresponds to the electricity needs of more than 400,000 four-person households. Compared to 2017, the certified green electricity volume increased by a good 12 percent. According to initial estimates, this results in investment commitments of over nine million euros in new energy transition projects for suppliers of green electricity-certified green electricity.

For every kilowatt hour consumed, green electricity providers must invest a fixed amount in energy transition projects within two years, for example photovoltaic systems, wind farms or electromobility. Now that the last certification period has been completed, it is clear that 120 projects were supported with 6.15 million euros in 2016. Since most of these are partial subsidies, the total investment in the energy transition amounts to over 45 million euros.

"Unfortunately, the German government is currently putting the brakes on a consistent implementation of the energy turnaround. It is therefore all the more important that electricity customers take matters into their own hands and say goodbye to coal and gas," sums up Dietmar Oeliger, Chairman of Grüner Strom Label e.V. "The Grüner Strom-Label guarantees investments in the energy turnaround, such as photovoltaic and wind power plants, tenant electricity projects or electric mobility. In this way, consumers can directly participate in a sustainable energy supply through their electricity purchases."

In 2016, a large part of the funding went towards the construction of new photovoltaic and wind energy plants. For example, a project by the student association Solar Powers was co-financed. Students independently planned and ultimately implemented a photovoltaic system on the roof of the Central Library of the Technical University of Berlin. To this day, the PV system is operated by the students themselves and is now also part of the teaching program at the TU. According to Solar Powers' own statement, the project could not have been realized without the Green Electricity funding.

But the topic of energy efficiency is also becoming increasingly important: Around 450,000 euros were invested here, more than ever before. For example, three energy providers promoted programs to replace old refrigerators with energy-efficient appliances.

To date, the Green Electricity funding logic has enabled more than 1,300 energy transition projects to be funded with more than 65 million euros. Since this mostly involves partial funding of projects, the money actually invested is about five times higher.

For more information on the Grüner Strom-Label's support projects, visit:
https://www.gruenerstromlabel.de/gruener-strom/energiewende-projekte/

Keywords
Green power, energy transition, green power product, photovoltaic system, wind power, green electricity

About Grüner Strom Label e.V.
The Grüner Strom Label e.V. certifies green energy products. The association awards two seals of approval for this purpose: the Grüner Strom-Label for green electricity with added value and the Grünes Gas-Label for environmentally compatible biogas. The association is backed by non-profit environmental and consumer associations and peace organizations, including NABU, BUND, EUROSOLAR and the Verbraucher Initiative. Grüner Storm-Label or Grünes Gas-Label are the only seals of approval for green electricity and biogas in Germany that are supported and recommended by leading environmental associations. www.gruenerstromlabel.de

Since 2012, more than 1 TWh of green power has been certified annually with Grüner Strom-Label. In 2019, more green electricity could be certified than in any previous year.