After a sharp rise in the volume of electricity certified as green electricity in previous years, the recent increase has been comparatively gentle. The preliminary figure for 2013 is 1,300 gigawatt hours. This development presumably goes hand in hand with a generally observed slowdown in the green electricity market.
"Even though we would certainly have wished for a little more, we can live well with the figures given the market environment," says GSL Chair Rosa Hemmers. "For the second time since 2012, customers have purchased more than one billion kilowatt hours of high-quality green electricity, thereby demonstrably supporting the expansion of renewable energies."
The reason for this is that in the Green Electricity certification, the supply of green electricity is linked to guaranteed investments in new plants. Over the past fifteen years, more than 1,000 renewable energy projects have received funding of more than 30 million euros, most of them in Germany. In 2013, for example, subsidies flowed into the following measures:
- The Heidelberg energy cooperative implemented Germany's first direct consumption concept of an energy cooperative on multi-family houses. Tenants can obtain solar power from their own roofs from citizen solar systems. More...
- Stadtwerke Konstanz set up two new electric charging stations on the mainland parking lot of Mainau Island and in the Altstadt parking garage. In addition, a newly installed photovoltaic system offsets the amount of electricity required. More...
- NATURSTROM AG increased efficiency at a biogas plant in Hiltpoltstein by installing a more efficient combined heat and power (CHP) unit and an ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) system. More...
Current statistics on the amount of certified electricity and an interactive map of the funded projects can be found at here.
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 Green Electricity Label for green electricity with added value and the Green Gas Label for environmentally compatible biogas. The association is backed by seven non-profit environmental and consumer associations and peace organizations. The Green Electricity and Green Gas labels are the only quality seals for green electricity and biogas in Germany that are supported by leading environmental associations.
