Bonn, February 10, 2021. A new set of criteria for the Green Electricity Label has been in effect since January 1, 2021. The focus is on 100 percent renewable energy supply throughout the energy system. In addition, by tightening its provider criteria, Grüner Strom Label e.V. is specifying the phase-out of coal by 2026 - well ahead of the target set by politicians.
The core criterion of the green electricity label of the environmental associations is the promotion of new energy transition projects. The new criteria are intended to pave the way for entry into renewables in all sectors in the long term. In the future, energy transition projects can therefore not only be promoted in the area of electricity, as was previously the case, but the funding options have been expanded to include the heat and mobility sectors. This means that energy providers can use the eco-label to promote the energy transition across all sectors.
"Our claim is to create modern standards for the best green electricity. The regular revision of our criteria is the linchpin for the qualitative claim to the seal of approval," explains Daniel Craffonara, Managing Director of Grüner Strom Label e.V. "With the new criteria, we have a firm eye on developments in the energy industry and enable a holistic approach that goes beyond the mere transformation of electricity. In this way, we are setting new accents for the success of the energy transition."
The restrictions already in place for energy providers using the green electricity label of environmental associations have been tightened in the new list of criteria: after December 31, 2026, no energy provider that runs, or would like to run, a Green Electricity or Green Gas label-certified tariff may be involved in coal-fired power plants. This also applies to parent companies and subsidiaries with more than 50 percent corporate ownership in or by the energy provider. The supporting associations of Grüner Strom Label e.V. are thus sending a clear signal that the phase-out of coal in Germany must take place significantly earlier than the politically set date of 2038.
An exception applies under certain conditions only to suppliers who have already had a product certified with the Green Electricity or Green Gas Label before 2021 and who own a minority stake without a determining influence in a power plant. "For 23 years now, Grüner Strom Label e.V. has been a driver of the energy transition. We have always imposed ambitious green electricity criteria on our label recipients that went well beyond the legal requirements. Now, in the new criteria catalog, we are setting a clear date of 2026 for the coal phase-out," sums up Dietmar Oeliger, Chairman of Grüner Strom Label e.V. and representative of NABU in the association.
Since the start of certification in 1998, the criteria catalog of the Grüner Strom-Label has been adapted for the sixth time. A total of 42 organizations from politics, business, science and civil society participated in the current revision. The most important points of the new criteria catalog are summarized in a brochure. The brochure, the complete 2021 criteria catalog and background information on the criteria for coal-fired power plant investments can be found at http://www.gruenerstromlabel.de/gruener-strom/kriterienkatalog/.
Keywords
Green electricity, energy system, environmental associations, criteria, renewable energies, NABU, BUND
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