Commonly Asked Questions
What difference will it make?
The average household adds around seven tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere every year through electricity consumption1. To put that in perspective, it is equivalent to two cars' annual emmissions2. EnergyAustralia is one of the largest renewable energy retailers in Australia, so as a PureEnergy customer you're one of the many families and businesses that are helping to make a huge statement, and a big difference by supporting the Australian renewable energy industry3.
What are the sources of renewable energy?
PureEnergy’s renewable energy sources are:
 | Hydro | | Falling water is used to drive turbines to generate electricity. |
| Solar | | Solar cells convert the energy from sunlight into electricity. |
| Biomass
(Landfill Gas or Bagasse) | |
- Landfill Gas: Methane gas and other landfill gases produced by decomposing organic matter are captured and burned to produce electricity. The advantage of this method is that it prevents methane (a greenhouse gas) and other landfill gases from escaping into the atmosphere.
- Bagasse: Bagasse is the residual fibrous waste from raw sugar processing and is sourced from various sugar mills. It is burned to produce electricity.
|
| Wind | | Wind drives turbines to generate electricity. Recent advances in wind turbine technology have allowed this source of electricity to become more widespread.
|
What is climate change?
The earth is wrapped in an insulating blanket of greenhouse gases which trap heat and warm the earth’s atmosphere in a similar way to the glass in a greenhouse. Global warming is an increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and is believed to be caused by too many greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere by human activity such as burning fossil fuels (e.g. coal and oil), land clearing and increased farming. Global warming has serious repercussions for our planet’s biodiversity, sea levels and weather patterns.
What is GreenPower accredited renewable energy?
Pure Energy 10, 25, 50 and 100 are accredited GreenPower products, which means they satisfy the requirements of the National GreenPower Accreditation Program. These requirements ensure, amongst other things, that:
- Electricity is generated from government accredited renewable energy sources; and
- PureEnergy customer contributions drive additional investment in the Australian renewable energy industry above the Federal Government’s “Mandatory Renewable Energy Target”.
For more information about GreenPower accreditation visit www.greenpower.nsw.gov.au.
How will I know that PureEnergy results in electricity being generated from renewable energy sources?
An independent audit will be conducted annually to identify how much electricity has been generated from renewable energy sources and allocated by EnergyAustralia to its PureEnergy customers (by purchasing the associated GreenPower Rights) and from what sources that electricity was generated.
The audit will also identify whether EnergyAustralia has met all other accredited GreenPower product requirements4. A summary of the outcome of the audit will be placed on our website.
Will my electricity supply be affected in any way?
No. The reliability of your electricity supply will not be affected because there will be no changes to the way it is currently distributed from the national electricity grid to your home or business.
For more information about PureEnergy call us on 13 15 35 or visit our website: www.energy.com.au.
1. An average household consuming 7 MWh of electricity annually.
2. A car refers to a small family car with the equivalent of a 1.8 litre engine driving 15,000 km annually (emitting 0.23kg of CO2 per km)
3. The National GreenPower Accreditation Programme Annual Audit reported that for the 2005 calendar year EnergyAustralia had the highest sales and purchases of accredited GreenPower (in MWh)
4. For example, whether a sufficient percentage of that electricity was generated from “new” GreenPower Generators and whether EnergyAustralia acquired sufficient additional Renewable Energy Certificates to those required for other compliance obligations.
All green energy product alternatives are subject to terms and conditions.
|
