Ecotricity
Encyclopedia
Ecotricity is a green energy company based in Stroud, Gloucestershire
, England
specialising in selling and generating wind power
. It is built on the principle of heavily reinvesting its profit in building more of its own windfarms.
Ecotricity was started by Dale Vince
in 1995, with a single wind turbine he had used to power an old army truck he called home on a hill near Stroud in Gloucestershire, England.
From this Dale went on to commercially build Wind monitoring equipment (which the company still does to day using the name Nexgen) from there they went on to having their own Wind turbines, starting with a 40 metre turbine in the early 1990s which at the time was the largest in the country.
In a survey of green energy companies The Ecologist
magazine reported that in 2004 Ecotricity invested over £900 per customer on new Enercon
wind turbines, more than 100 times the amount invested per customer by Powergen, Npower
and Scottish Power
, all of whom market themselves as green energy suppliers. That amount also compares favourably with several other green energy suppliers such as Green Energy or Good Energy
, who make no direct investment in creating additional renewable energy
capacity on the UK electricity grid.
Since 2004, Ecotricity's site, WhichGreen.Org, has cited Ecotricity's contribution to new green energy sources, per customer, as £117 in 2005, £275 in 2006 and £555 in 2007 — with Scottish & Southern Energy, for example, averaging around £10 per customer in the same period.
In 2007 Vince ran a now famous advertisement on the back page of The Guardian newspaper inviting Richard Branson
to his place for a solution to climate change and a carbon-free breakfast. The ad ran the day after Branson appeared on TV with Al Gore, who had managed to persuade Branson that climate change was an issue. The ad was written and produced by Host Universal
and included Vince’s personal mobile phone number.
Ecotricity was also a winner in the 2007 Ashden Awards
for Sustainable Energy. The awards congratulated Ecotricity for their environmental contribution, stating that 'The company's turbines are delivering 46 GW·h/yr of renewable electricity and avoiding around 46,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. The installed capacity is expected to double by the end of 2007.'
In the past, a substantial proportion of the electricity (25.9% in 2007) sold by Ecotricity to customers came from nuclear sources, which help reduce carbon emissions. This proportion had decreased to 16% by 2010, and 2.6% by 2011.
Ecotricity also provide a 100% renewable energy tariff 'New Energy Plus' in which renewable energy is bought in from other suppliers to top up renewable energy produced by Ecotricity.
Ecotricity also produces solar energy, with its first 'sun park' coming onstream in 2011.
From May 2010 they became the first UK company to supply eco-friendly gas (produced in The Netherlands by Anaerobic digestion
of Sugar beet
waste)
is planned; in this trip they will only recharge from electricity produced by wind power.
service stations and their turbine in Reading, they will be equipped with both a uk standard 13amp domestic socket and a high power IEC 62196
32amp 3-phase socket.
Ecotricity are to build Wind Turbines and vehicle fast-charging at RoadChef
sites across the UK to allow vehicles to recharge directly from the wind.
In July 2011 it was announced that they will be providing fast and normal electric vehicle charging station
s at 14 of the Welcome Break
service stations, linking London in the south with Exeter in the west and Edinburgh in the north.
power company EDF Energy
for the alleged misuse of the Green Union Flag logo, used to promote their Team Green Britain campaign. Ecotricity had previously used a green Union flag in their own advertising and claimed that confused customers had contacted them to ask why the company was co-operating with EDF.
Ecotricity have an on-going war of words with fellow green supplier Good Energy
based on the criticism that Good Energy do not invest in Green power generation directly (though they do invest and upkeep their own wind farm).
In Grainthorpe
in Lincolnshire
on January 8, 2009 two of the blades of one of the company's turbines were damaged.
In the year to 30th April 2011 Ecotricity purchased a 71% shareholding in football club Forest Green Rovers F.C.
at a cost of £695,000. Dale Vince is the company's main Director and only shareholder and is now Chairman of the football club. He used his influence to ban all red meat being sold at the club and to use manure on the pitch, creating the only organic football pitch in the world.
In the year to 30th April 2011 Ecotricity also made Directors' loans of £496,719, interest free. So while the company borrowed £10m from retail investors in the first ecobond launch at 7 to 7.5%, it was lending it back to the Directors at 0%. There are only two Directors - Dale Vince
and Kate Vince.
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets and cafe culture...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
specialising in selling and generating wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
. It is built on the principle of heavily reinvesting its profit in building more of its own windfarms.
History
Dale Vince
Dale Vince is a Vegan former New Age traveller and British industrialist who has become noteworthy as the outspoken owner of the Green electricity company Ecotricity.-Football:In 2010 he became a major shareholder of Forest Green Rovers F.C....
in 1995, with a single wind turbine he had used to power an old army truck he called home on a hill near Stroud in Gloucestershire, England.
From this Dale went on to commercially build Wind monitoring equipment (which the company still does to day using the name Nexgen) from there they went on to having their own Wind turbines, starting with a 40 metre turbine in the early 1990s which at the time was the largest in the country.
In a survey of green energy companies The Ecologist
The Ecologist
The Ecologist is a British environmental publication founded in 1970 by Edward Goldsmith. It addresses a wide range of environmental subjects and promotes an ecological systems thinking approach through its news stories, investigations and opinion articles. The Ecologist encourages its readers to...
magazine reported that in 2004 Ecotricity invested over £900 per customer on new Enercon
Enercon
Enercon GmbH, based in Aurich, Germany, is the fourth-largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world and has been the market leader in Germany since the mid-nineties. Enercon has production facilities in Germany , Sweden, Brazil, India, Canada, Turkey and Portugal...
wind turbines, more than 100 times the amount invested per customer by Powergen, Npower
Npower (UK)
RWE Npower plc is a UK-based electricity and gas supply generation company, formerly known as Innogy plc. As Innogy plc it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
and Scottish Power
Scottish Power
ScottishPower Ltd. is a vertically integrated energy company with its headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but in 2006 it became a subsidiary of the Spanish utility Iberdrola...
, all of whom market themselves as green energy suppliers. That amount also compares favourably with several other green energy suppliers such as Green Energy or Good Energy
Good Energy
Good Energy is a renewable energy company in the United Kingdom. It supplies 100% renewable electricity to homes and businesses throughout the UK.-History:...
, who make no direct investment in creating additional renewable energy
Sustainable energy
Sustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources include all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal...
capacity on the UK electricity grid.
Since 2004, Ecotricity's site, WhichGreen.Org, has cited Ecotricity's contribution to new green energy sources, per customer, as £117 in 2005, £275 in 2006 and £555 in 2007 — with Scottish & Southern Energy, for example, averaging around £10 per customer in the same period.
In 2007 Vince ran a now famous advertisement on the back page of The Guardian newspaper inviting Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
to his place for a solution to climate change and a carbon-free breakfast. The ad ran the day after Branson appeared on TV with Al Gore, who had managed to persuade Branson that climate change was an issue. The ad was written and produced by Host Universal
Host Universal
Host Universal is an ethical brand strategy and communications network founded in 1997 by Robin Smith. Host is mission-driven and it works with clients on projects with social or environmental impact...
and included Vince’s personal mobile phone number.
Ecotricity was also a winner in the 2007 Ashden Awards
Ashden Awards
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy are annual awards given by a charity of the same name that is based in London. They reward local sustainable energy projects in the UK and developing countries that protect the environment, and improve quality of life....
for Sustainable Energy. The awards congratulated Ecotricity for their environmental contribution, stating that 'The company's turbines are delivering 46 GW·h/yr of renewable electricity and avoiding around 46,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. The installed capacity is expected to double by the end of 2007.'
Fuel mix
Ecotricity's proportion of renewable energy rose from 24.1% in 2007 to 51.1% in 2011 (compared with a national average of 7.9%), with a further increase to 60% expected in 2012In the past, a substantial proportion of the electricity (25.9% in 2007) sold by Ecotricity to customers came from nuclear sources, which help reduce carbon emissions. This proportion had decreased to 16% by 2010, and 2.6% by 2011.
Ecotricity also provide a 100% renewable energy tariff 'New Energy Plus' in which renewable energy is bought in from other suppliers to top up renewable energy produced by Ecotricity.
Ecotricity also produces solar energy, with its first 'sun park' coming onstream in 2011.
From May 2010 they became the first UK company to supply eco-friendly gas (produced in The Netherlands by Anaerobic digestion
Anaerobic digestion
Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. It is used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste and/or to release energy....
of Sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
waste)
Greenbird
Ecotricity is the sponsor of the Ecotricity Greenbird, a wind-powered vehicle that set a new world land speed record for wind-powered vehicles on March 26, 2009 on the dry Lake Ivanpah.Nemesis
Ecotricity has built a custom Electric sport car called 'Nemesis' that was built as a demonstration of what electric cars are capable of: an endurance trip from Land's End to John o' GroatsLand's End to John o' Groats
Land's End to John o' Groats is the traversal of the whole length of the island of Great Britain between two extremities; in the southwest and northeast. The traditional distance by road is and takes most cyclists ten to fourteen days; the record for running the route is nine days. Off-road...
is planned; in this trip they will only recharge from electricity produced by wind power.
Vehicle recharging
In July 2011 they announced their Vehicle charging network that will be sited at Welcome BreakWelcome Break
Welcome Break is a company which operates thirty-five motorway service stations in the UK. It is the second largest motorway service area operator behind Moto.-History:...
service stations and their turbine in Reading, they will be equipped with both a uk standard 13amp domestic socket and a high power IEC 62196
IEC 62196
IEC 62196 is an international standard for set of electrical connectors and charging modes for electric vehicles and is maintained by the International Electrotechnical Commission ....
32amp 3-phase socket.
Ecotricity are to build Wind Turbines and vehicle fast-charging at RoadChef
RoadChef
Roadchef is a company which operates twenty motorway service areas in the UK. Behind Moto and Welcome Break, it is the third largest motorway service area operator .-History:...
sites across the UK to allow vehicles to recharge directly from the wind.
In July 2011 it was announced that they will be providing fast and normal electric vehicle charging station
Charging station
An electric vehicle charging station, also called EV charging station, electric recharging point, charging point and EVSE , is an element in an infrastructure that supplies electric energy for the recharging of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric-gasoline vehicles) or semi-static and mobile...
s at 14 of the Welcome Break
Welcome Break
Welcome Break is a company which operates thirty-five motorway service stations in the UK. It is the second largest motorway service area operator behind Moto.-History:...
service stations, linking London in the south with Exeter in the west and Edinburgh in the north.
Controversy
In July 2009, Ecotricity started legal proceedings against FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
power company EDF Energy
EDF Energy
EDF Energy is an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom...
for the alleged misuse of the Green Union Flag logo, used to promote their Team Green Britain campaign. Ecotricity had previously used a green Union flag in their own advertising and claimed that confused customers had contacted them to ask why the company was co-operating with EDF.
Ecotricity have an on-going war of words with fellow green supplier Good Energy
Good Energy
Good Energy is a renewable energy company in the United Kingdom. It supplies 100% renewable electricity to homes and businesses throughout the UK.-History:...
based on the criticism that Good Energy do not invest in Green power generation directly (though they do invest and upkeep their own wind farm).
In Grainthorpe
Grainthorpe
Grainthorpe is a small village and civil parish about north east of the town of Louth, Lincolnshire, England, about from the coast. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Wragholme to the north west, and Ludney to the south east....
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
on January 8, 2009 two of the blades of one of the company's turbines were damaged.
In the year to 30th April 2011 Ecotricity purchased a 71% shareholding in football club Forest Green Rovers F.C.
Forest Green Rovers F.C.
Forest Green Rovers Football Club is an English football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, currently the longest-serving members of the Conference National. The club is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA.-Early years:...
at a cost of £695,000. Dale Vince is the company's main Director and only shareholder and is now Chairman of the football club. He used his influence to ban all red meat being sold at the club and to use manure on the pitch, creating the only organic football pitch in the world.
In the year to 30th April 2011 Ecotricity also made Directors' loans of £496,719, interest free. So while the company borrowed £10m from retail investors in the first ecobond launch at 7 to 7.5%, it was lending it back to the Directors at 0%. There are only two Directors - Dale Vince
Dale Vince
Dale Vince is a Vegan former New Age traveller and British industrialist who has become noteworthy as the outspoken owner of the Green electricity company Ecotricity.-Football:In 2010 he became a major shareholder of Forest Green Rovers F.C....
and Kate Vince.
See also
- Green electricity in the United KingdomGreen electricity in the United KingdomThere are a number of suppliers offering 'green' electricity in the United Kingdom, either supplying electricity from existing environmentally friendly energy sources, promising to invest a proportion of profits into new renewable energy generating capacity, carrying out carbon offsetting, or some...
- Wind power in the United KingdomWind power in the United KingdomBy mid-2011, the installed capacity of wind power in the United Kingdom was over 5.7 gigawatts and the UK is ranked as the world’s eighth largest producer of wind power. Wind power is expected to continue growing in the UK for the foreseeable future, RenewableUK estimates that more than...
- Energy policy of the United KingdomEnergy policy of the United KingdomThe current energy policy of the United Kingdom is set out in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 and Low Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, building on previous work including the 2003 Energy White Paper and the Energy Review Report in 2006...
- Energy use and conservation in the United KingdomEnergy use and conservation in the United KingdomEnergy use in the United Kingdom stood at 3,894.6 kilogrammes of oil equivalent per capita in 2005 compared to a world average of 1,778.0. In 2008, total energy consumed was 9.85 exajoules - around 2% of the estimated 474 EJ worldwide total...
- SwaffhamSwaffhamSwaffham is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich.The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,935 in 3,130 households...
- Wind farmWind farmA wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
External links
- Ecotricity Website
- Ecologist article on "green" energy
- WhichGreen: Ecotricity's league table for green energy suppliers
- 'National Consumer Report: Reality or rhetoric? Green tariffs for domestic consumers.
- www.electricityinfo.org
- Association for Environment Conscious Building: The Green Electricity Illusion
- Zerocarbonista.com - Blog by Ecotricity's founder - Dale Vince