| 1. SCHOTT and Engie sign 2 PPAs for EKOenergy-labelled electricity |
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Today, SCHOTT, a leading international company in the areas of speciality glass, glass-ceramics and glass innovations, announced that they made two Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Engie for the supply of EKOenergy-labelled German wind and solar power. Many thanks to all those involved in this deal!
SCHOTT has been using EKOenergy-labelled electricity for several years through a variety of sourcing methods. We thank SCHOTT for showing leadership, and congratulate them on the new step!
We want to use the opportunity to remind all those who are active in the energy market that our non-profit ecolabel can be combined with all types of sourcing of renewable energy, such as green tariffs, unbundled purchase of energy attribute certificates, PPAs or the use of renewables produced on-site.
Our non-profit ecolabel is an efficient and globally available tool to take positive steps regarding the 5 dimensions of leadership in the transition to 100% renewable energy, regardless of the purchasing method used. Don't hesitate to contact us for more information. |
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| "With PPAs, we want to make an even more concrete contribution to the energy transition. Through the EKOenergy label, we ensure that the wind and photovoltaic plants from which we draw electricity meet additional sustainability criteria. " - Thomas Hahn, Global Category Manager Energy in Purchasing at SCHOTT |
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| 2. Gesternova organises an "EKOenergy month" |
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The energy supplier Gesternova, one of our authorised sellers in Spain, is organising an “EKOenergy month” during the month of October.
Gesternova and their sales agents are focusing on EKOenergy throughout the whole month. They have updated the section about EKOenergy on their website, post about EKOenergy's concrete achievements on their social media and publish blog posts too.
During the EKOenergy month, all fixed price tariffs and all new electricity contracts made through their website are for EKOenergy-labelled electricity.
On 7 October, the Spanish radio programme Ecogestiona interviewed our volunteer Maria Quero about our ecolabel and focused in particular on the tangible results of EKOenergy's Climate Fund. She was joined by Javier Del Fraile Tejedor, commercial director at Gesternova.
We thank Gesternova for their active promotion of EKOenergy! We’d be happy to help set up similar initiatives in other countries too, feel free to get in contact with us! |
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| "In the era of impact, the environmental and the social are mixed and the consumer can decide to support both. In addition to guaranteeing renewable energy, Gesternova promotes EKOenergy to finance projects against energy poverty." - Article about Gesternova's EKOenergy month in Igluu Magazine |
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| 3. South Pole wins EKOenergy’s Oak Award for the second time in a row |
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EKOenergy's authorised sellers are doing amazing work and help us achieve concrete results around the world. We are very thankful for all their efforts.
Every year, we highlight some extraordinary efforts and achievements and celebrate them through the EKOenergy Awards.
We are happy to present EKOenergy’s Oak Award 2022 to South Pole, for selling the largest volumes of EKOenergy in 2021. This is the 2nd time in a row South Pole has won this award, which is a big accomplishment given that the race to be our largest seller was tight once again among the top four.
Congratulations to South Pole, in particular to their Renewable Energy Desk. We interviewed South Pole's Renewable Energy Porfolio Specialist Matheus Monteiro about how they achieved this success.
South Pole is an international sustainability consultancy. They work with businesses and governments across the globe, helping them realise deep decarbonisation pathways across industries. South Pole started 15 years ago as a company focusing on carbon offsets. In 2015, they became active in renewable energy sales and they have been an authorised seller of EKOenergy since 2016. |
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| "EKOenergy’s ecolabel allows us to align our global coverage with high-quality renewable energy projects and enables us to bring a strong value proposition to our clients." - Matheus Monteiro, South Pole, in an interview on our website |
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| 4. Ready for the I-REC Standard Conference (ISC 2022) |
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EKOenergy is a supporting association of the first I-REC Standard Conference, taking place in Bangkok, Thailand, on 1 and 2 November 2022.
The conference is an opportunity for I-REC (International Renewable Energy Certificates) market actors, facilitators, stakeholders and government agencies to gather and get up to date on the existing governance structure, upcoming Product Codes, and market developments. It's also a perfect place to share thoughts, visions, and experiences with their peers from around the world. Check out the I-REC Standard Conference website for the conference programme and to register.
In 2015, EKOenergy was amongst the first to endorse certificates issued and redeemed in line with the I-REC Standard as valid instruments to prove the origin of electricity and avoid double counting. It's great to see how I-RECs are contributing to the emergence of vibrant renewable energy markets in more countries every year. This conference is another step in their progress .
To meet us at the conference and to learn more about how our ecolabel helps make an additional impact, feel free to contact Merve Güngör or our Secretariat. |
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| 5. Three takeaways from RE-Source 2022 |
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The RE-Source Conference took place earlier this month in Amsterdam and was a big success once again. Congratulations to the organisers and thanks to all the participants for making it a fruitful event.
Here are 3 of our takeaways:
The energy crisis is clearly leading to a fast increase in consumers' interest in renewable energy solutions. Buyers’ participation and eagerness in committing for longer periods reflect this.
One of the major barriers to the development of the PPA market in Europe is the availability of new projects. Governments must prioritise improving permitting procedures and removing grid and skilled labour bottlenecks. However, there is another barrier that prevents PPAs from becoming even more popular: the lack of issuance of GOs for all renewable electricity generation.
Heat is the next big challenge in the corporate decarbonisation journey, particularly for industrial users. Heat Purchase Agreements have the potential to offer a solution to companies' strategic needs and interests. |
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| "Started from Helsinki on October 2nd by boat to Stockholm and have been taking trains since. There were minor delays of 5-10 minutes but no major issues. I've had time to enjoy the autumn colours from the window and beautiful wind turbines in Denmark and Germany." Merve Güngör from our Secretariat, on her journey to the RE-Source Conference |
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| 6. EKOenergy was named among the “Good 100” at the GoodFestival |
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GoodFestival selected EKOenergy ecolabel as one of their “Good 100”, and our work was presented at the festival’s 8th edition, on 14 October at the Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland.
GoodFestival’s mission is to identify projects that are making a positive impact in people’s lives today - clean water, balanced nutrition, breathable air, renewable energy, quality education, reliable healthcare, secure habitat or self-expression, and to showcase sustainable innovators from around the world.
Thanks a lot to the staff and volunteers of GoodFestival, for the recognition and for the organisation of the inspiring event.
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| 7. News from the renewable energy projects we financed |
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Users of EKOenergy-labelled energy help speed up the energy transition in many ways. One way is by contributing to clean energy projects in developing countries. These projects improve the living standards of local communities, many of which are located in rural off-grid areas.
We regularly share news about ongoing projects and about the final results.
Last year, EKOenergy granted 24,270€ to the UK charity Renewable World, to provide solar power to off-grid health clinics in Surkhet District, Nepal. The project is now complete. 4 health centres in this district now each have a solar energy system and a refrigerator.
In 2020, EKOenergy granted 12,000 € to a project by Santé Sud to provide solar energy to 13 rural community health centres in Mali. In 2021, we granted another 7,408 € to power 4 more health centres in the capital area too. Check out the new article on our website, based on the final reports of both projects.
Earlier this year, we granted 34,038 € to TERI, to install solar PV systems in various Primary Health Centres in Karnataka state, India. The work has now started with the setting-up of local project committees.
In July 2020, EKOenergy granted 22,000 euros to the Renewable World and their Nepalese partners to alleviate water scarcity and provide better access to water with the help of solar-powered water pumps in the Achham District of Nepal. This project is now complete. You can read more about it in our newest Climate Stories leaflet.
Follow us on social media for regular updates about these projects and others that have been realised thanks to the users and sellers of EKOenergy-labelled energy. |
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| "Now that we have the solar electrification and a small refrigerator, we can store the unused vaccines and use them on the next day. This has minimised the need to travel all the way to municipality health departments." - Centre Manager of the Timure Health Unit, Nepal. Solar electrification project financed by EKOenergy, final project report |
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| 8. EKOenergy on social media |
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Follow EKOenergy on social media to get relevant updates about the climate crisis, renewable energy and climate action worldwide.
Here are some recent posts:
EKOenergy materials are available in many languages. The updated version of our brand book is now available in French too. (from our LinkedIn)
Most of the time we are contacting energy consumers and energy companies, encouraging them to speed up the energy transition. But once a week, we are in front of the parliament, to remind our politicians that they should take the Climate Crisis seriously too! #FridaysForFuture (from our Twitter)
If you're in Cape Town, South Africa, join the environmental organisations from October 18th to 21st outside the Africa Energy Week venue (Water Front, Cape Town) to ensure the Africa Energy Week does not lock the continent and its people in fossil fuel future! (from our Instagram).
Merci, thanks, Origo Renouvelables for mentioning EKOenergy in your CSR report 2021-2022. We are proud and happy that you are one of our authorised sellers! (from our Twitter)
As part of the Salto Awards application process we made a 1-minute video about our ongoing EKOpixel campaign. (from our YouTube) |
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In the recently published Energy Transition Narrative RMI experts Kingsmill Bond and Sam Butler-Sloss confirm and illustrate that this decade will see enormous opportunity for those that embrace change, and catastrophic risk for those that fail to do so.
"Cost, security, and climate: once at odds, now fully aligned. High prices of fossil fuels reduce fossil fuel demand and massively increase the competitiveness of renewable technologies. Governments have an additional energy security and economic incentive to deploy renewables and increase efficiency. Witness the IRA in the United States, REPowerEU in Europe, and the IEA Sønderborg Action Plan on efficiency. Renewable energy deployment continues to grow exponentially. Latest forecasts are for solar growth in 2022 of ~38% and EV sales growth of ~60%."
"Until recently, the fossil fuel system seemed to have all the advantages. Thanks to technology solutions and lower costs, the economic, security, and technology advantage has passed to renewables. So the seesaw has moved over toward change."
The publication contains many useful and inspiring visuals and graphs! Check it out. |
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We at EKOenergy are always enthusiastic to collaborate with new partners.
For further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch. |
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