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• What is Green Power? How Does it Work?

The Green Power Program is an initiative introduced by the Australian Government in 1997. It encourages households and businesses to reduce their impact on the environment by paying for electricity that is produced by a renewable power source. These sources must meet strict accreditation criteria.

However, it should be noted that this is not necessarily the electricity which powers your specific home or business; rather, the energy is added to the grid on your behalf.

The Green Power Program aims to achieve several goals, including:

• Encourage and facilitate the development and use of renewable energy power sources and generators in Australia
• Provide consumers with more choice regarding renewable energy sources and increase consumer confidence in them
• Inform consumers and increase awareness regarding renewable energy sources and how they can help to reduce greenhouse emissions

Ultimately, however, the primary goal of the Green Power Program is to reduce greenhouse emissions that would otherwise be produced by non-renewable energy sources. As such, households and businesses who invest in Green Power are not only supporting the renewable energy industry in Australia, they are also reducing their own carbon footprint.

Green Power is available through the purchasing of Green Power Products, which are supplied by most of Australia’s major electricity retailers, as well as through decoupled Green Power Providers who purchase and surrender Large-scale Generation Certificates.

Providers that carbon offset energy in Australia are:

• EnergyAustralia
• Powershop
• Energy Locals
• AGL
• Origin
• Ovo Energy
• DC Power Co
• Nectr