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Posted on: 18/09/2024
Built for scale in partnership with Granular Energy, the new product will set industry best practice with half-hourly matching of REGOs to consumption and help tackle greenwashing fears
18 September 2024 - SmartestEnergy, the energy company empowering switched-on organisations, generators and partners to reach net zero, has today launched Traceable Renewable Supply to enhance energy supply chain transparency for businesses, and enable a more accountable and continuous reporting process.
At a time when there are growing consumer concerns about greenwashing and the sustainability data reported by organisations, Traceable Renewable Supply allows businesses to report on a half-hourly basis, providing a more transparent way to measure true renewable electricity consumption and better trace its origins, giving greater reassurance to all stakeholders.
Traceable Renewable Supply delivers unprecedented transparency to organisations through high granularity reporting, based on matching between organisations’ consumption and output from a pool of renewable generators, contracted under PPAs with SmartestEnergy. This means that organisations at the leading edge can now receive half-hourly breakdowns of consumption against allocated volumes of renewable energy certificates. The new product has been built by SmartestEnergy and supported by technology from Granular Energy, the leading provider of energy and certificate management software for utilities, ensuring it is robust and ready to scale.
Prior to launch, SmartestEnergy has trialled Traceable Renewable Supply with customers, including the University of Reading and JLL. The trial consisted of 162 GWh matching across FY23/24, making it one of the UK’s largest-scale examples of half-hourly matching administered to date. One site in this trial saw its Carbon Free Energy (CFE) score increase by 23%, compared to its existing product. CFE scores represent the percentage of an energy consumer’s demand that is matched with carbon-free generation at a half-hourly resolution.
Several proposed changes to energy reporting by industry bodies are driving higher expectations among customers. To help companies meet these new standards and lead with industry best practice, the Traceable Renewable Supply product provides half-hourly matched Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGOs) to consumer consumption, as well as ringfencing REGOs from appropriate vintage renewable generation sites, contracted under PPAs from SmartestEnergy. This means that organisations who are RE100 members can remain compliant with the updated criteria for REGOs, while also empowering businesses to switch to CFE scoring, which has been recommended in the latest UK Green Building Council guidelines and is under consideration as a proposed change to GHG Scope 2 reporting.
Robert Groves, CEO, SmartestEnergy, said: “The launch of Traceable Renewable Supply marks a pivotal moment for SmartestEnergy in our ongoing commitment to empowering organisations to reach net zero in a responsible and accountable manner. Industry benchmarks in sustainability keep advancing and our new product uniquely helps customers who want to maintain their best practice status.
“Many organisations today want to know more about where their energy comes from, while at the same time addressing consumers’ expectations around being more sustainability conscious and remaining ahead of regulatory changes. By investing in Traceable Renewable Supply, we’re making these capabilities available to more businesses than ever. While this approach won’t be right for every organisation, our ambition is to have many of our customers on this product over the coming years. We’re delighted to have partnered with Granular Energy on this, ensuring we provide participating customers with access to innovative technology at scale.”
SmartestEnergy customer and trialist of Traceable Renewable Supply, David Mead, Associate, Property & Asset Management, JLL, said: “Driven by our own commitments, which are aligned to UKGBC guidance, we support the development of higher standards in renewable electricity contracts and reporting. It is essential that organisations enhance energy supply chain transparency and embrace accountability on their journey to reach net zero and the transition to a sustainable future."
SmartestEnergy customer and trialist of Traceable Renewable Supply, Dan Fernbank BSc AMEI, Energy & Sustainability Director, University of Reading said: “The University has been involved in discussions about traceable renewable energy supplies for the last couple of years, so we were very pleased to be approached by our supplier, SmartestEnergy, about taking part in a trial of their scheme ahead of its full launch. We recognise that annual matching of electricity consumption with renewable generation assets is no longer sufficient to encourage the development of more renewables, so we welcome Traceable Renewable Supply from SmartestEnergy to provide half-hourly matching and drive electricity production further towards genuine carbon neutrality.”
The launch of Traceable Renewable Supply further broadens the offering and support SmartestEnergy provides to organisations, regardless of where they are on their net zero journey. Whether they are taking up CPPAs, using high-quality offsets to address any remaining carbon emissions, or now looking to get transparent green supply, SmartestEnergy offers a spectrum of support for all organisations as they look to reach net zero.
Toby Ferenczi, CEO, Granular Energy, said: “By choosing where their energy comes from, businesses have a key role to play in accelerating the transition to clean energy. We’re delighted to be supporting SmartestEnergy in their groundbreaking launch of Traceable Renewable Supply.”
If you would like to find out more about SmartestEnergy’s Traceable Renewable Supply, further information is available here.
