19 ways a renewable supply makes you cool

Switching energy suppliers is down there with painting the front gate, filing your tax return, or  even switching bank account on the daily priority list.

What if we told you the decision could help save the world as well as hundreds of pounds a year for you?

The US and China have just decided to go green.

Renewable energy is popular with the UK population – 76 per cent of us support it, according to government figures.

It’s the way the world is swinging.

Yet, in a bizarre example of cognitive dissonance, few of us seem prepared to follow the direction of travel personally, by switching to a renewable energy supplier.

Why don’t we go greener?

Price perception is one reason. People tend to think green is expensive. It isn’t.

True, the very cheapest tariff on the market is probably not 100% renewable energy.

But these days, renewables tariffs can be very, very cheap, if not the cheapest on the market, sometimes only costing £20 or so a year more than the lowest cost deal for an average dual fuel user (check out Bulb and use our referral link to get £50 if you fancy switching to them).

If you are stuck on a standard tariff from the Big Six, you WILL save money by switching to any green energy supplier. Fact. So it’s a total no brainer as well as good for everyone.

(NB. We’ve started a STAR SWITCHER campaign, hearing from people who have made the switch and are very happy they did.)

Another misperception is that renewables are somehow less reliable and you won’t be able to dry your hair on days that aren’t windy enough.

Let’s blow that one straight out of the water – it doesn’t work like that. Your supply won’t be cut off if you switch to renewables. The intermittent nature of wind and solar does NOT mean you will sometimes be left without the TV or heating. The supply is JUST AS GOOD.

And the process is an absolute breeze.

Providers such as Good Energy and Ecotricity have been challenging the Big Six for years. They are established businesses, loved by their customers.

There are a host of new, green challengers too. Besides Bulb, there are Octopus Energy, Green Star and M&S Energy. All 100% carbon emission free.

Here are 19 reasons that switching to a green energy provider makes you the coolest in school:

1. Big companies are going green. IKEA, Apple, John Lewis, all pledging to switch to 100% renewables, recognising the lower, long term cost benefits to their businesses as well as credentials with customers and planetary brownie points.
2. Seventy per cent of Britons agree that renewable energy provides economic benefits to the country. And right now, amid post-Brexit uncertainty, the UK could do with as many economic benefits as it can get.
3. 100% renewables is possible. Earlier this month, Scotland’s wind turbines covered all of the country’s energy needs for a day. Don’t believe the naysayers.
4. A quarter of the UK’s energy supply is now from renewable sources – and rising. Get ahead of the curve.
5. In May, Portugal was 100% powered by renewables for FOUR DAYS.
6. China is all over renewable energy and is building two new turbines every day. China knows.
7. You can invest in it AND get your supply from it. Read why renewable energy looks more attractive as an investment after the Brexit vote and watch Bruce Davis, from Abundance Investments, explain how it works in this video.
8. It creates jobs in manufacturing and a new energy supply industry – we could all benefit from this extra employment and GDP boost, especially as vital businesses such as Tata Steel look so shaky.
9. It’s powerful. Just one wind turbine creates enough energy to power around 1,400 homes. Don’t even get us started on the potential of tidal.
10. If taken advantage of to its fullest extent, sunlight that beams on the earth for ONE HOUR could meet world energy demands for an entire year.
11. It’s sustainable, using only the infinite power offered by the sun, water and wind. That reliability translates into more stable prices for you, too. It is less affected by ups and downs in oil prices.
12. It’s safe. No oil spills or nuclear leaks here.
13. It doesn’t increase CO2 emissions and therefore does not contribute to climate change.
14. It could cut your own carbon footprint by up to 50 per cent.
15. Lead the pack! Solar power may account for the world’s main energy source of power by 2050.
16. It doesn’t cost more and can actually save you money on your energy bills. Read our guide to see how and why.
17. Security of supply. We don’t need to worry about reactors shutting down or coal running out. The chance of the sun no longer shining is considered low.
18. Switching is easy: you don’t have to do anything except click a few boxes online, you won’t be left without power, no one needs to come to your house, and some providers will even pay your exit fees from current suppliers.
19. Renewable energy increases the country’s energy security and therefore political stability.  Less reliance on countries such as Russia for our energy needs is no bad thing.

By joining a renewable supplier such as Good Energy, you will be joining a community of homes and businesses that:

• buy 100% renewable electricity, through switching their supply;
• generate renewable power in their own homes; and
• invest in renewable power developments as shareholders

It’s a virtuous circle of which we can all be part.

Sources: www.go100percent.org, www.greenpeace.org, www.renewableuk.com, www.goodenergy.co.uk, www.nationalgeographic.com, www.fortune.com, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS) public attitudes tracker