Will Anderson: The Green House

If you have a green energy supplier it just means that you pass the pollutant parcel

THE PROTESTERS who stormed the Drax power station a couple of weeks ago may have failed to shut it down but they succeeded admirably in drawing attention to the nation's dependence on coal as a source of power. Coal-trucks may no longer cart their dusty deliveries around urban streets, and sulphur smog may be all but a memory, but coal continues to be burnt in abundance to keep our lights, washing machines and PlayStations alive. Some of the worst pollutants from coal combustion are now trapped in the power station chimney, but climate-damaging carbon dioxide continues to spew out in abundance.

If you want to do something about this but don't feel like becoming an eco-storm trooper you really only have one option: reduce the power you consume. The less power we all use, especially at peak times, the less time Drax is kept running and the less carbon is pumped into the sky. So change your lightbulbs, buy energy-efficient appliances (see www.est.org.uk/myhome) and, above all, avoid using electricity for space and water heating, for which gas is far less carbon-intensive.

If you think this doesn't apply to you because you have a green electricity tariff, you're wrong; completely, utterly, totally, inescapably wrong. I hope that message is clear enough, because the idea that a green electricity supply gives you carte blanche to burn power willy-nilly turns me red with rage. My language is colourful because this myth has become so widespread that some people even think that electric heating on a green tariff is more "eco-friendly" than gas.

The harsh truth is that there simply isn't enough renewable energy to go round. The output of renewable-power generators in this country meets about three per cent of the total demand for electricity. Lighting alone currently gobbles up about 20 per cent of the entire electricity supply, so there is no spare renewable capacity out there to cover new pressures, such as those created by developers who switch from gas to electricity for heating. Anything that increases the overall demand on the nation's power supply will be taken up by coal-fired power stations, regardless of whom the power is ostensibly bought from. Similarly if you have a green tariff but fail to minimise your electricity use, you are also pushing up total demand and keeping Drax in business.

You might also be beguiled into thinking that the more electricity you use on a green tariff, the more you are supporting the development of the renewable power industry through your higher monthly payments. But this doesn't wash either. Investment in renewables is driven by Government policy, not by consumer demand, above all by the renewables obligation that requires all electricity suppliers to produce an ever-increasing proportion of their power by renewable means. So although it's a good idea to buy green power from a company that is spending money on new plant, such as Ecotricity ( www.ecotricity.co.uk), your first priority should always be to minimise your own consumption.

There is, however, one other way to reduce the fumes of Drax: make some power yourself. The computer on which I am writing this is powered by the roof above me which is currently generating more than four kilowatts, most of which is being exported and used by my neighbours. Here the same principle applies, only in reverse: the more power I save in my own home through energy efficiency, the more of my solar electrons get exported and the less my neighbours have to rely on Drax.

w.anderson@independent.co.uk

GREAT BUY

To accompany your carrot-cake, enjoy a home-grown tea with low food-miles. See Tregothnan Teas at www.tregothnantea.com (01872 520 003)

GREAT WEBSITE

Get the detail on environmentally friendly energy tariffs from www.greenelectricity.org, www.ukgreenpower.co.uk and www.energylinx.co.uk.