Green electricity: how to identify the most ecological offers in France?

All green electricity offers are not equal in France.To help the public identify those that will contribute the most to the climate transition, Ademe has launched a new label called Greenvolt.Several suppliers have already received certification.

Ecological electricity is increasingly interested in French: 70 % of electricity offers in France are now called "green".The problem is that they are far from all having the same concrete impact on the development of renewable energies.To help consumers see more clearly, Ademe launched on October 22, a new label called Greenvolt.

This system finely assesses the operation of green electricity suppliers in France and allows customers to identify offers that will have the strongest impact on the climate transition.

Landscape with wind turbine

What green electricity offers can the Greenvolt label have?

The Vertevolt label is available in two versions.

This label brings useful precision on a market where a certain ambiguity reigned.By choosing a green electricity offer, a user did not have the guarantee that the supplier buys directly from the electricity produced by renewable energy installations (ENR), only that it buys certificates called guaranteesOrigin, issued by enr producers.These certificates ensure that a quantity of green electricity equivalent to that consumed by the customer is reinjected on the network.

More or less demanding green electricity offers

As ADEME points out, the original guarantees system, however, contributes little to the development of renewable energy in France."The currently very low price of certificates does not really allow to finance the development of new facilities," she said

Suppliers often buy electricity and "original guarantees" certificates separately.Their only obligation is to buy a quantity of certificates equal to the consumption of their customer.Result, underlines ADEME, suppliers frequently buy these certificates from European hydraulic installations already amortized.This type of green electricity offers therefore does not specially contribute to the development of new renewable energy production sites: these dams have been there for a long time and would have supplied the market in all cases.For this reason, this type of offer will not be able to obtain the Greenvolt label.

Several offers have already received the new Ademe label.The Enercoop - individual offer, the local Roanne offer and the ultra local eco consumption of PLüm Energy have thus obtained the "very committed", the most demanding green label, the most demanding.Four offers have also obtained the "committed" greenvolt label in particular option Greenlelec+ Happ-e of ENGIE and the EDF Regional Electric Green offer.All offers labeled Greenvolt and their characteristics are on this page of Ademe.

To protect it, you have to understand the environment