The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) has warned
energy companies against using claims that energy plans are 100%
renewable following an investigation arising from a complaint about
an advertising campaign.
The complaint and subsequent investigation surrounded the use of
the phrase "100% renewable" for packages being sold to
consumers. The investigation found that such packages were still
powered by electricity from fossil fuels including gas, oil, coal
and peat. In fact, Ireland has only enough wind farms and solar
parks to supply about 30-40% of the electricity requirements.
Companies were instead relying on the European "Guarantee
of Origin" scheme which allows them to buy certificates from
renewable energy providers outside of Ireland and set them off
against energy usage in Ireland. The renewable energy is not used
in Ireland as the power could not be generated abroad and used in
Ireland.
