Eugene Green Energy Standard
"EUGENE" redirects here. For other uses, see Eugene (disambiguation).The Eugene Green Energy Standard is an international standard to which national or international green electricity labelling schemes can be accredited to confirm that they provide genuine environmental benefits. It is designed to encourage the generation and use of additional renewable energy sources for electricity generation, although the limited use of additional natural gas-fired cogeneration plant is also supported.[1]
1 The standard 2 Accredited energy labels 3 The Eugene Network 4 See also 5 References 6 External links
The standardThe standard confirms that energy supplied under the accredited schemes:[2]
Is produced from genuinely sustainable energy sources. Will result in a real increase in renewable generation beyond the requirements imposed by government ('additionality'). That the demand from consumers is matched by renewable generation. Two variations of the standard, 'gold' and 'silver', differentiate between schemes depending on the additionality of new renewable energy supplied. The development of the standard was aided by the European Union's CLEAN-E initiative during 2005 and 2006[3][4]
Discussions on increasing the flexibility of the standard were due to commence during 2007 'to better reflect the reality of the voluntary green power market'.[5]
[edit] Accredited energy labelsAccredited national energy labels include:[6]
Germany: OK Power Switzerland: Naturemade Star The organisation also recommends certain other national schemes that are progressing towards accreditation, including:[7]
Finland: Norppa Netherlands: Milieukeur Sweden: Bra Miljöval In the absence of a Eugene accredited scheme in the United Kingdom, Eugene supports Ecotricity[8], while Good Energy claim to be ready for accreditation to the Eugene Standard[9]
The Eugene Standard has also been adopted in Chile,[10] while a pilot scheme is in progress in France.[11] Discussions with other national certification bodies are also in progress.
The Eugene NetworkThe standard is managed by the Eugene Network (formerly the European Green Electricity Network), an international membership-based non-profit organization. The Network aims to coordinate and harmonise green energy labelling nationally and internationally, promote the adoption of the Eugene Standard as the basis for national and international green energy markets, and encourage consumers and suppliers to choose credible green energy products. Formal discussions on the Eugene standard first took place in 2000, lead by the World Wide Fund for Nature, and was officially launched on June 24, 2002.[12] The Eugene Network was legally established in 2003 and the first national energy labels were accredited in 2004.[13]
Full voting membership of the Network is open to 'citizen organisations pursuing not for profit activities with the objectives of promoting green electricity but with no direct interests in the generation and supply of energy services'. Organisations outside this scope but which do 'have a commitment and interest in creating a viable green energy market' can become non-voting associate members or supporters.[14]
As of June 2007, the members of the Eugene Network were:[15]
World Wide Fund for Nature [1] Chile: Instituto de Ecología Política [2] Finland: Finnish Association for Nature Conservation [3] France: Comité de Liaison Energies Renouvelables [4] Germany: EnergieVision [5] Spain: Asociacion para la Defensa de la Naturaleza [6] Sweden: Swedish Society for Nature Conservation [7] Switzerland: Association for Environmental Friendly Electricity (VUE) [8] Switzerland: Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG) [9]