Renewable electricity, fossil-free electricity, green electricity – what do all terms really mean? Here we work out the concepts!
Renewable electricity – Renewable electricity is electricity produced through renewable sources such as hydropower, wind power, solar cells or with biofuel.
Fossil-free electricity – Fossil-free electricity is electricity produced without the use of fossil fuels. For example, hydropower is both renewable and fossil-free, while nuclear power is fossil-free, but not renewable.
Green electricity – “Green electricity” is a common term for electricity companies who want to say that they have an environmentally friendly product.
However, there is no definition or requirement that states what the electricity must consist of in order to be called “green”, it can, therefore, contain 100% renewable electricity as well as 10% renewable electricity. Or 100% nuclear power, if the electricity company considers it a green alternative. The same applies to terms such as “clean electricity” or “environmentally friendly electricity”.
We, therefore, do not say that we have green electricity, even though our electricity is renewable. Green is a color.
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