Do ChargeNet charging stations run on renewable energy?

Many of the charging points on our network are powered 100% renewable, climate-positive certified electricity that is sourced from wind, hydro, and solar, through ChargeNet’s energy partner Ecotricity.

Does that mean we can guarantee that the electrons delivered at one of our charging points come from only renewables? Unfortunately, that is not possible, yet.

As you may know, electricity is an interchangeable commodity throughout New Zealand. Ecotricity are able to very accurately account for how much they are supplying to their customers and conversely purchasing from renewable resources on an annualized basis. The net effect therefore is that Ecotricity are only supplying from Toitū climate positive certified renewable sources.

Ecotricity also takes into account what emissions arise from the construction of the renewable generation plant, such as concrete, steel, transport to and from the site etc. as well as the ongoing maintenance of the site and its eventual end-of-life decommissioning. (A very detailed piece of work goes on behind the scenes, and we are working to make that process and our partnership with Ecotricity more transparent - watch this space).

The Toitū climate positive certification for electricity is based on international protocols and United Nations Product Specifications for supplying electricity from renewable sources. Carbon-neutral electricity is offered in many overseas markets, including Australia, the US and Europe. The Toitū climate-positive certified electricity programme has also been peer-reviewed by an overseas expert. The reason it is important to support carbon-zero and climate positive Certified electricity is so that new renewable electricity is developed, in particular wind and solar.

Ecotricity has more information available about this subject on their website: https://ecotricity.co.nz/doesn-t-all