SmartestEnergy leads indie generated renewable electricity market

The company, which is wholly‐owned by the Marubeni Corporation of Japan, supplies electricity to large businesses in the half-hourly metered market, including Marks & Spencers and the Arcadia Group.

It is now the largest portfolio trader of non-utility generated electricity in the UK, with over 1500 megawatts (MW) under management – giving it a total portfolio capacity equivalent to that of a traditional coal or nuclear fired power station. It says it has added 137 MW of new independently generated electricity to its books over the last six month alone, including a wind energy power purchase contract with a 900 kilowatt community turbine on the Orkney island of Westray.

“For over eight years now SmartestEnergy has championed the independent generation sector through the provision of flexible power purchase agreements that provide an income for the generator as well as collateral for securing the initial project capital,” said Steve Armitage, director at SmartestEnergy. “The right range of policy drivers is now in place in the UK to encourage far more independent producers and we expect 2010 to be a strong year of growth for SmartestEnergy.”

Marks & Spencer and The Arcadia Group are among 300 businesses that have signed up to receive 100 per cent renewable electricity supply from SmartestEnergy in the last year, and that number is expected to grow in 2010 as the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme comes into force.

Jo Butlin, vice president for Retail at SmartestEnergy said: “Demand for renewable power from the corporate sector has never been greater. By linking independent generators directly to this demand, we are creating a market for their electricity while simultaneously contributing to a greener society.”

SmartestEnergy purchases renewable electricity from independent sites representing technologies from mini-hydro to anaerobic digestion and wind, with a capacity range of between 1 MW to 420 MW. Taken together, this represents an output capacity greater than any other renewable supplier, including Good Energy and Ecotricity, said the company.

“Good Energy is the only supplier in the UK to purchase all its electricity from renewable sources, but its combined portfolio is still smaller than the percentage of renewables in Smartest’s portfolio, because, whereas Good Energy focuses on microgeneration, SmartestEnergy purchases from larger on-site projects with a greater generating capacity,” said a spokesperson for the company.

SmartestEnergy’s portfolio of generators includes blue chip industrial companies such as Rolls Royce Power Development, British Sugar and Viridor Waste Management, as well as individual generators and project developers.