100% Dutch solar power and CO2 compensated gas

Next to (solar) power Vrijopnaam supplies natural gas to households with a heating demand. Unfortunately, in the Netherlands there is not enough green (bio)gas for large scale consumption. That’s why Vrijopnaam fully offsets the environmental impact caused by the natural gas supply through Gold Standard Projects. Gold Standard sets the international standard for climate and development interventions to quantify, certify and maximize their impact.

Choosing green power as an end consumer makes in fact no change on a system level, in the perspective of the energy transition. Neither does selecting an individual renewable energy source for the supply of power. This is just repackaging existing products. We enable our customers to produce their own green energy in newly built solar parks that enlarge the share of renewables in the energy mix. So, as a customer of Vrijopnaam you can truly contribute to the energy transition. And by producing your own solar power, the regular profit margin of your energy supplier ends up in your own pocket.

We totally support your conscious choice for green energy! Yet, there are different good reasons for a switch to Vrijopnaam.

1. You receive the return on your investment in green power via “Panelenopnaam”
   You can invest in “Panelenopnaam”, which are solar panels in Vrijopnaam’s cooperative field projects, with an appealing return on your investment. When you solely buy green power from your supplier, this financial return predominantly ends up at the asset owner or project developer. At Vrijopnaam, you are the energy producer yourself!
   
   
2. Choosing green energy hardly makes any difference on a system level. 
   As an end consumer, choosing green power does not lead to an increase of the share of renewable energy in the Dutch energy mix. After all, the wind of solar farms you can select already exist. In other words, your choice does not result in new investments in renewable energy production. At Vrijopnaam, the money invested in Panelenopnaam is directly used for the development and construction of new solar sites.
   
   
3. You can be sure we supply legitimate sustainable energy.
   Norwegian hydropower and other foreign sources account for about 60% of all supplied green electricity in the Netherlands. Via the administrative system of “certificates of origin”, suppliers can make the legal claim of having supplied green energy, whilst this does not contribute to a larger share of green power sources in the Netherlands.
   Such deceptive electricity practices are allowed, but of course very questionable. The green energy Vrijopnaam supplies, always has its physical and administrative origin in Dutch solar plants.

We guarantee all power supplied by Vrijopnaam is green and produced in the Netherlands. We can prove this by the corresponding Guarantees of Origin (in Dutch: “Garanties Van Oorsprong”, or “GVO”). Such a Guarantee of Origin is an energy certificate defined in article 15 of the European Directive 2009/28/EC. Guarantees of Origin are the only precisely defined instruments evidencing the origin of electricity generated from renewable energy sources. All in all Vrijopnaam customers can be sure every kWh they use has been sustainably produced.

From our so-called Energy Label you can conclude as well we provide 100% Dutch solar power. This Energy Label provides insight into the origin of the electricity that Vrijopnaam supplies.

Your power outlet receives a constantly changing supply from various energy sources: solar, wind, biomass, coal, natural gas and nuclear energy.

TenneT, the Dutch national high-voltage grid manager, ensures that the supply and demand of electricity are always in balance. Sustainably produced power always has priority over power from fossil sources. So, when the sun shines or the wind blows hard, a natural gas or coal-fired power plant somewhere in the country runs slower. And vice versa.