Articles on: About clean energy

Can I get clean gas?

Traditionally, our electricity was generated by burning fossil fuels. The energy from this drove turbines, which generated the electricity. By replacing fossil fuels with energy from the sun, wind and water, we can generate clean electricity without the pollution and carbon emissions.

Gas is unfortunately much harder to replace, because we’re directly burning a fossil fuel, rather than using it to generate a different form of power. It is possible to generate gas from plant crops (including food waste). Although this is still a fossil fuel, it has lower carbon emissions, providing the crops used are replaced (because plants absorb carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas – from the air). However, so far, this lower carbon gas still makes up a very small proportion of the gas used by UK homes – too little for suppliers to be able to offer ‘100% clean gas’ in the same way as you can get 100% clean electricity.

Updated on: 10/10/2019

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