written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . may 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message good energy type public limited company industry renewable energy founded 2003 as good energy headquarters chippenham wiltshire england key people juliet davenport chief executive products renewable energy revenue 64 300 000 2015 number of employees 276 2015 parent good energy group plc website goodenergy.co.uk good energy is a british energy company based in chippenham wiltshire that generates and purchases renewable electricity and supplies electricity and gas to homes and businesses throughout the uk . its ceo is juliet davenport . contents 1 history 2 wind and solar sites 3 praise and awards 4 lobbying activities 5 criticism 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit the company was set up in 1997 as ofex an offshoot of the german power company unit energy europe . the business was later bought by its management and changed its name to good energy in 2003 . 1 in 2015 good energy supplied 68 000 customers with electricity and 38 800 with gas . the company also administered over 112 000 feed in tariff generation sites in 2015 making it one of the largest feed in tariff administrators in the uk . 2 good energy has said its aim is to move the uk away from reliance on fossil fuel to a network of small independent generators supplying local customers . 3 the company sources some of its power from 800 small and medium sized distributed renewable electricity generators across the country as well as investing in its own generation sources . 4 in 2012 good energy group was listed on the alternative investment market and raised an additional 4 million of investment . 1 5 on march 10th 2015 good energy announced it had partnered with energy start up open utility to trial the uk s first renewable energy marketplace piclo where generators and consumers buy and sell renewable energy directly at prices they agree on . the 6 month trial began in october 2015 and was funded by the decc energy entrepreneurs fund and nominet trust . it was also supported by ofgem the energy industry regulator . 6 in 2016 6.8 % of the shares of the company were bought by their rival ecotricity making them the second largest shareholder . 7 wind and solar sites edit as of january 2016 good energy had two wind farms at delabole north cornwall and hampole south yorkshire and seven solar farms with planning consent for a further three . 2 delabole wind farm was the first commercial wind farm in the uk . in december 2008 planning approval was granted to good energy in order to refurbish the wind farm . the development was financed by an 11.8 million package including a 9.6 million loan from the co operative bank and 2.2 million equity from good energy group s own resources . in august 2010 the ten original turbines were decommissioned and replaced with four more powerful turbines . 8 in february 2011 delabole was officially reopened . 9 in january 2013 good energy launched a community tariff offering people living near delabole wind farm a 20 per cent discount on their energy bills . 10 praise and awards edit an independent review from the national consumer council in 2006 stated for those consumers who want a green electricity supply pure and simple good energy s is probably the closest they will get to it . 11 the ncc also found that of twelve green supply tariffs good energy s was one of only two that were going farther than they are required to by law 12 but see criticism section below . a 2007 guardian article echoed the ncc s belief that good energy s was the best green tariff 13 and good energy has also been named best buy for green electricity by ethical consumer magazine . 14 which magazine named good energy best utility company for customer service in 2010 2012 2013 15 and best energy company for customer service in 2014 . 16 good energy has won awards including the sunday times best green company the sustainable housing awards sustainable innovation award for its hotrocs scheme the micropower award for innovation 17 the wiltshire wildlife trust award for outstanding contribution to the environment 18 the british renewable energy company award 19 the observer ethical award for best online retail initiative 20 and plus markets ceo of the year in 2010 . 21 22 lobbying activities edit good energy campaigns for more renewable generation in the uk and was one of the signatories to the 2009 ofgem guidelines which aimed to clear up confusion over green energy tariffs . 23 in 2006 good energy commissioned oxford university s environmental change unit to review the green electricity market . their report 24 put a strong case for an accreditation scheme to advise customers . juliet davenport ceo of good energy sat on the renewables advisory board until it was abolished in 2010 25 and formerly on the board of regen sw the south west s renewable energy agency . 26 she still sits on ofgem s environment and advisory group 27 and ofgem s microgeneration steering group . 28 29 criticism edit in 2005 an article by the ecologist magazine noted that good energy had not invested directly in constructing new renewable capacity instead purchasing electricity from third parties the reality is that switching to good energy has made absolutely no immediate difference to the source of electrons that powered my kettle . my electricity like everyone else s connected to the uk s national grid still comes mainly from whatever the closest power station is ... so what is happening when a company offers you a 100 per cent green tariff what it is actually saying is that for every unit of electricity you use it will provide the national grid with the same amount but from a renewable source . 30 since then however good energy upgraded delabole wind farm replacing its turbines and increasing its output 31 32 and seven other generating sites . it also provides support to over 800 independent generators in the uk . 33 good energy validates its claim of supplying 100 % renewably generated electricity through the renewable energy guarantee of origin scheme . 34 35 it also stated that on its main tariff it retires renewables obligation certificates rocs at an equivalent economic value of 5 % above statutory compliance levels that apply to all electricity suppliers . in 2009 dale vince chief executive of rival company ecotricity accused good energy of deliberately misleading customers over renewables obligation certificates retirement and called on the national consumer council to amend or retract its report . 36 however good energy issued an open letter as a rebuttal indicating the issue was a fair accounting matter ; good energy retired additional roc financial equivalents rather than undiscounted rocs 37 which was perhaps not well communicated to customers . 38 in may 2012 good energy received criticism for using g4s utility services as their meter reading contractor . 39 good energy responded that the relationship was the result of the contractor they used being acquired by g4s . currently good energy use lowri beck for meter reading services . see also edit energy portal green electricity in the united kingdom wind power in the united kingdom energy policy of the united kingdom energy use and conservation in the united kingdom references edit a b andrew hore . aim investor good energy . cleantech investor . retrieved 24 april 2013 . a b annual report 2015 pdf . good energy group plc. april 2016 . retrieved 9 june 2016 . how we achieve a 100 % renewable future . good energy . october 18 2010 . retrieved 16 may 2012 . good energy generation sites . good energy . october 18 2010 . retrieved may 2015 . check date values in access date help giles gwinnett 25 july 2012 . good energy group to raise 4 million in placing as makes aim debut . proactive investors uk . retrieved 24 april 2013 . stoker liam 1 october 2015 . trading starts on good energy backed energy market service piclo . solar power portal . retrieved 5 march 2016 . timperley jocelyn 16 june 2016 . ecotricity snaps up stake in arch rival good energy . businessgreen . retrieved 16 june 2016 . delabole wind farm is redeveloped . bbc . 19 august 2010 . chris huhne reopens cornwall s delabole wind farm . bbc . 22 february 2011 . good energy green lights first community wind farm tariff . business green . 10 january 2013 . reality or rhetoric green tariffs for domestic consumers pdf . the national consumer council . december 2006 . gr inne gilmore january 6 2007 . grey areas with green energy . london the times . leo hickman march 15 2007 . your ethical dilemmas sorted . the guardian . ethical consumer magazine launch best buy label ethical consumer which smaller suppliers come out on top 2013 http www.which.co.uk news 2013 01 which reveals best and worst energy companies 308142 which energy companies rated http www.which.co.uk switch energy suppliers energy companies rated good energy wins micropower award for innovation press release local company wins award for outstanding contribution to the environment press release good energy wins british renewable energy award press release good energy shop wins observer ethical award press release juliet davenport wins plus ceo of the year 2010 financial express uk the plus awards winners are announced plus markets group juliet davenport february 9 2009 . we must tackle these false claims for domestic green power tariffs . the guardian . oxford university s environmental change unit report pdf . june 2006 . what happens if the green quangos are axed the guardian 24 september 2010 who we are regen sw ofgem environmental advisory group juliet davenport biography juliet davenport national endowment for science technology and the arts jeremy smith 1 june 2005 . green electricity are you being conned . the ecologist . archived from the original on 2006 05 23 . enercons magazine wind blatt february 2010 chris huhne reopens cornwall s delabole wind farm . bbc news online . 22 february 2011 . retrieved 22 february 2011 . house of commons energy & climate change select committee inquiry into energy market reform . glossary . good energy . retrieved 10 november 2013 . faqs . green energy scheme . national energy foundation . retrieved 10 november 2013 . good energy accused of misleading green tariff customers . businessgreen.com . the guardian . 14 may 2009 . retrieved 24 april 2013 . juliet davenport 20 may 2009 . open letter to good energy s customers and other interested parties explaining its roc retirement policy press release . good energy . dead link juliet davenport 18 may 2009 . action needed to close the green energy loophole . click green . retrieved 10 november 2013 . many reasons to stop g4s . corporate watch . may 21 2012 . retrieved july 31 2012 . external links edit official website good energy group plc corporate website association for environment conscious building the green electricity illusion delabole village website wind farm peter salisbury 4 may 2011 . green business good energy . the ecologist . retrieved 12 april 2012 . v t e electricity generation in south west england power stations coal closed carn brea castle meads east yelland exeter hayle newton abbot plymouth poole portishead a b gas active chickerell chippenham indian queens langage seabank closed princetown geothermal closed rosemanowes quarry hydro future severn barrage wave hub nuclear active hinkley point b closed berkeley hinkley point a oldbury winfrith proposed future hinkley point c oil closed portishead