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“100% renewable” electricity contracts: Assessing availability and emissions through temporal analysis

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  • Einolander, Johannes

Abstract

Electricity contracts marketed as "100% renewable" are typically based on certification schemes like Guarantees of Origin, which certify production sources but fail to ensure linkage between generation and consumption. This study evaluates the availability and emission impact of temporally and geographically matched green electricity contracts using granular data on renewable generation, cross-border transmission flows, emission factors, and household electricity consumption. Results reveal major discrepancies between Guarantee of Origin-based claims and actual renewable availability. Solar-only contracts are infeasible for continuous supply, while wind-only contracts could meet just 0.03%–0.11% of Finland's total hourly load continuously in 2021–2023. Households could still achieve substantial emission reductions with the proposed temporally and geographically matched renewable contracts, but 100% savings cannot be guaranteed due to limited availability and competing demand for renewables. Solar contracts could offer up to 41% annual emission savings, though savings decline rapidly as solar demand exceeds availability. Household heating type has little effect on percentage savings, while electric-heated homes with mixed-renewable contracts achieve the highest absolute savings. Load shifting presents a viable alternative, offering average theoretical emission savings of 8%–10% with a 12-h shifting window, demonstrating significant emission reduction opportunities without requiring specific green contracts.

Suggested Citation

  • Einolander, Johannes, 2025. "“100% renewable” electricity contracts: Assessing availability and emissions through temporal analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:322:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225012460
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.135604
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Einolander, Johannes & Kiviaho, Annamari & Lahdelma, Risto, 2024. "Valuing the household power outage self-sustainment capabilities of bidirectional electric vehicle charging," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 374(C).
    2. Anders Bjørn & Shannon M. Lloyd & Matthew Brander & H. Damon Matthews, 2022. "Renewable energy certificates threaten the integrity of corporate science-based targets," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 12(6), pages 539-546, June.
    3. Einolander, Johannes & Lahdelma, Risto, 2022. "Explicit demand response potential in electric vehicle charging networks: Event-based simulation based on the multivariate copula procedure," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    4. Galzi, Pierre-Yves, 2023. "Do green electricity consumers contribute to the increase in electricity generation capacity from renewable energy sources? Evidence from France," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    5. Ákos Hamburger, 2019. "Is guarantee of origin really an effective energy policy tool in Europe? A critical approach," Society and Economy, Akadémiai Kiadó, Hungary, vol. 41(4), pages 487-507, December.
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    1. Ströher, Tobias & Strüker, Jens & Konoval, Volodymyr, 2026. "From papers to power plants: A taxonomy of power flow tracing methods in research and practice," Bayreuth Reports on Information Systems Management 73, University of Bayreuth, Chair of Information Systems Management.

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