Landsvirkjun - Green certificates sold separately in 2023
What is happening?
A certificate of renewable origin (green certificate) has until now been included in all electricity sold by Landsvirkjun.
Icelandic homes and businesses have therefore received electricity with green certificates without any additional cost.
In the recent months the market price for green certificates has increased a lot.
Therefore, Landsvirkjun has decided that from 1. January 2023 the green certificates will not be included and will instead be sold separately. You can see the press release from Landsvirkjun here.
This means that Icelandic homes and businesses must choose whether they will purchase the green certificates in addition to the electricity itself.
Straumlind will offer its customers to do this in a simple manor on Mínar síður (My Pages) on www.straumlind.is. My Pages are being updated.
What you choose to do is totally up to you and you will be able to choose separately for each electricity meter.
Green certificates are bought per kilowatthour (kWh). The price for green certificates is 0,3 kr/kWh.
If you don’t make a choice, you will only buy electricity and not green certificates.
A customer will be able to login to Mínar síður (My Pages) on www.straumlind.is at any time and choose to buy or stop buying green certificates. My pages are being updated.
Below you can see how buying green certificates affects the electricity cost:
Electricity categories | Price (kr/kWh) | Price + green certificates = Total price (kr/kWh) |
Houshold / Individual | 7,24 | 7,24 + 0,37 = 7,61 |
Electric heating | 6,48 | 6,48 + 0,37 = 6,85 |
Business / Legal entity | 8,22 | 8,22 + 0,37 = 8,59 |
Sýnidæmi
Household | Annual usage (kWh) | Price (kr/kWh) | Total (kr.) | Price + green certificate (kr/kWh) | Total (kr.) | Annual cost of green certificates (kr.) |
Small household | 2.000 | 7,24 | 14.480 | 7,61 | 15.220 | 740 |
Small household + electric car | 6.500 | 7,24 | 47.060 | 7,61 | 49.465 | 2.405 |
Medium household | 4.500 | 7,24 | 32.580 | 7,61 | 34.245 | 1.665 |
Medium household + electric car | 9.000 | 7,24 | 65.160 | 7,61 | 68.490 | 3.330 |
Large household | 8.000 | 7,24 | 57.920 | 7,61 | 60.880 | 2.960 |
Large household + electric car | 12.500 | 7,24 | 90.500 | 7,61 | 95.125 | 4.625 |
Electric heating 80 m2* | 17.152 | 6,48 | 111.145 | 6,85 | 117.491 | 6.346 |
Electric heating 150 m2* | 32.160 | 6,48 | 208.397 | 6,85 | 220.296 | 11.899 |
* According to information from Orkusetur it takes 67 kWh per year to heat one cubic meter (m3) of housing a) 80 m2 * 3,2 m hight to ceiling = 256 m3 * 67 kWh = 17.152 kWh annual usage, b) 150 m2 * 3,2 m hight to ceiling = 480 m3 * 67 kWh = 32.160 kWn annual usage.
Businesses | Annual usage (kWh) | Price (kr/kWst) | Total (kr) | Price + green certificates (kr/kWh) | Total (kr) | Annual cost of green certificates (kr) |
General usage | 5.000 | 8,22 | 41.100 | 8,59 | 42.950 | 1.850 |
General usage | 15.000 | 8,22 | 123.300 | 8,59 | 128.850 | 5.550 |
In a nutshell
Straumlind is buying the same electricity from the same wholesale vendor (Landsvirkjun).
Green certificates that used to be included without cost are not included any more. Customers who are interested can buy the green certificates specially.
What are green certificates?
Green certificates are a part of a renewable energy certification system of the European Union.
Without a green certification the electricity is categorised as a part of Europe's joint energy pool.
The goal of green certificates is to support the production of energy from renewable sources (hydro, geothermal, wind and solar).
Green certificates are issued by and sold by energy producers, but they are also traded on a secondary market. Money spent on buying green certificates benefits energy producers.
In Iceland, all electricity is produced by renewable sources (mainly hydro and geothermal) but for it to be categorised as such the green certificates need to be included.
If you don’t buy green certificates with your electricity, the electricity producer can sell them on the market.
