How green is the energy that comes out of my sockets?

This week my contract with my energy (and gas) supplier ended and I could look for a new (cheaper) one. I have to admit that my first thought wasn't to find the most sustainable one, rather a cheaper one. But when I was comparing the energy suppliers on the website www.energieleveranciers.nl it gave me the option to search for 100% green energy. So I did.

But then I wondered, how can I just get that easy 100% green power while at the moment in The Netherlands only 4,5% of the energy is produced green (natural, inexhaustible sources). And if I can make this contract, than all the other households in The Netherlands can do the same, so how is it possible to claim that the energy I get is 100% green. In 2011 more than 55% of the Dutch households take green power. 

It turns out that the Dutch energy companies buy green energy from other countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland and mainly Norway). Not real power, but certificates. The goal was to create a market in The Netherlands to produce green energy, but it created a market in trading certificates. What happens is that green power from Norway is sold to their inhabitants and that the receipts are again sold to The Netherlands. 

We should no longer be fooled by the energy supplier companies. How? Think big and start small as Gertjan de Werk from D-exto would say. And what did I do? I chose for Greenchoice, they claim that they have 100% green energy, 70% from Dutch ground and 30% with certificates. I don’t know if I can believe this information, since in the banner on their website I see two happy young people with the logo of Greenchoice near a water pump station. Since when does a water pump station produce energy? 

To conclude, I have since 28 november a new contract with Greenchoice but still have doubts on the way energy suppliers sell green energy and that we/I let us so easy to be fooled. I wonder why. 

This is where I got my information from:

Kabinet onder druk door haperend energieakkoord, http://www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4332/Groen/article/detail/3762493/2014/10/06/Kabinet-onder-druk-door-haperend-energieakkoord.dhtml, visited on 26-11-14

Zin en onzin van groene stroom uit Noorwegen, http://www.allesduurzaam.nl/informatieteksten/informatieteksten_item/t/zin_en_onzin_van_groene_stroom_uit_noorwegen, visited on 26-11-14