page_title: Grüner Strom Label
section_title: Grüner Strom: The Seal of Approval for Green Electricity
hierarchical_section_title: Grüner Strom Label / Grüner Strom: The Seal of Approval for Green Electricity
caption_attribution_description: English: Grüner Strom Certification Deutsch: Logo des Gütesiegels Grüner Strom des Grüner Strom Label e.V.
context_page_description: The Gruener Strom Label association certifies green energy sources or production. The Bonn based association was founded at the initiative of EUROSOLAR in December 1998. The GSL e.V. issues two seals of approval – one, named Grüner Strom, introduced in 1999, is granted for green electricity, and the other, named Grünes Gas, introduced in 2013, is granted for biogas. By 1999, Grüner Strom was the first certification for electricity from green power sources in Germany.Grüner Strom and Grünes Gas are the only seals of approval in Germany, indicating endorsement by leading environmental organizations. The goal of products recommended by certification is to increase transparency in the green electricity and biogas markets and to advance ecologically sustainable energy supply.
context_section_description: Meeting the following essential requirements of the Criteria List is a prerequisite for certification:
  Electricity must be sourced 100 % from renewable energy (from already existing or new power plants).
  Electricity providers must use a fixed amount per sold kilowatt-hour to promote new renewable energy development. In the case of customers with a consumption of:
  Up to 10.000 kWh/year, 0.5 Euro-Cent per kWh
  Between 10,000 kWh and 100,000 kWh/year, 0.4 Euro-Cent per kWh
  Between 100,000 kWh and 3,000,000 kWh/year, 0.2 Euro-Cent per kWh
  More than 3.000.000 kWh/year, 0.1 Euro-Cent per kWh
  The Grüner Strom certification is not granted to companies directly involved in nuclear power plants or to operators of nuclear companies or to companies with ownership interests/capital stock in nuclear operating companies.
  The Grüner Strom certification is not granted to companies with new and direct ownership interests in existing or newly built coal-fired power plants, purchased after the Criteria List 2015 has taken effect.
  Renewable Energy Certificates/Credits are not accepted to prove fulfillment of the delivery obligation.
  The funding amounts are mostly used to make financial contributions or to co-finance new green power generating plants that are eligible for support pursuant to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) at the same time. But they are used for power plants generating electricity for direct sale and distribution as well. Also the funds can partly go to installations abroad and to energy efficiency measures and projects, including citizen energy projects, which are spurring the transformation of the energy system and the associated infrastructure. Electricity providers must report about the projects supported by certification on the Internet. In addition, successfully completed projects are listed on the GSL e.V. website. Over 70 power supply companies offer green electricity certified to the Grüner Strom criteria. The Grüner Strom certification is granted for products. The GSL e.V., thereby, recommends individual electricity product options by certification.
caption: Grüner Strom Certification
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