Many of us are keen to reduce our environmental impact and do our best but with limited access to public transport, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, coal and gas dominating energy production and suburban sprawl making us dependent on our cars it can seem hard to significantly reduce our carbon footprint.

There are of course clean energy alternatives like purchasing rooftop solar and battery storage but many people simply can’t afford it, live in unsuitable homes or rent and don’t get a say about how their electricity is sourced.

However, there are affordable options for electricity consumers to switch to renewable energy no matter where you live.

For example. Mackay’s sole energy retailer Ergon Energy customers can source between 10 to 100% of their electricity from renewable sources by participating in Ergon Energy’s ‘Clean Energy Programme’.

This is how it works, when you subscribe to Ergon’s Clean Energy Programme, you pay an extra amount in addition to your regular energy bill which Ergon uses to buy clean energy certificates from renewable energy projects such as hydro from Tinaroo and Paradise dams, wind power from Ravenshoe and Thursday Island and biomass generation from a number of local sugar mills.

Costs start at around $5 per month which allows average householders to source up to 10% of their electricity from renewable energy projects.

For those who can afford to pay extra customers can source up to 100% of an average household's electricity use from renewable energy sources for around $45 per month. Of course, if your household on average uses less electricity than most users than a lower contribution may offset 100% of your electricity consumption. 

Unfortunately, many of us cannot afford to pay any more for our electricity and a government-led renewable energy plan is badly needed but for those of us who are willing,  Ergon's Clean Energy Programme provides an opportunity to disconnect from coal-fired electricity generation and support renewable energy projects in our region.

Check out Ergon Clean Energy Programme here  https://www.ergon.com.au/retail/residential/account-options/clean-energy-program