Norppa
(Relevance
For green electricity, heat produced from renewable energy sources and qualified energy services there is one label in Finland.
The "Norppa recommends eco-energy" (Norppa) is a label granted by the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation for energy produced using renewable sources of energy or energy service supporting energy efficiency or use of renewable energy sources.
Target
The primary objective of the Norppa-labelling system is to increase the sustainability of energy consumption and to improve public awareness of the environmental impact of energy production.
Product/service group
Heat or electricity entitled to the Norppa-labelling is produced with solar or wind energy, wood or other biofuel. There is a set of criteria for the sources and supply of the biofuel to make sure that the production is based on ecologically acceptable methods. Hydro power can also be considered eligible if the production fulfils certain conditions.
Norppa-labelling can be applied also for energy services.
Awarding Institution & criteria
The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation awards the right to use Norppa labelling.
The company fulfilling the basic criteria for Norppa has to join the Voluntary Energy Conservation Agreement with the Ministry of Trade and Industry in order to show its commitment, not only in producing or using energy in an ecologically acceptable way but also in taking energy efficiency into account in its policy.
Approval for energy services to the Norppa-labelling system can be given to companies that offer equipment or services for the improvement of energy efficiency or for the use of renewable energy sources.
Control mechanisms
The company in the labelling system is committed to bookkeeping, where the data required for the labelling system can be checked, and to providing the Finnish Association for Nature Conservationwith documentation of its environmental policy, including the annual report, environmental report, consumer information material. The material has to be verified by an authorised auditor.
The use of the additional income from selling Norppa-energy or services has to be reported to the Association, as well.
The right to use the Norppa-label is based on an agreement between the Association and the company to which the right is given. This may be for the present or for a set period of time.
Charges
The initial fee for joining the Norppa-labelling system is dependant on the volume of production stated in the agreement. For example, if the agreement is on max. 10 GWh/a hydro power, the fee is € 1840 for the first year and half lf that during the following years. For large scale power production, >30 TWh/a, the fee for the first license year is € 18.340.
The fee on district heat is half of that for the electricity.
The annual fee for an energy service company is € 100.
Relevance on the market
Eco-energy labelled with Norppa was introduced in 1998 linked to the process of the opening energy market. Equal labelling is used In Sweden and Norway.
The interest in Norppa-labelled electricity has bee growing slowly in Finland. But in 2005 there were already over 200.000 households buying green electricity.
