Updated 14th November 2025

When businesses choose a renewable electricity contract, they usually do so because they are sustainability-minded, and they want their organisation to play their part in driving forward solutions to tackling the climate crisis.

That’s why at Bryt Energy, we’re passionate about our fuel mix – we only supply zero carbon, 100% renewable electricity*, sourced solely from solar, wind and hydro power. Our fuel mix is audited and verified by an independent third party, SE Advisory Services (formerly EcoAct), every year and allows our customers to report their Scope 2 electricity consumption as zero carbon, under the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol market-based method.

Like the weather, our fuel mix ratio changes year-on-year, but you can always be sure that we only ever source our electricity from solar, wind and hydro power. Unlike fossil fuels, these sources are all zero carbon and 100% renewable forms of electricity at the point of generation*, meaning they don’t create any carbon emissions or harmful air pollution, and are naturally replenishing.

All sources of electricity generation have their own unique considerations when it comes to their impact. We want to be totally transparent about why we’ve chosen our fuel mix and acknowledge that constructing, operating, and generating electricity comes with the need to manage sustainability challenges. Like all electricity generation, there are considerations such as human rights, supply chain vulnerabilities, and the embodied carbon of building materials that are crucial to manage and improve. We’re proud that our parent company, Statkraft, the largest renewable energy generator in Europe, has a long history of working to reduce the impact of different renewable electricity generation projects.

We have created this blog to take a deeper look into our fuel mix, to explain the benefits and considerations, and reiterate that by choosing to supply solar, wind and hydro, we can help lead Britain towards a net zero, sustainable energy future.

Solar panels, also known as photovoltaics (PV), capture energy from the sun and convert its light into electricity. So, at the point of generation, solar power produces zero emissions and is 100% renewable (for as long as the sun keeps shining!).

In addition to being a zero carbon source of electricity, solar technology has seen consistent year-on-year improvements in efficiency. Since 2010, solar PV has become nearly 60% more efficient, meaning the size of panels can be kept the same, with higher capacity for electricity generation¹. Well-managed solar farms have also been found to support biodiversity and bird species that are in decline². In fact, Statkraft is developing a solar site in Cambridgeshire that will include measures to enhance biodiversity at the site by 141%³.

To reach net zero emissions, the UK Government announced its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, and has targets to increase the capacity of solar generation from the 16.6 gigawatts (GW) currently installed, to 45-47GW by 2030⁴. Whilst increasing the deployment of solar power has led to debates in political circles around land use, research has shown that reaching 50GW of solar capacity would only take up between 0.22% and 0.39% of UK land, assuming current projected proportions of deployed rooftop and ground-based solar remain the same⁵. Similar research has shown that utilising 0.3% of land for solar would take up roughly half of the space currently used for golf courses⁶. It remains important to optimise the area used for solar generation, with a recent study finding that utilising the space available above car parks for solar generation could generate an additional 1.57GW of electricity in the UK⁷.

Looking at the lifecycle of solar panels, there is still a challenge with global supply chains, due to the ethical considerations of manufacturing being located in areas where there are significant human rights concerns⁸. There is also global consensus that if the supply chains of solar PV are concentrated in one area, then the industry could become vulnerable – the IEA suggests that diversifying the supply capacity would reduce the associated risks and potentially lead to economic and environmental benefits⁹. In an effort to address the ethical concerns associated with solar panel manufacturing, publicly-owned company Great British Energy have announced their plans to secure solar supply chains that are free from forced labour¹⁰. Additionally, industry initiatives such as the Solar Stewardship Initiative, of which Statkraft are active participants, aim to improve the transparency of solar supply chains through collaboration and set standards. Efforts to improve the end-of-life recycling of solar panels could also offer economic benefits and reduce environmental pressure on sourcing raw materials; if panels were systematically collected at the end of their lifetime, the resulting recycled materials could meet over 20% of future solar PV demand for key materials such as aluminium, copper and silicon between 2040 and 2050¹¹.

Wind turbines, where rotating blades are connected to a generator, harness energy from the wind by converting the kinetic energy into electricity. Wind energy makes up a significant proportion of our fuel mix and is particularly abundant in the UK, due to naturally windy conditions and the national ambition to be world leaders in wind generation¹². The reliability of wind generation here in the UK hits its peak out at sea, where offshore wind farms are exposed to higher and almost constant wind speeds – ideal conditions for electricity generation.

Whilst wind turbines have presented challenges when it comes to end-of-life recycling, breakthroughs in chemical technology mean that it is possible for new epoxy-based blades to be broken down, reused and crucially, avoid landfill¹³. Some concerns have also been raised over the impacts of wind turbines on wildlife. However, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) stated that it supports the growth in offshore and onshore wind projects, with the knowledge that continued research on placement can minimise impacts on bird migration¹⁴. Moreover, some studies have shown offshore wind turbines can positively affect biodiversity, with algae, mussels and oysters growing on the foundations, providing them, and other marine species, with protected habitats¹⁵.

The UK’s wind industry has been taking huge strides within the last year; in late 2024, the UK’s wind generation broke records twice in one week, with 22.5GW of power generated on the 18^th of December – which provided 68.3% of the country’s electricity¹⁶. This positive trajectory will help to fulfil the UK Government’s plans for 2030, including increasing offshore and onshore wind capacity to 43-50GW and 27-29GW, respectively¹⁷.

Both wind and solar are referred to as “intermittent” renewable energies – they cannot be turned on like traditional fossil fuel generation when there is demand. However, these energy sources can be co-located alongside battery storage to ensure renewable electricity is stored for when it’s needed, regardless of the weather.

Hydro power stations take advantage of water flows by harnessing its kinetic energy and turning it into electricity. Despite being a small part of the UK’s electricity mix¹⁸, hydro power is a mature technology with a history of more than 2,000 years, and globally, produces more electricity than all other renewable sources combined¹⁹. Hydro power stations can also be multipurpose, providing clean water and irrigation for agriculture, as well as providing flood and drought protection in some areas²⁰. Research suggests the use of this technology in the last 50 years alone has helped to avoid more than 100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) that would have been released from fossil fuel combustion²¹.

However, the development of hydro power can lead to socio-economic and environmental impacts during both the construction and the ongoing operation of projects. For example, hydro power developments have been criticised for displacing local communities, disrupting the surrounding water flows, and impacting local natural habitats²². Statkraft, the largest producer of hydro power in Europe, ensure they conduct impact assessments of new projects and work to mitigate the impacts²³. At several of their sites, including at Rheidol hydro power station in Wales, Statkraft control water flow and install fish ladders to create better conditions for fish, protecting biodiversity²⁴.

Hydro power is a reliable source of electricity, as water flow is predictable and controllable. This means that hydro power is dispatchable and the stations have the ability to be turned on and off quickly, providing a stable source of generation during periods of fluctuating electricity demand, when the sun doesn’t shine, or the wind doesn’t blow. Hydro power is expected to remain the largest source of renewable electricity generation globally into the 2030s, providing much needed system flexibility²⁵.

Here at Bryt Energy, we’re passionate about the sources we have chosen to include in our fuel mix and the reasons why. While solar, wind and hydro power each have their own unique benefits and considerations, we believe that, together, they offer a resilient fuel mix that powers British businesses and leads the way towards a net zero, sustainable energy future.

You can also be assured that 100% of the electricity we supply our customers is matched with Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin certificates (REGOs) from solar, wind and hydro sources, which have been audited and verified by an independent third party, SE Advisory Services (formerly EcoAct). This means our customers can report zero carbon emissions on their Scope 2 under the GHG Protocol market-based method. For more information about our fuel mix and what you can report, read our thorough FAQs here.

By choosing zero carbon, 100% renewable* electricity from Bryt Energy, you are also indirectly supporting renewable generation because we are part of the Statkraft Group. Statkraft has invested over £1.8 billion in the UK’s renewable energy infrastructure since 2006²⁶, and with their vision to “renew the way the world is powered”, we’re working to deliver this, together.

If you’re interested in securing zero carbon, 100% renewable electricity* for your business, find out more about becoming a Bryt Energy customer today by calling us on 0330 053 8620 or email heretohelp@brytenergy.co.uk.

Or if you’d like to find out more about our approach in supplying zero carbon, 100% renewable electricity*, visit here.

*Please visit https://www.brytenergy.co.uk/100-renewable-electricity/ for more information on our products and services.