Vayu has become the first energy supply company in Ireland to achieve a 100% renewable energy rating for all electricity supplied to its customers, according to the latest Fuel Mix and CO2 Emissions report by the Commission for Energy Regulation, the industry regulator.

The company, which supplies electricity to Irish businesses, has seen a doubling of its market share each year since it entered the electricity market in 2007.

The report for 2012 reveals that Vayu is the only energy supplier in the Republic of Ireland with its entire supply of electricity to customers 100% attributed to renewable sources.

Meanwhile, the report finds that electricity supplied by Airtricity is based on a fuel mix of 50.5% renewable while Electric Ireland stands at 24.0% renewable, followed by Energia at 20.9% and Bord Gais at 15.1%.

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In terms of CO2 emissions, the report shows that Vayu has the lowest rating at zero tonnes CO2 per megawatt hour supplied (tCO2/MWh) compared with ratings of 0.37 for Airtricity, 0.410 for Energia, 0.470 for Bord Gais and 0.476 for Electric Ireland.

Commenting on the results, Colm Kennedy, Managing Director of Vayu said that a lot more needs to be done across the industry to increase the proportion of electricity sourced from renewable energy if Ireland is to meet Government targets of 40% renewable generation by 2020.

In particular, he noted that while the amount of CO2 emissions for the industry as a whole has been on a downward trend, last year actually saw a slight increase in emissions (rising to 0.481 tCO2/MWh compared with 0.466 in 2011). This corresponded to an increase in the sourcing of electricity from coal on the island of Ireland, standing at 20% in 2012 (up from 14% in 2011).

Mr Kennedy added: "More and more Irish businesses are seeking access to renewable energy sources in order to reduce their carbon footprint and limit the environmental impact of their activities. This will continue to drive investment in renewable sources of electricity in Ireland over the next five to ten years and will have an enormous knock-on effect on energy production."

(CD/JP)