October 14, 2024 Business sustainability, Commercial Solar Power
What impact can solar power have on business sustainability?
For businesses across the UK, inflation and energy market volatility have put significant pressure on their budgets – to the extent that 77% of UK companies believe that energy prices are the biggest risk they face. Businesses in the UK are facing a double challenge: reducing their carbon footprint and ensuring a stable energy supply. This raises a need to prioritise renewable energy sources over fossil fuels to achieve business sustainability.
The fight against climate change demands significant reductions in CO2 emissions, and businesses are feeling the pressure. This, coupled with the growing desire for stable and independent energy sources, is driving a significant shift in strategy. Companies are increasingly turning to renewable energy solutions to meet their needs. This move towards sustainable practices not only benefits the environment, but also ensures greater control over energy security. It’s a sign that, now more than ever, business sustainability is made up of two, increasingly interdependent sides – operational sustainability and environmental sustainability.
In this blog, we will explain how solar power can help businesses like yours to achieve both.
How can solar solar power help businesses operate more efficiently?
As we have mentioned, sustainability is about much more than becoming ‘energy-efficient’ or decarbonising offices and supply chains.
It’s about doing so whilst meeting their energy needs, all while innovating and having a competitive edge.
What features of solar solar power make it ideal for businesses to operate more efficiently?
Versatility of applications
Sooner rather than later, every business will need to become a ‘sustainable business’. Not just to meet compliance responsibilities, but also to operate with independence from a volatile energy market.
No matter the energy requirements, as long as they have the space for solar panels. Businesses can unlock the cheapest source of electricity per kWh to run production lines, light and heat buildings and even charge fleets of electric vehicles. For far less than the cost of grid electricity.
Guaranteed return on investment
There has never been a better time to invest in solar.
Currently, the cost of solar solar power is at its lowest point in history. This means a solar solar power system’s already rapid payback period can take as little as 3.5 years.
In some of our most recent project outlines, we have calculated the times it takes for diverse businesses to see a return on their initial investment:
- Care Home (48,800kWh generator) – 4 years
- Sports Facility Carport (55,200kWh generator) – 7.8 years
- Dairy Farm (59,200kWh generator) – 5.2 years
After this time, solar effectively produces free electricity for the remaining lifespan of the panels – approximately 25 years.
Predictability
Solar power gives businesses greater control over their energy generation and costs, compared to grid reliance. With a solar PV system, you not only gain the benefit of predictable energy generation, allowing for accurate cash flow projections long before installation. But even more importantly, for the lifespan of the system, you’ll be locked into a significantly lower electricity cost compared to the ever-fluctuating grid prices.
Here’s how the current energy price cap (29p per kWh) stacks up to the following examples of businesses using solar power:
- Care Home – 7p per kWh
- Sports Facility Carport – 11p per kWh
- Dairy Farm – 8p per kWh
In summary, there are few businesses for whom solar power wouldn’t be a sensible investment – and with the potential to secure loans and grants from Local Authorities, or Power Purchase Agreements from private investment, funding for solar is more accessible than ever.
However, this is without mentioning one of solar power’s most critical qualities – that it is a zero-carbon source of electricity. This makes it a lynchpin of an environmentally sustainable energy security strategy.
Let’s explore this further.
How can solar power help businesses operate more sustainably?
Solar power helps businesses reduce their share of carbon emissions by avoiding the use of electricity generated by the grid. The businesses that generate their own source of affordable electricity with solar do so whilst also significantly reducing their emissions:
- Care Home – 22,900kg CO2 avoided
- Sports Facility Carport – 11,600kg CO2 avoided
- Dairy Farm – 11,800kg CO2 avoided
However, as you will also be aware, being sustainable isn’t a separate ‘nice-to-have’.
Those who work in heavy industries – energy generation, manufacturing, and aviation – already know that it is a competitive and legislative requirement to decarbonise operations – but government and private sector action is increasingly affecting businesses of all shapes and sizes across the UK.
How can solar power future-proof businesses in a sustainable future?
For the UK Government, achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is written into law, which means that businesses everywhere are increasingly affected by legislative measures (and incentives) to decarbonise.
This can take the form of:
- Direct penalties to heavy industries for CO2 emissions (under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme).
- Preference for businesses with low/no-carbon emissions at procurement, which affects all businesses competing for contracts with local authorities and government-affiliated bodies (e.g. TFL, Ofgem, NHS Trusts).
In the private sector, particularly for corporates, ESG (environmental, social and governance) represents a multi-trillion-pound investment market, whereby growing businesses have more opportunities to use sustainability credentials to access funding.
In both cases, even if your business isn’t directly affected already, supply chains, investors and customers are increasingly favouring sustainable businesses.
Zero-carbon solar power energy ensures that you not only eliminate your emissions but also reduce those of your stakeholders – making you a more valuable partner in an increasingly important sustainable value chain.
Achieving operational and environmental sustainability
As we move closer to the 2050 deadline to hit net zero, environmental sustainability will become an even more important part of a business’ energy security strategies.
However, even without any significant incentives – or punitive measures – solar power’s growing popularity among businesses is down to its inherent ability to provide businesses with a source of clean energy that frees them from the volatility and cost of electricity imported from the grid, all whilst providing sufficient energy to operate.
Businesses that realise this earlier stand to gain far more from the people that influence their success.
If you have ever considered a cheaper, cleaner source of renewable energy for your business, you can quickly find out what energy solar power can produce, at what cost, and how long it will take to see a return on your investment, entirely free, by contacting us.
