Powering Profits: A Look At Renewable Energy For Businesses In The UK

Net Zero 16th July 2024

Are you considering using renewable energy in your business?

If so, our article breaks down the whats, hows, and whys of renewable energy in the UK and how this can benefit your business.

The transformative era in energy keeps on rising with the UK at its forefront. Being one of the many nations aiming for zero net by 2050 it leads with great effort to mitigate carbon emissions for a more sustainable conscious future.

With this, companies and businesses across the UK follow the adoption of using renewable energy as the most viable and compelling solution to reduce operational costs and to be able to enhance their green credentials. This article should help you understand renewable energy should you decide your business to take the path towards financial resilience and competitive advantage.

The Rise of Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is energy from natural sources that are renewed to a higher energy rate than how they are usually consumed. Renewable energy is all around us more than others might think. We can get it from the water’s current, the wind and even from sunlight.

You might have also heard about clean energy as well as green energy and might confuse this with renewable energy. They are sometimes used interchangeably however they are not the same. Green energy derives from entirely natural resources, emitting no greenhouse gases and causing no harm to the environment. In contrast, clean energy, while aiming for zero gas emissions, may face challenges such as potential resource shortages or environmentally harmful production methods.

Types of Renewable Energy

Solar Energy
Solar power is the most popular renewable energy source in recent times. They are simply everywhere. The sun will always be up so why not use that energy into something more that we can use. This is how solar panels were created. They are perched up on roofs to soak in as much sunlight as possible which then creates electricity for us to power up houses and buildings.

Wind Energy
Wind energy or wind power, harnesses kinetic energy collected from moving air using large wind turbines which is then converted into electricity. The stronger the winds the more energy is collected by the turbines that are placed on high areas like tops of hills or in open water to get most of the strong winds.

Hydro Energy
Hydroenergy, from the term ‘hydro’ meaning water, is exactly where it comes from. It harnesses the kinetic energy of flowing water from higher to lower elevations like dams and turbines to generate electricity. Although this is another renewable energy source that is highly popular in the electricity sector, since it is tied to rainfall patterns this can be vulnerable to climate fluctuations.

Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy captures the Earth’s heat from underground reservoirs, converting it into electricity or for heating. These reservoirs can be naturally hot (hydrothermal) or heated through stimulation (enhanced geothermal systems).

Bioenergy
Bioenergy is from plants and animals. It holds solar energy which is released when burned. While this is renewable, burning biomass emits CO2 that is harmful to the environment compared to the rest.

What are non-renewable energy sources?

When it comes to energy sources there are other ways to harness them unlike all of those written above. These sources are fossil fuels, coal, natural gas, and oil. However, these sources have finite amounts and are not as abundant and can occur naturally as renewable energy sources and emit harmful greenhouse gases harmful to the environment.

Benefits of Renewable Energy

These are why you should look into your renewable resources.
Financial Benefits – Investing in renewable energy sources such as the most common ones, especially in the business industry such as solar systems, wind turbines, or biomass leads to a reduction in operational costs and long-term savings on your bills.

Government Incentives – The amount of government incentives that you could get for using renewable energy is already a great win for your savings. Subsidies like the Feed-in Tariff (FiT), Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), and the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, are only a few of the things that you could be able to get.

Green Credentials – The green card label for your company already boosts your business’s image and reputation which you would have if you were able to follow through with all the other that are keeping the planet safe. You also get to attract the same environmentally conscious customers alike and boost brand loyalty.

Technological Advancements – Renewable energy has opened more doors and helped creative minds to think of more ways to be able to help being sustainable. One example is the batteries that you can connect to your solar panels. The excess power you have not used during the day would get stored in the batteries. One of the great sustainable solutions for energy management.

In conclusion, the adoption of renewable energy sources presents a myriad of opportunities for UK businesses. You can help your business as you help your planet. Doesn’t that sound like a win-win scenario for everyone?