Renewable energy is a massive opportunity for all businesses right now. Why? Well for one, it can help organisations to cut energy costs at a time when cost cutting is most definitely high on the agenda. But equally importantly, it offers a chance for companies to demonstrate their commitment to the environment – the kind of commitment which, increasingly, stakeholders everywhere are looking to see.
Renewable experts in the Thames Valley area say “The range of renewable energy technologies is growing and, more importantly, becoming more financially viable for businesses to adopt as the cost of generation renewable power falls and the price of grid electricity continues to rise.
“Here in the Thames Valley we get a fair amount of sunshine, which makes solar PV an interesting option for businesses with access to un-shaded roof space. Although there will be fewer industrial-scale installations now that the Government has slashed the financial incentives (feed in tariffs) for such projects, smaller installations can still yield a guaranteed 8-10 per cent return over 25 years.
“Heat pumps extract thermal energy from the ground or the air, compress it and use it to heat buildings and water – much like a refrigerator in reverse. A good heat pump will output something like four times as much heat energy as it takes in as electricity. DECC has launched the renewable heat incentive to encourage the uptake of this kind of technology.
Building energy is, of course, a huge issue. Energy audits have become MOTs for buildings according to Alan King, of energy consultancy firm Syntegra Consulting. He says “Not everyone knows this, but buildings produce nearly half of the UK’s carbon emissions-almost twice that of cars and planes. The EU knows about high carbon emissions from buildings, hence the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) in 2002”
“The UK too is ramping up its energy efficiency targets and legislation for buildings. Since 2009, it has been compulsory for all properties rented or sold to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
“This new EPC market in the UK currently estimated to be worth £500m a year, and is set to increase. And the energy assessment market will continue to grow with it. In 2009, we carried out more than 1,500 energy assessments for our property homeowner clients alone. In total, we made recommendations for savings of more than £161,000 a year on energy bills, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,062 tonnes a year.
The UK Green Building Council of which Syntegra is a member has started discussions about further legislation to encourage reduced carbon emissions from small businesses, and for all commercial buildings. It won’t be long before all buildings will have to display energy certificates that specifically show their running costs in terms of energy efficiency and in the form of a Display Energy Certificate (DEC)”.
