Member Article

The energy sector needs to work with businesses to realise the power of renewables

Use of renewable energy in the UK is slowly growing, now accounting for more than 20% of the country’s electricity. In June this year we had a record breaking day with over 89% of the country’s electricity demand met by low carbon sources, with renewables making up 50% of that supply. What’s probably more encouraging is that in the three months to June , over a quarter of Britain’s electricity demand was met by renewable sources.

Business and industry is one of the largest users of energy in the UK, using 31% of all the energy consumed, but many small and medium sized firms (SME) are struggling to get the support they need to switch their energy supply to renewables. Research by Haven Power found that 72% of SMEs would like energy suppliers to be more committed to renewables, yet only 11% said their current provider was excellent in terms of offering them renewable energy options. It seems that switching could be a major bug-bear as 71% said it should be simpler to change provider, whilst 21% of those who did try to switch ended up staying with their existing provider.

However, businesses and the energy sector itself need to do more to increase the use of renewables by British companies if the country as a whole is to comply with tough new targets laid down by the Government and the EU. The EU requires the UK to source 15% of energy consumed in the electricity, heating, cooling and transport sectors combined to come from renewable sources by 2020. In order to achieve this target it is expected that 30% of electricity generation would need to come from renewable energy – and in 2016, 24.5% of the UK’s electricity was renewable .

The Government has sought to affect change with initiatives such as subsidies for cleaner energy sources, but companies themselves are now starting to put energy on the boardroom agenda, making it a strategic focus. Haven Power’s research shows that over two-thirds of firms are placing an increasing value on where their energy comes from, triggering more interest in renewable energy sources. However, for business to really understand and embrace renewable energy, suppliers need to help their business customers understand why and how to use renewables.

Haven Power work’s in partnership with its customers, helping them to make the most of renewable electricity, whatever their drivers are. The rationale behind businesses wanting to become more sustainable is not just being driven by an increased awareness of factors such as making use of renewables to reduce their impact on the environment as part of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. Companies are also realising that renewable electricity makes business sense as well, particularly as part of a wider energy-efficiency programme. This includes using smart meters to help businesses track exactly what they are using and how much it is costing them, so they can use the data to adjust their usage accordingly and help save money.

In addition, larger businesses can also reduce their consumption and save money by carrying out energy audits to help identify unnecessary drains on energy, such as equipment and lights running outside of office times, or by taking advantage of initiatives such as the energy innovation workshops run by Haven Power. For example, through our unique relationship with our parent company Drax Group we are also able to look at options such as on-site biomass boilers, battery storage and other self-supply options, to help businesses become ‘prosumers’, a combination of consumers and producers, which could enable them to generate revenue from their excess energy.

Some businesses have taken this a step further, taking advantage of Government initiatives, and have started to self-supply using a mix of solar, wind, biomass or hydro energy generation on their own premises to be as sustainable as possible. Aside from biomass, these sources are dependent on the weather, so businesses still require a connection to the grid so they can maintain a constant and dependable supply when their own electricity output is low. On-site battery storage, which can help smooth out the problem of intermittency, is becoming a more attractive option. Haven Power works with organisations that believe in being sustainable businesses, such as the British dairy farm Yeo Valley, which uses renewable power from Haven Power as part of its sustainability programme.

The ideal future for the energy industry, beyond meeting the targets set down by regulation, would be to be able to provide the UK with 100% renewable generated energy, but this prospect is some way off. The challenges we see lie in the stability of the UK’s electricity system and the improvement of battery storage. With the energy landscape evolving towards more renewable and sustainable options, there is a growing interest in battery storage and demand side response programmes, so we have started to offer both as commercial opportunities. At Haven Power we view the UK’s international renewable energy and climate change commitments as achievable and by partnering with similarly-minded businesses we can play a leading role in helping to make this happen.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Sheffield .