Opus Energy survey: companies warming up to renewable energy generation
Opus Energy has released results of research which suggests UK businesses are becoming increasingly interested in generating renewable power from their own sites.
The survey showed that 15% of business leaders surveyed by Opus Energy are already generating renewable power, an increase of 9% compared to the findings from 2011.
A further comparison to the 2011 findings relates to businesses who expect to introduce renewable generators (such as solar panels, wind turbines, hydro power and anaerobic) to their sites. The recent research shows that 39% of those surveyed expect to make these introductions, and 48% of those expect to do so within two years. This is almost double the 2011 findings, at which time just 26% were looking to introduce renewable energy within five years.
Interestingly, 20% of SME business owners aged 55+ already generate renewable power from their businesses – this is the highest percentage of all the age groups surveyed.
Mirroring the survey results, Opus Energy is experiencing a growing level of interest from companies signing up to its renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs). By signing these agreements with businesses that are generating renewable power, Opus Energy is able to purchase their excess renewable power to supply to its customers.
Renewable energy generation can benefit businesses by giving them an opportunity to bolster their corporate social responsibility credentials whilst also generating additional income for the sale of any excess power. In line with this, the Opus Energy survey showed that the main benefits for renewable energy generation were: • self-sufficient supply of energy (28%) • generation of additional income (23%), and • ‘doing our bit’ to tackle climate change (17%)
Other key findings from the survey relate to income being the largest encouragement to businesses to generate their own renewable power: • a government grant or subsidy to help set something up (52%) • if it could be proven that it would make money (46%), and • if the government introduced extra taxes/penalties for not doing so (23%)
Opus Energy announced its 500th renewable PPA agreement at the end of 2012. Examples of signings from last year include: Knocknain Farm in Scotland, which sells 100% of its 330KW wind turbine’s power to Opus Energy; and the Port of Milford Haven, which sells the solar power from 13 of its sites to Opus Energy.
Charlie Crossley Cooke, Managing Director, Opus Energy, comments on the research findings: “It is great to see companies shifting up a gear to the idea of powering their businesses by generating their own renewable energy. The Opus Energy renewables team looks forward to working with companies to help them realise the extra revenue and benefits that they can gain from entering the renewables market.”
Photo shows Port of Milford Haven’s flagship 100.8 kW Phoenix Power PV Station - the largest integrated solar PV system in Wales - located on the roof of a tenpin bowling centre. Please credit image: Image courtesy of Mark West, The Green Electrician, South Wales.