A majority of businesses expect to take control of their own energy use by generating one-quarter of their electricity onsite by 2025, with 81% of U.S. businesses predicting this change will occur within the next seven years. The results of a survey of 1,000 businesses from the U.S., Canada, Germany, Italy, the UK, and Ireland conducted by Centrica Business Solutions showed that 26% of businesses have already invested in on-site generation in the form of solar and/or combined heat and power (CHP), with another third considering investing in these technologies. The increase in demand for flexibility that sees businesses rewarded for increasing, decreasing or shifting their energy use has been identified as an opportunity by 44% of businesses planning to feed energy into the grid in future.
The study also identified that ‘energy leaders’—those businesses that have adopted strategies to use energy efficiently and effectively—were more than twice as likely to unlock competitive advantage from their energy in the form of strong financial performance, being a leading brand in their market, and attracting and retaining the best talent.
“This is where an energy strategy comes into play,” said Alan Barlow, director of UK & Ireland at Centrica Business Solutions. “Many of the global challenges facing businesses – emissions targets, risk reduction and increased onsite generation – can be addressed through better energy management.”