Setting the Scene:

The commercial application of renewable energy still remains somewhat untapped, and as we have referenced in previous blogs, the government is looking to lean into the commercial side in 2024 (as laid out in the 2024 roadmap.) Whilst the domestic market still present opportunities for installers, and it is by no means saturated, getting into the commercial market is definitely a smart move. ‘Commercial’ here, refers to larger installations, for properties such as schools, leisure centres and any other large public or private sector building. Before we get into some recent developments in the commercial market, lets quickly explore the differences between domestic and commercial customers in the next section of this blog.

Differences:

Commercial customers have different needs and expectations for the installation of renewable energy. These are generally still to reduce energy costs, but on a much larger scale. The payback of renewable energy can also be more attractive to the commercial customer, due to the scale and other factors such as VAT recovery. This can all be incorporated into your pitch when discussing potential installations with new customers.

Recent Developments in the Commercial Market:

There has been a variety of local councils who have recently been awarded government funding for a variety of different projects, all of which show the importance of the commercial application for the governments emissions targets.

Worchester City Council was awarded close to £200,000 for the installation of Solar Panels on its Leisure Centre. This commercial installation, is expected to ‘reduce emissions from the facility by 84 tonnes per year’ (Price, 2024.) Similarly, the Bradford council have granted the city planning permission for the ‘Bradford Energy Network,’ which will see its courts becoming the first in England ‘to be heated by renewable energy’ (Bryson, 2024.) The court hopes to use air source heat pumps to ‘save 8,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide’ (Bryson, 2024.) This 20 year deal is in an attempt to help Bradford reach its net zero targets, and similarly to the above example, shows the opportunities within the commercial sector. The final example is in Swindon, where the council has approved the application of 5,000 solar panels to a shopping centre, in an attempt to combat climate change (Thomas, 2024.)

Relevance:

The above demonstrates the potential within the commercial market, which is often funded due to the governments ambitious net zero targets. Therefore,  placing yourself within the market allows you to take advantage of these larger installations, which tend to be much more lucrative.

Get involved in the renewable energy sector by clicking here.

References:

Price, R. (2024, April 3). Solar panels to be installed at city swimming pool. BBC. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4nmm6ymp1xo

Bryson, J. (2024, April 3). Bradford Court buildings to connect to Eco Heat network. BBC. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-68712671

Thomas, A. (2024, April 2). Orbital Retail Park to install 5,000 solar panels. BBC. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-68711854