Make your business more sustainable with renewable energy

What are renewable, green, and clean energies?

Biofuels are a type of renewable and green energy, although they aren’t classified as clean due to their emissions. Nuclear energy is clean as it doesn’t emit CO₂. Still, it is considered green in Europe only until 2045. However, it’s not renewable and produces significant waste. Hydroelectric power is considered both clean and renewable, but its impact on ecosystems prevents it from being classified as green.

Do we truly count on examples of energy that are renewable, green, and clean? Yes, we do: solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind, aerothermal, and geothermal energy are some of the most widely used. Except for geothermal, which involves drilling vertical wells that aren’t always feasible, the rest are widely utilised.

Photovoltaic and solar thermal energy for your business

Solar photovoltaic energy is undoubtedly one of the easiest to install. Modular, affordable, and with a quick return on investment, it only requires good a proper orientation to be viable. Ideally, a south-facing roof or façade to maximise energy capture.

Although the most common option is to place panels on the roof, they can also be installed beneath windowsills or just above them, creating shade that reduces energy consumption from HVACs in the summer. It's also possible to install panels on terraces and other spaces. While this may reduce efficiency, it is offset by the fact that the energy generation is local and doesn’t need to be transported.

Additionally, solar thermal energy, which heats small water tanks using solar radiation, helps businesses access hot water without an electric water heater or gas boiler. It can even provide hot water for climate control in winter.

Is wind energy viable for your business?

We often associate wind energy with large turbines located on mountains or offshore (marine wind energy). However, there are many small wind turbines that can be installed on rooftops or even incorporated into building façades.

This is known as small wind energy, which involves small modules with a variety of designs. Some resemble small airplane propellers, mimicking large turbines, while others have vertical axes with broad, curved blades.

Aerothermal energy for sustainable businesses

Among the simplest, most convenient, and most versatile energy systems for businesses are reversible heat pumps, which can extract heat from the building in summer and bring in heat during winter. Exactly! This is aerothermal energy in its various forms.

The most basic system is a 1x1 split unit, but in businesses, duct systems are more common for distributing hot or cold air. Some aerothermal systems are classified as renewable energy sources due to their low energy consumption and high efficiency (far exceeding a 1:1 ratio).

Among the most efficient renewable energy systems available to businesses, geothermal energy stands out for leveraging underground temperatures. That said, drilling a vertical well isn’t always feasible, particularly in existing buildings.

How to purchase renewable energy if you can’t install it in your business

After considering all installation options, some businesses may find it impossible to install any local generation systems due to lack of community permits, building protection status, space constraints, etc. What can these businesses do to adopt sustainable energy consumption? There are several options:

One of the simplest solutions is to choose an electricity tariff with renewable energy certificates, which guarantees that the energy you consume is generated from renewable sources, even if it’s not produced locally. Buying energy from a wind farm 1,000 kilometres away won’t make the electrons reaching your business premises renewable (there’s no difference between electrons, by the way), but it does ensure that the renewable energy capacity you’ve paid for is added to the grid.

Another option, still emerging but promising, is to purchase photovoltaic panels located elsewhere and have the energy company subtract the kilowatt-hours generated from your business consumption. Sometimes, this other location could be just a few hundred meters away, but it’s common to buy solar energy from areas far outside cities, where land is cheaper.

A third option, if you can’t install renewable energy in your business, is to join Local Energy Communities (LECs), either as Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) or Citizen Energy Communities (CECs). This is particularly beneficial when combining residential and business energy needs, as their demand profiles complement each other well.

There are a wide range of solutions to shift to cleaner energy consumption, which is often much more affordable—wind and solar energy parity was reached in Spain around 2014. You can benefit from these solutions, whether through local mini-generation installations or external energy purchases. As a result, we see that customers are increasingly demanding this as part of their conscious consumption practices.