Onsite renewable generation by business jumps by more than 25 per cent

According to the 2014 Energy Entrepreneurs Report, which first published last year,investment in the UK independent renewable energy generation rocketed to almost £300 million in the past year, with the number of projects soaring by 40 per cent and solar seeing the biggest surge in capacity (150 per cent). As much as £997 million worth of energy is now being produced by independent renewable energy projects – enough to power 4.67 million households – the report claims.

Rising energy prices, concerns over security of supply and environmental programmes have led to the surge in the number of businesses investing in their own generation, according to independent energy purchaser, SmartestEnergy, which published yesterday’s report.

“These projects can deliver significant savings in energy costs, ensure continuity of supplies and also provide a new income stream from energy generated over and above the needs of the business,” Iain Robertson, head of generation at the company, said.

While solar PV saw the largest boom in number of onsite projects, with a 33 per cent growth, wind energy saw a substantial rise of 23 per cent. Anaerobic digestion and biomass also saw respective rises of 18 and 11 per cent.

Onsite energy generation by sector

While the manufacturing sector saw the most new onsite energy generation projects over the year, the distribution and storage sector saw the largest increase in the number of schemes with a growth of 39 per cent. The education sector also had a distinct increase in activity with a 33 per cent growth. Altogether a total of 843 new renewable energy projects were installed – a 40.4 per cent increase from the previous year.

Some of the companies that invested in onsite renewable energy generation projects last year, included Bridgnorth-based tile form Craven Dunnill, which installed 496 solar panels allowing the company to self-generate over 50 per cent of its energy requirements, and 5 megawatt solar rooftop installation at Bentley Motors in Crewe. Previous examples of onsite generation include a 17,000 panel solar array at Toyota’s factory in Derby and a biomass facility at McCain Foods in Peterborough.

This week’s figures reinforce predictions made about the continued trend towards onsite generation for businesses. According to a study carried out last year by Verdantix for specialist energy consultancy Utilyx, decentralised electricity and heat generated from technologies such as combined heat and power and anaerobic digestion, wind and solar, are predicted to grow by 130 per cent and save UK businesses £33 billion between 2010 and 2030.