A new year is just around the corner, which means many businesses across the country are busy planning and developing strategies to help ensure maximum resilience and efficiency. And one of the key areas in focus will be energy.
In light of this, here we explore some of the commercial solar energy trends we expect to see gain momentum in 2025.
Seeking Greater Energy Independence
With independent research from Cornwall Insights stating that energy prices are set to rise for small industrial businesses – exceeding pre-crisis levels by £200,000 – we’re set to see more companies looking at ways to mitigate this and gain more energy independence.
This means that the topic of solar panels for businesses will likely gain more currency in boardrooms across the country, as decision-makers look at ways to reduce their business’s reliability upon the National Grid and protect themselves from the price volatility of the energy market.
That’s because while energy prices may have decreased from the highs experienced in 2022-2023, they are still much higher than pre-crisis levels.
With this latest research indicating that the upward trend in price will continue, many companies will be reassessing their current energy strategy, looking to adopt more renewable alternatives to help reduce their energy bills and future-proof operations.
A Need for Financial Support
It’s no secret that UK businesses are heading into 2025 facing mounting financial pressures.
With the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions announced in the Budget, alongside high interest rates, and elevated energy bills, there’s never been more of a need for funding and financial support to help companies adopt renewable energies.
Climate finance was even a big topic of conversation at COP29 – coined ‘The Finance COP’.
We believe that every business – no matter its size or budget – should have access to cleaner, greener energy. That’s why we went into co-ownership with Lazard Asset Management. We wanted to bring private investment to the business sector so that companies can access solar risk free through our funding, with zero upfront investment.
Reaching Decarbonisation Goals
In order to reduce their carbon footprint, in line with national carbon-reduction targets to reach Net Zero by 2050, many businesses have been taking steps to lower their emissions and increase sustainability.
This year, however, the UK raised its emissions reduction target to 81% by 2035, up from 68% by 2030, which means that decarbonisation and energy security are even more central to governmental strategy than ever before.
This will cascade its way down into business operations too, with many companies searching for ways to move away from fossil fuels and operate using cleaner, greener energy sources.
When it comes to emissions reduction, there’s also the increasingly important topic of Scope 3 emissions.
Taking the food and drink manufacturing sector as an example, over the last year, there’s been increasing top-down pressure from retailers, as they look to make their supply chains more sustainable.
They’re looking to work with suppliers who adopt sustainable practices, which means manufacturers need to optimise logistics and improve their sustainability credentials to both decarbonise operations and maintain their competitive edge.
A Greater Focus on Fire Safety
Fire safety will remain a key focus area for ensuring the long-term sustainability and safety of solar PV solutions, as the solar energy market grows.
Also, as adoption rates increase, regulatory standards evolve, and risk mitigation receives greater emphasis in businesses’ ESG strategies, fire safety will continue to be a priority.
In 2018, the UK Government released a report – funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) – into solar PV fires in the UK between July 2015 and February 2018.
It recorded 80 fires, and approximately 36% of incidents caused by solar PV were attributed to poor installation practices, 5% to faulty products, and 10% to system design errors.
This is why it’s vital that businesses carry out their due diligence when appointing a solar energy partner. They should collaborate with a reliable company that is fully accredited and only uses optimised inverters, not standard string inverters, for their installations.
Without getting too technical, among the many benefits over their standard counterparts, optimised inverters feature module-level rapid shutdown capabilities – an important safety feature for commercial solar installations.
This means that in the event of an electrical fault or fire hazard, the system can quickly shut down, reducing the risk of electrical fires and enhancing the safety of the building and occupants. We cover this in further detail in our dedicated fire safety brochure.
Closing Thoughts
Ultimately, as we look ahead to the next 12 months, on-site energy generation will be higher up on the agenda for businesses, as they search for ways to improve resilience, energy independence, and financial stability.
And while, against a tough economic backdrop, there will no doubt be further challenges for businesses, we’re proud to be leading the charge when it comes to helping make cleaner, greener commercial solar solutions more accessible for the UK’s commercial and industrial sectors.
If you’d like to find out more about solar energy for your business, and the options available, reach out to our friendly team of solar experts, who will be happy to help.
