Solar power for businesses is a highly effective way for commercial organisations from many different sectors to light and heat offices, warehouses, factories and commercial premises efficiently and competitively. The cleaner, renewable energy source that comes fore sunlight helps reduce businesses’ carbon footprints and support ESG commitments around moving closer to achieving net zero emissions.
Industrial solar solutions are flexible in their set-up and affordable to install and run. They can be customised in terms of size, capacity and location. Solar power can help businesses enjoy lower energy bills, reduced reliance on the National Grid and greater resilience in the face of national, regional or local outages or disruption. All of this makes them a highly suitable and effective way to power a business or organisation.
From lighting shops and heating offices to powering warehouses and keeping factories running, sector-specific solar energy can offer a wealth of benefits to so many different sectors and industries across the UK. Here are some examples of how industrial solar solutions can support various sectors in their commercial activities.
- Public sector
Solar power for businesses and organisations serving the public sector can help keep that all-important financial bottom line in check. Installing photovoltaic panels and solar storage batteries will require an initial financial outlay, but the move will save money in the longer-term and result in lower energy bills. All good news for the public sector purse holders and taxpayers. Solar power can also help promote green credentials and help public sector organisations lead the way in encouraging other businesses in the area to ‘go green’ and switch to renewable power.
- Agriculture
The farming sector relies on continuous access to energy for running machinery, watering crops, housing and caring for livestock and much more. Agriculture is a 24/7 business, with no breaks when the sun goes down. A National Grid outage could quite literally be a life of death situation if it coincides with an important activity such as lambing or caring for a sick or injured animal. Solar energy can power panels for electricity in the farm and outbuildings, as well as irrigation and even solar powered or electric agricultural and delivery vehicles.
- Manufacturing
Manufacturing involves huge amount of machinery powered by electricity. It can also produce larger amounts of emissions, which need to be offset in order to reduce the size of companies’ carbon footprints. Cleaner manufacturing is becoming more prevalent with increasing amounts of industrial solar solutions coming into play and clients asking more often for sustainable manufacturing solutions. Installing solar panels to a manufacturing facility’s roof or flat surface is a straightforward way to back up power sourced from the National Grid.
- Hospitality
Restaurants, cafes, hotels and even ice cream vans all use a lot of electricity to cook food, freeze it, store ingredients at the optimum temperatures and power kitchen appliances such as fridges, dishwashers and ovens. Then, there is lighting and heating for guest spaces such as reception rooms, hotel bedrooms, swimming pools, gym facilities and more. Using solar panels to ensure a constant supply of electricity means that hospitality venues do not need to close down and lose business if there is an outage. Being able to sell surplus solar energy back to the Grid could also help businesses operating on tighter margins claim money back.
- Medical
Hospitals, clinics, GP surgeries and care homes have huge energy demands on them due to life-sustaining equipment needing to run 24/7, not to mention light and heat on hospital wards and in care residents’ living and sleeping areas. Some medications also need to be kept at very strict temperatures to ensure they do not spoil. So installing solar panels to medical and healthcare facilities can offer enormous benefits around safety, reassurance and reliability for patients, staff and families.
- Warehousing
Warehousing is yet another sector that uses a great deal of power to light, heat and keep warehouse facilities secure. FMCG often need to be kept at constant temperatures to remain fresh ahead of delivery. Spoiled stock can cost warehouse operators and their clients a great deal of money. Warehouses tend to have large surface areas, so make ideal locations for installing solar panels. Likewise, having plenty of space enables warehouse managers or owners to consider adding solar storage batteries as part of any new sector-specific solar energy projects they pursue.
