With the government driving through initiatives and continued debates around green investment, 2012 was certainly a year of transition for green energy, and 2013 could prove to be an exciting new chapter for the industry as Brian Smithers, director, Rexel UK explains
With the recently announced funding for the Green Deal communications plan and the Energy Bill announcement, there could be exciting times ahead for the energy industry in 2013, and there are four key areas to look out for as the year progresses:
1. Consumption
The average business has to get to grips with its energy consumption this year. Time for inaction has passed, and organisations of all sizes are starting to consider ways to cut their electricity bills. Last year’s Energy Bill announcement will help support this momentum.
Ed Davey was spot-on to highlight that cutting the amount of electricity used in Britain’s businesses and industry will be much cheaper than investing in power plants to supply it. Incentives such as the plans to pay companies for each kWh of electricity they save will certainly encourage innovation and behaviour change.
However, unless monitoring energy use becomes standard practice, it will be impossible for businesses to understand where the biggest wins can be made. Businesses are starting to become more aware of the tools available for measuring and managing energy use more efficiently and the benefits that can be achieved from investing in these. Nevertheless, we are only at the start of the journey and businesses will need more encouragement and support from the industry before these tools and technologies are understood and adopted universally.
2. Awareness
Public awareness of energy efficiency technologies will be driven by the Energy Bill.
The British public is relatively unaware of energy saving technologies. The energy efficiency information ‘hub’ described in the Energy Bill will be key to educating consumers and businesses alike about the benefits of energy efficient technologies, including LED lighting, automation and efficient heating. However, we can’t just leave this to the energy suppliers. The industry as a whole must work together to ensure that Britain really understands how to reduce its energy use.
3. Belief
This is the year people will start to believe in the Green Deal.
Support for the Green Deal has got off to a sluggish start, with lack of awareness being the major stumbling block. A recent Rexel survey has found that a huge 96% of Brits have never heard of or do not understand the Green Deal. However, DECC recently announced that it had secured £2.9m to advertise and raise awareness of the scheme which should help build further understanding.
Once the big contracts start coming through, confidence in the Green Deal will grow. Seeing real life examples and success stories will give this important incentive a much needed boost.
4. PV installations
The Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC), the commercial equivalent of the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT), will start to be reduced from April. Similar to the phenomenon experienced at the beginning of 2012 as a result of the predicted cut in FiTs, this is likely to prompt a rush of projects as people try to get in ahead of the deadline.
The knock-on effect of the ROC reduction is that the green energy industry will have to work harder than ever to demonstrate that solar still yields good ROI and is a strong long term investment.
Rexel
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