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5 Ways Renewable Energy Can Save Businesses Money

Profit is when your income exceeds your expenses, and a business that is not profitable will not be around for long. Businesses are always looking to save money, as the lower the operating costs of a business are, the more money they stand to make. At an elementary level, the goal in running a business is to spend as little money as possible while making as much as possible.

Technological advancements are providing businesses new ways to save money, and renewable energy is one of those ways. There are more ways renewable energy can save a business money than the obvious ones too. While renewable energy enables businesses to save money, it also lets businesses be more environmentally-friendly and do their part to be more green. Going green is no longer a gimmick, but rather it is a legitimate practice that greatly benefits businesses and the planet.

1. Reduced Energy Bills

Photo by Kat Yukawa on Unsplash

The most obvious way adopting renewable energy can save a business money is by reducing energy bills. There are many different types of renewable energy a business can adopt and each works to lower monthly bills. Solar panels, wind turbines, and other methods produce renewable energy a business can use to supplement, or even replace, their traditional energy sources. A business can decide how much they want to invest in renewable energy and the energy return is dependent on the size of that investment. A small business can invest a small amount into renewable energy and have a portion of their energy needs taken care of. A business can also completely eliminate their monthly energy bill by investing in renewable energy.

2. Energy Price Protection

Energy prices can change without warning and the change in price can be significant. Instead of being at the mercy of market energy prices, a business can use renewable energy to supply their own power. Even if your business is not 100% energy self-sufficient, having a portion of your energy come from renewable sources lessens the blow of an energy price hike. Let’s say you get 80% of your business’s energy from traditional sources and 20% from renewable sources. If the price on traditional energy goes up, you are paying less than if you used 100% traditional energy.

3. Selling Back to the Grid

If your business is making more energy than it uses, you can sell the excess energy back to the energy grid. If you reach the point where your renewable energy sources is making more energy than you can use, your monthly power bill has already been eliminated. Then, adding the ability to sell extra power becomes a source of revenue. Selling energy can also help offset the initial cost of setting up a renewable energy source. In recent years, the upfront cost of installing a renewable energy system has gone down, making the investment much easier to recoup.

4. More Reliable Energy

Being connected to and reliant on the conventional power grid means you are at the mercy of power outages. When the grid goes down during business hours, that outage could cost your business a lot of money. Many vital elements of a business use electricity and if the power goes out those elements are out of commision. Being able to power even a handful of those elements with renewable energy, such as a POS system or refrigeration system, can let your business make money even while the grid is down.

5. Green Incentives

Installing renewable energy sources does come with an upfront cost, but there are ways of reducing those costs. There are a range of incentives from local, state, and federal government in the form of grants and tax rebates. The North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center has created a database so you can easily see what incentives are available in your state.

Renewable energy can be a great way for your business to save money. After an upfront cost, which is becoming less significant and can be lessened further by government incentives, renewable energy solutions can help businesses save money. Renewable energy can reduce or eliminate your monthly power bill with the potential to sell excess power back to the grid. Not being 100% dependent on the grid also protects your business from price hikes and power outages.

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