renewables Archives

Battery Storage: how can it benefit your business?

Posted on 6th May 20216th May 2021 by Andy Scrimshaw

Renewable energy is key to building our sustainable future. The issue is that although solar and wind provide clean, inexpensive power, they only do so in the right conditions. A cloudy, windless day can lead to a significant drop in supply. This sort of intermittent power cannot provide the consistent energy we require, especially as our demand increases. This is why battery storage is becoming essential as we move away from fossil fuels.

Installing onsite power storage can be a simple process and technology breakthroughs have made it a viable and cost-effective option for many businesses. However, the benefits of battery storage go far beyond convenience. Developing an integrated battery solution is an effective way to fully optimise your energy capacity. It can enable businesses to become less reliant on the national grid, reduce CO² emissions, and generate additional revenue for your business.

Reduce your electricity costs

Energy use at peak times can be expensive. Especially as it can have a huge effect on the non-commodity costs that you pay each year. Being able to purchase energy when it is at its cheapest and use it when you need it can make a huge difference to your utility bills.

Until battery technology came along, lowering your energy costs involved turning off devices or lowering usage. Battery storage is a far more flexible solution that offers opportunities outside of small-scale savings. When paired with renewable generation technology it can help you avoid non-commodity costs altogether. Or at the very least, help you avoid higher costs in times of peak demand.

Stabilise your energy supply

Having your own storage batteries guarantees a continuous source of power regardless of what is happening to the network. This reduces your reliance on the grid, protecting you from blackouts and local technical faults as well as securing a reliable energy supply.

Get paid to help balance the grid

With battery technology, energy can be stored for later use or sold back to the grid for additional revenue via potentially lucrative demand-side response (DSR) schemes. By becoming a demand-side supplier you are helping to balance the system and smooth out peaks in demand. This sort of initiative is a fundamental part of the government’s ongoing energy strategy. And further similar opportunities are likely to follow as we move towards 2050.

How EIC can help you store power

If your business could benefit from lower energy bills and a more stable supply, a battery setup could be the ideal solution. At EIC, we provide guidance on the installation of onsite generation and power storage.

While these systems can have great benefits on their own, the returns are even greater when working in tandem with other technology. We can offer energy management services that help improve your efficiency and further lower your expenses. If you would like more information on battery technology and want to explore your options, get in touch today.

Greenwashing – what is it and why should businesses avoid it?

Posted on 29th April 202129th April 2021 by Sophie Wyatt

As the world shifts towards a more sustainable future, consumers are opting for greener alternatives. And a growing pressure to ‘get green’ means that businesses are desperate to show their values align with environmental issues. This can sometimes result in ‘greenwashing’.

Without the correct knowledge, businesses risk prioritising superficially appealing demands to satisfy conscious consumerism. But as businesses around the world pledge to sustainability, indications of greenwashing can often go unnoticed.

Persistent greenwashing can undermine the importance of sustainability. As a consumer, trying to identify eco-friendly brands can be challenging enough. And with added greenwashed businesses, this task can feel overwhelming and next to impossible.

So, what is greenwashing and how can businesses avoid it?

What is greenwashing?

Coined in 1986 by environmentalist Jay Westerveld, ‘greenwashing’ refers to misinformation provided by a business to falsely present itself as environmentally friendly.

More often than not, greenwashing happens due to a lack of knowledge. While sustainability continues to become a more prominent topic of conversation, so does the pressure to comply. This means companies are increasingly keen to exhibit their sustainable credentials, even if they don’t have environmental expertise.

Greenwashing often distracts from significant environmental issues such as climate change and pollution. It can also misdirect environmentally conscious customers towards dis-ingenuine products. This is because it can be hard to differentiate between well intentioned businesses with those that are performatively green. ‘The six sins of greenwashing’, is a list of indicators that can help consumers spot a business that has been greenwashed.

The six sins of greenwashing

No proof: Claims made about a lessening of a businesses environmental impact are not verified by third party certifications.

Vagueness: Broad, insubstantial or convoluted claims such as ‘all natural’, ‘made with recycled materials’ or ‘eco-friendly’, with no further information.

The hidden trade-off: Marketing a product or service as ‘green’ by a narrow definition that disregards other environmental impacts. An example of this was fast food chain McDonald’s switch to paper straws. Although consumers may have welcomed this change initially, it was soon revealed that these straws were still unrecyclable.

Irrelevance: Although the claim may be true, it is unrelated to the company or product.

Lesser of two evils: Touting one good sustainable aspect of the business while ignoring greater environmental harm.

Fibbing: The sin of outright lying, this was seen very clearly in the case of the Volkswagen scandal of 2015. The car company admitted to cheating emissions tests by fitting defeat devices to vehicles in question. This allowed the company to use proprietary software to detect emission tests and in turn reduce levels. Whilst they were knowingly greenwashing their products, in reality they were releasing 40x the permitted limit of nitrogen oxide pollutants.

How can businesses avoid greenwashing?

In the run up to the UK’s net zero commitments, it is within everyone’s interest for businesses to become truly sustainable. Switching to renewables, incorporating low carbon tech and educating staff are some of the ways that businesses can avoid accidental greenwashing.

To promote a sustainable ethos, a business must first achieve sustainability goals. Providing customers with complete transparency not only reassures them of your reliability, but also allows for a wider range of potential clients.

Delivering real change is essential in moving towards a green future. While greenwashing allows businesses to pull in revenue in the short term, it will have serious consequences further down the line.

How can EIC help?

At EIC we prioritise sustainability and transparency. Our expert team are on hand to help your business become as green as possible.

Years of experience allow us to identify the best areas of savings for your business. We believe the future is sustainable and we are dedicated to getting our clients on the right path towards it.

Get in touch to hear how we can help you begin your sustainability journey.

The role of renewables this winter

Posted on 19th October 201811th November 2019 by Amy Coniff

The increase in wind and solar capacity in recent years has contributed to the overall reduction in demand. Higher volumes of on-site renewable capacity allow more generation to be provided off-grid, as homes and businesses generate their own electricity supply during windy or sunny spells.

This reduces demand on the national transmission system. The high levels of solar availability during the summer season were a particularly strong influence on demand levels this year, as on-site solar panels increased embedded generation, reducing demand requirements for the transmission network.

During stormy weather conditions, installed wind capacity can now provide around 12GW of electricity to the grid. Average wind generation in the UK last month was 5.3GW a day; over 50% higher than in September 2017.

What happens when there’s no wind?

While high winds can reduce power demand, one of the biggest dangers to the National Grid electricity network is a high-demand scenario at a time when wind output is very low. Lighting has a bigger impact on electricity demand than heating, as the majority of home heating is gas-fired.

However, during severe cold periods, electricity demand does spike as additional electric heating is needed to cope with the very low temperatures. This scenario occurred during March as a result of the Beast from the East, when peak demand jumped around 10% as temperatures dropped. The cold snap also brought very high winds to the UK. Wind output at the time topped 10GW, which provided high levels of low-cost electricity to the grid. However, this renewable supply may not be available during another cold spell.

National Grid’s Winter Outlook report forecasts an electricity margin this winter of 7GW, while also expecting 7GW of wind output during the peak winter. Find out more here.

How could this impact energy bills?

Supply margins would be placed under significantly more stress during a similar cold snap this winter, if wind output was low or non-existent. This would require another 10GW of supply being provided by gas and coal plant or imports. Such a scenario is likely to require significant price rises in the Within-day and Day-ahead markets.

Renewable energy solutions with EIC

If you’re interested in generating energy from your own renewables sources we can support your business to implement solar at your site.

A cost-effective and sustainable energy source, generating power from solar panels will cut your emissions, help the environment, and can be linked with a battery storage solution to maximise ROI. With our support you can install a battery solution as part of your wider energy strategy. Batteries can work in tandem with renewable energy sources such as solar or wind and can help you generate additional revenue via potentially lucrative demand side response (DSR) schemes.

To find out more, call us on 01527 511 757 or email info@eic.co.uk.