In this blog, I have talked a lot about energy efficiency and what a great investment it is. The relatively simple upgrades you can do for your existing systems in your buildings to improve the performance and get your money’s worth are a great investment in terms of cost savings and productivity.
But don’t just focus on energy efficiency. How about changing some of your systems altogether to clean energy? Clean energy has made great advancements in just the last few years, especially with prices coming down and becoming affordable. Worldwide investment in clean energy, such as solar and wind, rose 16% in 2014 alone, with investments totaling $310 billion, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-09/clean-energy-investment-jumps-16-on-china-s-support-for-solar). This is particularly impressive given the global sharp decline in oil prices making any potential switch from fossil fuels less attractive. Demand grew sharply for both large-scale and for rooftop solar PV and a record $19.4 billion of offshore wind projects. This investment is than five times the spending one decade ago.
The increase in investment in clean energy in 2014 was 26% in Canada and 8% in the U.S. The increase was led by investment in new large renewable energy projects (slightly over half of the total), such as solar fields and off-shore wind, followed by small distributed capacity projects (a little over 25%), such as rooftop solar. Government and corporation clean energy R&D totaled $29 billion, while energy smart technologies, such as smart meters, came in at $16.8 billion.
Investment in solar rose 25% compared to 2013; investment in wind rose 11%. This indicates that despite the worldwide drop in oil prices, investors realize that in the long run renewable power, particularly for electricity production, is the best investment of funds and likely to be the most stable in terms of cost for the long-term. This should be beneficial for you, too.
CCES can help your company assess the feasibility, advantages/disadvantages, and costs of different renewable energy technologies for your company and buildings. We can help you determine whether this is the time and how best to invest to make clean energy a good, long-term investment for you and maximize your benefits. We can manage the bidding and installation process and ensure and verify that the system meets your needs and goals. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.