Businesses to profit from growing renewable generation market

Businesses generating their own energy can create new revenue streams, reduce exposure to price uncertainty, benefit from government incentives and help ensure long-term revenue structures, says EDF Energy.


The energy company predicts that the renewable generation market in the UK is set to double over the next five years to reach the 75TWh mark – a contribution of roughly 20% of the UK’s total generation capacity – as the cost of technology comes down and a larger volume of accredited projects come online.

Growth in the renewable market is expected to be driven mainly by independent generators in the wind and biomass sectors, which by 2017 could account for around 60% of the total renewable generation market, it says.

According to EDF Energy, existing independent specialist generators are expanding their operations while many other businesses are establishing their own independent generation operations, leading to significant growth in the sector.

Smaller generators, mainly waste and water management businesses, utilities and industrial/manufacturing units, are expected to be key in driving growth in the non-specialist generation market.

Senior manager of EDF Energy’s Export and Low Carbon Energy team, Paul Bennett, said: “Our projections for growth in independent generation simply highlight the potential opportunities for all types of businesses”.

Bennett added: “With the predicted growth in the market, it is encouraging that self-generating businesses are taking the opportunities available, but there is plenty more to achieve”.

Leigh Stringer

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