What can we expect for renewables in 2023?

Solar demand is set to soar – and capacity will rise to match

According to Bloomberg Intelligence, solar is likely to be the fastest-growing energy sub-segment in 2023, with demand set to increase anywhere between 20% to 30%. This follows a record-breaking rise of 40% in 2022, when industry revenues increased about 50%. In fact, it’s estimated that global solar energy generation will (for the first time), pass a terawatt by the end of 2023. And of course, the cost of solar is likely to get cheaper in the future as the efficiencies of the technology improve.

Now, the International Energy Agency has already announced that it’s confident solar energy will surpass coal power by 2027, in part due to the ongoing energy crisis, and the illegal war in Ukraine having an impact on the wider global economy.

Individual commitment to climate action is growing

A recent IBM survey found that 71% of people want to work for a company that makes a positive difference to the world, demonstrating that there’s a growing sense of personal responsibility amongst the population that plenty of people are now extending to their careers too. (It certainly lines up with what we’ve found here at Low Carbon Energy, meeting the applicants who’ve put themselves forward for recent job openings at our company!)

This career aspiration appears to be part of a gradual behavioural shift – more than a third of global consumers are willing to pay more for sustainability, and 32% of millennials are shifting their behaviours to be substantially more sustainable. All this goes to show that this growing sense of climate responsibility and passion about the wider world isn’t just being felt in the UK; there are also swelling numbers of international young climate activists too, determined to spur our global leaders on to make a change.

Investors and consumers have higher standards than ever

Somewhat unsurprisingly, just as countless consumers are making changes to their own lifestyles, they’re ever-more demanding of companies too. In particular, consumers are demanding that large corporations place a greater focus on Net Zero for their corporate emissions, especially across their extended global supply chains and the associated networks of businesses they cover.

As experts have pointed out, this isn’t something that can be done simply with spreadsheets and emails. Instead, it needs sophisticated tools and big data approaches to collate and manage datasets, in order to make informed decisions on how to reduce this carbon footprint.

Consumers are also becoming more wary than ever of greenwashing – a term used to refer to the practice of making products, services or entities more environmentally friendly than they actually are. Ryanair, Innocent Drinks, Hyundai, Pepsi Lipton and Volkswagen have all been caught doing it, which in many causes has resulted in lasting damage to their reputations. As they’re all now learning, consumers have long memories – and they may forgive, but they don’t necessarily forget.

All that goes some way to demonstrating why there’s never been a better time than now to make firm climate commitments in the eyes of your customers and investors – and solar panels are a great way of doing that. If it’s something you’re already considering, that’s where we can help. Our experts have over 30 years of combined experience, having helped SMEs and large corporations across a wide variety of sectors transform their business’ energy supply.

Each of our installations is bespoke, and we tailor your solution on your specific energy profile, helping us to maximise carbon reductions and save you up to thousands of pounds in energy bills. Feel free to look at our case studies for just a few examples of businesses which have reaped huge rewards from solar, such as Boeing and Irish Water. To find out how we can help you, feel free to give us a call today on 01282 421 489!