New Toolkit to Help Businesses Benefit From Growing Green Economy

Built environment SMEs could benefit from a free toolkit which details the opportunities arising from the growing onshore renewable energy and related low carbon markets.

The Institute for Sustainability’s new Renewable Energy Toolkit aims to help businesses increase their understanding of the markets so they can supply and deliver onshore renewable energy technologies and related services. The toolkit is also designed to help potential investors and procurers understand the relevance and viability of individual technologies, how they might be used, and what government support and incentives are available, encouraging the move towards a sustainable low carbon future.

Ian Short, Chief Executive at the Institute for Sustainability, said:  “With renewable energy production expected to double by 2020 in the UK, investment in solar, wind, biomass, hydropower and heat pumps in particular presents large emerging markets for both suppliers and installers. This means significant opportunities for SMEs in the built environment sector.”

According to the Department for Energy and Climate Change, £40 billion is estimated to be invested in renewable energy by 2020, taking energy generation from renewables in the UK from 15% in 2013 to 30% in 2020. Government incentive schemes such as the Feed-in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), legislation such as the 2011 Energy Act, as well as falling technology costs are driving public and private sector demand and interest in renewable energy as an increasingly viable alternative to conventional fuel sources.

The Institute’s Renewable Energy Toolkit is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

It is available free of charge at: http://renewablestoolkit.instituteforsustainability.org.uk/