The ongoing uncertainty and conflict in the Middle East have provided another reminder of the extent to which global energy markets are exposed to volatility. Perhaps more to the point, although the geopolitical position may stabilize in the months ahead, reserves of fossil fuels will remain concentrated in a select few locations, and so the fundamental risks will remain unresolved.

And given that this conflict is the second in a short span of years to send energy prices spiking, it would be a substantial risk to trust that there are no other unwelcome geopolitical developments lurking just over the horizon.

It would also be an unnecessary risk. The UK may not be able to rely on fossil fuels, but we can generate our energy through other means, which we can control—namely, by electrifying and investing in renewables. Significant progress has already been made on this front, in part spurred by the energy crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But there is still far more to be done given the scale of the transition that is underway, and commercial and industrial energy will have a central role to play.

As a result, although it is encouraging that the government is considering additional support for households and relaxing restrictions on plug-in solar, it is essential that businesses are not overlooked. After all, it is commercial energy users rather than households that are often best-placed to deploy renewables at scale via onsite generation—for instance, through large-scale rooftop solar.

The economic case for businesses to invest in onsite renewables is already strong, which means that there is no longer a need for government subsidies. The benefits for businesses include increased energy resilience, predictability, and lower costs, whilst the fact that renewable assets can be installed quickly and with little or no capex costs thanks to power purchase agreements ensures that a wide range of companies can benefit.

The government is therefore best-placed to support businesses by removing the obstacles that are limiting businesses’ ability to maximize the benefits of their investments. The recent progress on grid connections and planning reform are a step in the right direction on this front, but in an ideal world the pace of change would be faster than it is now.

In particular, more could be done with distribution network operators to speed up the provision of connection offers for larger commercial rooftop projects, as these stand to deliver substantial energy savings quickly, as well as contribute to decarbonization—which itself is a substantial benefit for businesses. Businesses should also have to adopt onsite energy (or at least explore the possibility of doing so) as a pre-requisite for government support with their bills.

Renewable energy is already playing a vitally important role in the UK, and its share of the total energy mix continues to increase. In the long run, this should ensure that the UK is able to successfully reorient its economy around renewable, domestically generated energy and thereby insulate itself from future global energy crises. But if commercial energy users continue to be overlooked, that process will take longer than it needs to, and, in an uncertain world, such a delay could prove very costly.

By John Behan, CEO, AMPYR Distributed Energy