As climate leaders and corporations gathered to discuss the future of energy transition at Climate Week NYC last month, one thing was clear: technology is taking a leading role in corporate climate roadmaps. Once out of reach for a majority of small and mid-sized enterprises, green energy technologies are becoming increasingly accessible and a smart investment to decrease energy use and boost productivity. Rich data combined with unique financing solutions make is easier than ever for companies to take action.

Last month, I spoke at the Nest Summit alongside leaders from Siemens Infrastructure and Siemens Financial Services to discuss the intersection of advanced technology and innovative financing solutions on the road to decarbonization.

Here are three things to keep in mind when selecting and investing in a green technology solution for your business:

There’s no one size fits all plan to decarbonization

Each business has an individual set of priorities and goals when it comes to adopting and implementing a decarbonization plan. The market trends in each sector vary dramatically and each business will require unique use cases and present a varying risk appetite. The technologies selected should match a company’s individual requirements and needs; it’s important to first understand the business before determining whether solar, energy storage or other technologies are a good fit.

It’s one thing to have the latest and greatest technology, but will that technology actually serve you and your business in the long run? This is a question Calibrant often addresses with clients through the due diligence process before planning and starting a project. It’s more than just saying “yes” or “no” to the question of wanting to adopt clean energy solutions. Bridging the gap between ideal scenarios and the sometimes-unpredictable implementation of technologies is where companies like Calibrant come in to create a financeable path to the technology. Through analysis, testing, evaluation of operational data, running sensitivity analysis and  considering the total cost of ownership; Calibrant identifies the right technology mix for the specific customer application and creates a financing structure around it.

We have the technology, now we need an affordable path to implementation

We’re at an exciting moment in time for green energy technology because we’ve overcame a lot of the hurdles when it comes to the availability and effectiveness of the technology. This is particularly true for solar energy which is nowadays a mature/proven technology, but also energy storage which has proven over the last decade to be an instrumental part of the technology stack complementing intermittent power generation.

By leveraging innovative technologies like solar generation, battery energy storage or microgrids along with flexible financing solutions like Calibrant’s no-upfront cost financing model, companies have never had a greater opportunity to explore clean energy solutions.  

“Bridging the gap between ideal scenarios and the sometimes-unpredictable implementation of technologies is where companies like Calibrant come in to create a financeable path to the technology.”

Picking the right partner is essential to success

Executives today are being told by lots of different parties that they can and should be taking on the responsibility of implementing renewable energy into their business models. Today, partners like Calibrant can ease a lot of this pressure. There is increasing demand for companies looking to operate under long-term models to avoid CapEx in lieu of operating experiences. Third party partners can guarantee outcomes and provide piece of mind to companies so they can focus on their business bottom line rather than on the technology and financing required to implement an energy transition strategy.

Successful projects take a wholistic approach, considering a toolbox of technologies before selecting the ones best suited to the business. To achieve true progress, it’s not enough to have a solution and go looking for a problem. Custom solutions that supercharge green energy goals require the right partner who can see around corners and serve your business over the long run. Decarbonization doesn’t happen overnight, but having an actionable plan with predictable results is possible today. You might just find that making the energy transition is easier, and more beneficial than you first thought.

Yanni Kapranos is the Chief Technical Officer at Calibrant Energy.

After countless “infrastructure weeks” and promises from politicians across the aisle to tackle the climate crisis, we are now seeing the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill move through Congress with billions of dollars earmarked for the nation’s clean energy network.

However important, this historic bill is only the start of what is needed to address the climate crisis at the required scope and scale. In addition to the public sector’s commitment to address energy challenges, we need to activate the private sector to further advance the green energy transition and transform the way communities are powered and built.   

At Calibrant Energy, we’re focusing our efforts on a critical component of our clean energy future – distributed energy delivered through the Energy as a Service (EaaS) model. EaaS provides businesses of all sizes access to fully integrated and managed green energy solutions with no up-front capital investment and no operational or performance responsibilities. The unique feature of the model is an inherent flexibility to incorporate a wide array of green energy technologies.  

Today, this could mean the deployment of solar, potential integration with battery storage and hybrid systems, microgrids, combined heat and power, along with centralized heating and/or cooling infrastructure upgrade solutions. Tomorrow, the picture could look very different with an entirely new emerging energy solution. The Biden Administration recently said it wants solar power to be 40% of electricity generation by 2035, up from 3% today. While the mix of utility vs. distributed energy has yet to be determined, we see this as a promising opportunity to increase the adoption of distributed solar.

“EaaS provides businesses of all sizes access to fully integrated and managed green energy solutions with no up-front capital investment and no operational or performance responsibilities.

The next decade will be both critical and transformative for the global energy market. EaaS models will play an increasingly important role in accelerating the energy transition by allowing businesses and institutions to incorporate more green energy technologies and have those built, financed, delivered and operated on their behalf without distraction from core business operations.

In addition, new clean energy technologies are emerging that will further diversify our energy sources and drive new efficiencies, allowing for the delivery and management of those new technologies with immediate cost savings, lower emissions, and increased resilience for our partners.

In the future, entire cities will be built with clean, connected and community-based energy models, with customers both generating and consuming energy. Bringing this vision to reality will require greater cooperation among governments, businesses, investors, and citizens as well as increased technical and financial support.

Distributed energy systems such as those delivered by Calibrant give businesses and communities the power, customization, guidance, and financing to transition their energy infrastructure with the newest, clean energy technologies to make clean cities a reality.

Chris Archer is the Head of Americas at Green Investment Group and is also part of Calibrant Energy Board of Directors.