It is essential for business energy to incorporate more renewable resources if companies are to make the most of the economic efficiencies offered by sustainable power generation, according to BusinessGreen.
Andrew Charlesworth, journalist for the multimedia publication, which aims to help organisations improve on their green credentials, explains that he does not believe there will be an alternative for many firms in the years to come.
The need to embrace renewable power in the business energy mix will stem from the economics involved in shifting towards more efficient forms of generation, he says.
"If you put money into things like energy conservation or
insulation, you can get returns of 15 per cent on your investment," he says.
"Where can you get a return of 15 per cent these days? Certainly not by sticking it in a bank."
He also points out that many analysts expect to see fossil fuels become more expensive in the years to come - and that they are the only alternative to adopting
green energy generation techniques.
But this in itself helps to drive the economic advantages of renewable energy, Mr Charlesworth adds, because the higher fossil fuel prices go, the more money businesses which do adopt green alternatives are able to save.
A primary factor involved in driving this trend in one direction or another is the barrel price of oil, which may yet reach a three-figure dollar level in the years to come.
His comments reflect the increasing prevalence of renewable energy in the EU's overall power production, as shown in figures from the European Commission published in early July.
These showed wind energy accounting for 38 per cent of new power production capacity brought online in 2009 - the second consecutive year in which turbines provided the greatest proportion of new capacity.
In all, renewable energy had risen by five percentage points from its contribution of 57 per cent of the continent's total energy generated in 2008, to amount to 62 per cent of all power outputted in 2009.
