Introduction
Renewable energy is a goal to which many developed countries strive. A multitude of solutions exists, but the problem is that there is no universal one yet. According to the report of the International Energy Agency, energy trends in the U.S. are nowadays shifting towards mass oil and gas production and export, which undermines the transition of the country and world towards renewables. [1] Therefore, it is paramount that all stakeholders collaborate to find and adopt the most suitable and convenient solutions in order to progress and bring the world closer to the goal of reducing the consumption of non-renewable resources to the minimum. The business has recently become the key driver of change in the matter. In light of this, it is critical to review the contribution of private enterprises big or small to the global problem of renewable energy.
Business Solutions for Renewable Energy
Tesla Inc. has emerged as a new beacon for those who care for the problems of ecology. The range of Elon Musk’s solutions is rather ambitious. To achieve the goal of the company that it formulates as “acceleration of the world’s transition to sustainable energy” Tesla produces fully electric cars with zero emissions.[2] There is a certain controversy about the environmental cost of production and construction of the cars themselves and the supporting infrastructure, which is the main argument of the Tesla’s critics. Despite these accusations, facts provided in the recent study conducted by Nealer, Reichmuth, and Anair suggest that manufacturing emissions in Tesla factories are several times lower than that in the traditional car industry.[3]
Production of electric vehicles for business on a global scale will be a challenge as today they seem to introduce a new era of technology and a new direction for growth. Besides, the new U.S. policy to increase its dominance in the world’s oil and gas production may be seen as a serious resistance factor to the development of renewable energy solutions. [4] Despite that, the changes in the traditional car industry can already be noticed. For instance, corporations that traditionally produced gasoline-powered cars now announce new models that are partially or fully electric. BMW has recently disclosed that it plans to build a new car factory in Oxford and is currently holding talks with a Chinese company to produce mini electric cars for their market. [5] In comparison with the efforts of a country, BMW and Tesla’s attempts seem futile. Nonetheless, it is the ideas and the vision that the business creates and sells. Tesla in that regard has advanced farther than the others.
Another renewable solution prosed by Tesla is solar roofs. A recent company presentation of the solar panel technology for household use claimed that new roof tiles made from solar panels are able to produce enough energy and fully recoup costs in only a few months’ time. Elon Musk stressed the cost-efficiency of this technology in comparison with traditional ways of providing energy for household use. Such advertisement of the product seems to be an effective instrument to influence society to use renewables. When the average customer understands that using them is cheaper and more reliable in the long run, the transition towards sustainable energy that the company strives towards could become possible.
In addition to that, the company continues to produce traditional solar panels and batteries to hold the energy for home use. This business strategy to replace all sources of traditional energy with renewables on the household level is clearly seen in Tesla’s product range. Typical American family uses gas-powered cars and use natural gas and electricity to heat the spaces and power various electronic appliances. The energy provided to homes comes from various sources including coal that constitutes up to 30% of the total U.S. electricity production. [6] Tesla enables households to stop using that power by providing them with an alternative that is cheaper and sustainable. Using electric cars and solar energy can be seen as an example of the ground-level strategy to change the energy profile in the U.S exercised by Tesla.
Another company that proposes a solution that may challenge the dominance of non-renewable energy production and consumption is a Chinese electric bus manufacturer, BYD. In 2017, it has sold around 100,000 buses globally. [7] Production of public transport that generates zero emissions and uses solar power is another step towards a sustainable future. In the U.S., busses mostly use diesel-powered engines and the replacement could help curb the dependence on fossil fuels.
SEPCO offers another idea. It manufactures streetlights that absorb and accumulate solar power during the day and use it to power LED lights during the night. This is another example of ground-level change. Surrounding people with sustainable solutions in their everyday lives is possibly the solution the world needs.
Companies like Vestas, Siemens, and Goldwind contribute to altering the course for oil and gas energy usage by producing wind turbines. Many companies such as those listed before use solar energy as a power source. Those three introduce and advertise another solution. Even though wind turbines are highly environment-dependent, they can generate enough electricity to power whole cities.
Positive and Negative Outcomes for Business
The fact that the U.S. government started to move in the other direction from a renewable future may discourage some people and direly affect the business in the sphere of environmentally friendly devices. Firstly, by supporting oil and gas extraction, the government gives ground for the continuous production of diesel or gasoline-powered cars that constitute a solid amount of carbon dioxide emissions. For the companies who produce such cars, it is an opportunity to economize on research and development in the sphere of renewable energy. The design and production of electric vehicles could be quite costly for the companies that have long been manufacturing only traditional ones. New factories and components need to be invested in, which is not something companies are always willing to venture into. The approximate reserves of oil and gas in the world are estimated to last a hundred years and more. Such planning scale usually exceeds that of a typical small or medium company, which does not encourage to development of new solutions if the old ones work.
There is also another side of the problem. The environmental impact of oil and gas extraction and usage is disastrous. The damage the planet suffers is the concern of every human on earth. Alongside the purely-humanitarian significance of the issue, one could also see a marketing strategy. Many people in developed countries are concerned with the state of the environment they live in, the quality of air, soil, and so on. This creates an opportunity to advertise and sell products that may have a slightly higher initial cost but grant the person his or her sense of contribution to solving the global issue. With the growth of scale and turnovers of the companies that advertise and sell sustainable solutions, the factual environmental impact will be significant. Therefore, despite the fact that the government decided to gain profit from its natural reserves, the negative impact on the companies developing sustainable solutions will likely be limited to the lack of support.
Positive and Negative Outcomes for Stakeholders
On the one hand, stakeholders of business decisions such as families and individuals as a part of society will benefit financially in the long run. Environmentally friendly designs such as those enumerated above could cost slightly more than traditional ones but will save people’s money in the long-term perspective. As noted earlier, surrounding people with items that generate or consume power from renewable sources will change the attitude of the public towards such products. Eventually, they will cease to exist as something only for the ‘concerned’ citizens and will replace usual products not only because they are attractive from a moral viewpoint but also because they are cheaper and reliable.
Conclusion
The list of solutions developed by businesses to advance the age of renewables may seem a futile attempt and an effort of a lower scale in comparison to the course for oil and gas taken by the U.S. government. Nonetheless, businesses undertook a bottom-up approach to form the demand for renewable sources of energy and sustainable solutions by producing devices that save the planet’s resources, and the resources of the customers. In a few decades, companies will be able to develop an understanding and addiction to the use of renewable sources by surrounding people with their devices.
List of References
Stanley Reed, “America’s ‘Renaissance’ to Gains for Renewables: Global Energy Trends,” New York Times, 2017. Web.
Tesla, “About Tesla,”. Web.
Rachael, Nealer, David Reichmuth, and Don Anair, “Cleaner Cars from Cradle to Grave”. Web.
“U.S. Energy Department directs $30 million to small oil, gas projects,” Reuters. 2018. Web.
Shafi Musaddique, “BMW to build electric Minis in China,”Independent, 2018. Web.
“Coal Explained,”Energy Information Administration. Web.
Danielle Muoio, “A Chinese Automaker Backed by Warren Buffett is Making a Big Push in the US with Electric Buses,” Business Insider, 2017. Web.