Food and beverage organizations work in an industry with tight margins, where customer experience is crucial and agility essential. Intense competition and rising input costs squeeze margins right across the sector, and demand has never been greater – food and beverage organizations will need to nourish a global population that will rise from 7.6 billion today to more than 9.8 billion in 2050. In addition, consumers are increasingly expecting that organizations demonstrate a genuine commitment to sustainability and are choosing brands and products based on their environmental credentials.
How does the industry meet these challenges? Throughout every segment of the industry – from growers to manufacturing to storage and distribution and grocery stores – narrow profit margins are often accepted as an inevitable part of business. But while this acceptance has given organizations within the food and beverage industry a good idea of what they can expect, it sometimes masks the very real potential for savings and growth.
The most accessible path to greater profit is a reduction in business-as-usual operating costs – like energy consumption. Food and beverage organizations are looking for ways to improve financial performance and achieve cost efficiencies throughout their infrastructure, and energy is a good place to unlock financial advantage and help balance profitability with sustainability. With energy costs a big proportion of overhead and forecasted to rise, energy efficiency and energy cost control is critical.
Growing and producing food on a commercial scale, processing, and packaging are energy-intensive across the entire supply chain. Add to that essential processes and features like lighting, heating, cooling, and refrigeration – and energy can consume a massive portion of a food and beverage organization’s operating budget.
Taking control over energy usage and energy costs can be a differentiating strategy for organizations throughout the food and beverage industry, and utilizing renewable energy technologies can not only help with energy cost control but with sustainability efforts as well. Renewable energy technologies like solar and storage can provide organizations in the food and beverage industry with a way to solve the challenges they are facing. Powering operational processes with solar power can enable organizations to use energy more efficiently and sustainably throughout their infrastructure as they rise to the challenge of producing product that satisfies an ever-increasing population – all by leveraging an on-site asset they already have.
Installing solar photovoltaic (PV) panels can particularly help organizations in the food and beverage industry that operate in large commercial buildings, like manufacturers and distributors of product, because they can monetize a large, already-existing part of their infrastructure that is generally unused – their rooftop. Most organizations in the industry operate in large buildings with ample roof space and can benefit by transforming that space into an asset for on-site energy generation by installing solar PV panels.
Installing solar PV panels delivers energy cost savings by offsetting a percentage of an organization’s energy consumption from the grid with lower-cost, on-site generated solar energy instead. Organizations are able to lock in a predictable energy rate for the lifetime of the solar PV system, enabling them to better forecast energy spend and operating expenses – all while making a positive contribution to the climate crisis and boosting their sustainability credentials, as solar PV technology doesn’t emit CO2 or other harmful greenhouse gases.
Solar power is a 100% renewable resource that is not only the right thing to do financially, but socially as well. By running operations on an efficient, renewable source of energy at a predictable rate that is lower than the cost of the grid, food and beverage organizations can maintain efficient production levels while reducing operating costs and satisfying consumer demand for sustainably-produced product, providing a competitive edge in a saturated and highly competitive market. In addition, organizations can reinvest energy savings into other parts of their infrastructure.
With food and beverage organizations operating under such tight margins, investing in renewable energy technologies like commercial solar may seem daunting, especially during these uncertain times. However, a lack of capital should not be a barrier to unlocking a competitive advantage with solar.
A range of innovative financing methods can help food and beverage organizations realize the immediate benefits of solar through energy cost savings and a lower carbon footprint. Many financing options enable organizations to preserve precious capital and finance a solar PV system with little to no upfront investment, through solutions like a 7-Year Operating Lease, or simply purchase the power from their installed system through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
In addition to energy cost savings, organizations can turn solar into a source of revenue by participating in state-level Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) incentive programs or feed-in tariff programs – where applicable and depending on the selected financing solution – to receive compensation for the clean energy that their solar PV system generates.
Organizations in the food and beverage industry will require commercial and technical expertise to help them navigate their energy challenges and realize the growth opportunities that energy can unlock. When managed well, energy can help drive business efficiency and power new levels of operational performance. Selecting a commercial solar installer that has decades of experience, and who designs and installs high-quality solar PV systems, is critical to ensuring maximum performance from a solar PV installation, regardless of the financing method.
Centrica Business Solutions has extensive experience in the food and beverage industry, helping organizations manage the daily cost of their operational processes by leveraging their ample amount of roof space and sunshine. Annabelle Candy, one of the largest independently owned candy bar manufacturers in the US, invested in solar power from Centrica Business Solutions and protected their long-term energy costs while trimming their carbon footprint. Their solar PV system offsets 90% of their electricity bill with clean, efficient solar power, and they are projected to save $6.5m in electricity costs over the 25-year lifetime of the system.
At Centrica Business Solutions, we support you on every step of your journey, from understanding your energy goals to optimizing your solar PV system for your available roof space. Every system is customized to your specific business needs in order to maximize energy production and deliver energy savings. We only install Tier 1 bankable components that are backed by 20-year+ manufacturer warranties and are rigorously tested. You can be assured you are receiving top-quality components that will generate maximum energy to power your facility and operational processes. Our highest quality technology offerings, experienced project management, and professional engineering and design ensure a worry-free investment.
Through our industry-leading 10-year workmanship warranty and 10-year production guarantee, we provide you with peace of mind that your professionally installed solar PV system will generate what we say it will, so you can be assured of maximum ROI through energy cost savings and revenue generation through available incentives that boost profitability.
Solar is a financially sound, affordable source of energy for organizations in the food and beverage industry. Our team can walk you through available options and help you navigate these opportunities.
Tim Seamans
Tim Seamans serves as Head of Commercial Solar at Centrica Business Solutions. Tim is a 14 year veteran of the solar industry and has worked with a diverse group of teams to provide clients with an excellent financial return from solar and help build an distributed energy platform for future generations.
