More small to medium-sized businesses are now looking to make the switch to solar power than ever before.
In fact, entire industries are having to consider the road ahead with the introduction of the carbon pricing scheme.
Switching to renewable energy isn’t the simplest of tasks – there are many variables to consider that can impact a business financially.
Businesses need to focus on their ability to remain competitive and ascertain whether or not the carbon price is going to impact their bottom line.
Companies also need to look at how the transition affects their daily operations, including cost of labour, transport and materials.
When moving to adopt renewable energy, businesses need to look at which are the best investments for their individual power needs.
Choosing a solar panel system is an important investment as it ideally needs to be able to generate enough energy to cover all their needs.
The government believes that a number of businesses have been waiting for more assistance before making the switch and as a result it has created a number of funds and initiatives.
The Jobs and Competitiveness Program has been allocated $9.2 billion for 2014-15 with the funds being administered to offset most emissions-intensive activities in the economy that need protection from overseas competition.
It also aims to support local job growth and encourage industries to invest in cleaner technology to avoid assets moving offshore.
The $1.2 billion Clean Technology Program will improve energy efficiency in manufacturing industries by helping fund research and development in clean energy technology.
$200 million of this has already been set aside for the food processing, metal forging and foundry industries.
For small businesses, the asset write-off threshold will be increased to $6500, giving greater incentives to invest in clean energy assets.
By encouraging business to make the shift, the government hopes to help a transition to clean energy, whilst maintaining the economic stability of the thousands of businesses that can help reduce our carbon footprint.
The government expects 1.6 million jobs will be created in Australia by 2020, with many coming from the development of the clean energy sector.
New kinds of jobs will also need to be created that are specifically focused on switching businesses to clean energy.
These jobs will be a mix of administrative, management and facilitative roles designed to assist in the transition at all points of operation from the board room to the point of sale.