Solar energy isn’t new, but it is growing in popularity around the country and around the world for many reasons. It provides individuals and companies with the opportunity to save money on energy costs that can fluctuate from the local power company, and it allows you to reduce your carbon footprint by eliminating consumption of fossil fuels for everyday needs like lighting, air conditioning, and more.

It’s also growing in popularity for businesses, which can benefit from significantly reduced energy costs and the ability to accurately predict budgets today and several years in the future with fixed energy costs. Even energy companies agree that solar renewable energy is the wave of the future, with a majority agreeing that solar was likely to be in the top spot for renewable energy within three years.

BDO Energy Sector Survey

BDO, an international tax and financial consulting firm, conducted a survey in 2020 where they asked 100 CFOs from multiple gas, oil, and power generation companies what they thought about the future of renewable energy, and where we would be within three years by 2023. Despite all of these people working in an industry currently dominated by fossil fuels, these high-level leaders all agree that a greener energy future is coming.

The report revealed that many of these oil and gas CFOs are also investing in solar and other renewable energy as a key part of their future portfolio, and not just as a “backup” to other energy sources. That’s a big shift from the same survey conducted in years past, which didn’t see nearly as much renewable energy participation as this year’s report.

Solar Dominates the Landscape

There are five forms of renewable energy that appeared on the survey:

• Solar
• Wind
• Hydroelectric
• Geothermal
• Biomass

While all five different types of renewable energy got the attention of CFOs, the majority (38%) said solar will be the dominant form of energy by 2023. The second, third, and fourth place renewables varied depending on the industry of the CFOs.

Oil & Gas

• Solar (38%)
• Hydroelectric (28%)
• Wind (16%)
• Geothermal (10%)
• Biomass (8%)

Power Generation

• Solar (38%)
• Hydroelectric (12%)
• Wind (22%)
• Geothermal (20%)
• Biomass (8%)

For many of these CFOs, the benefit of solar is clear because it offers an endless supply of energy at an extremely low cost. The cost to install and implement solar has gone down significantly in recent years for both commercial and residential consumers.

If you are thinking about investing in your energy future, talk to Intermountain Wind and Solar today about how you can get solar energy for your business or home.