If you’re considering starting a renewable energy business, there are numerous angles to consider, but before you begin, you’re going to need to focus on three specific areas in order to get the wheels off the ground. The rewards can be very lucrative indeed as long as you know where to start.
Tools
Regardless of the kind of energy startup you’re launching, you’ll need to actually invest in the equipment that will turn that energy into electricity. This will require a range of tools that can be purchased online in bulk from providers such as RS components. You’ll also, of course need to invest in the infrastructure itself, though this will depend on the company. Kite Power Systems, for example, is a commercial venture that uses kites to generate energy, which obviously requires slightly less infrastructure investment than a wind farm or hydroelectric plant.
Investment
Sourcing investment capital is amongst the most difficult and complicated things that any startup will have to contend with in the early months of their venture. For a renewable energy startup, however, there is the benefit of investors being able to promote themselves as altruistic and ‘green-friendly’. Those investors generally fall into one of three categories and you’ll need to appear to all three if you want to truly benefit from their vast reserves of wealth.
VC Funding – Venture capital funding has always been amongst the most popular means of gathering capital for energy companies. Some might be looking to invest in something truly innovative, whilst others will be looking more for something that focuses on the environmental impact of clean energy.
Corporate Investors – Even major electric giants like General Electric are focusing more now on smart tech and clean energy, so whilst you might assume they are your enemies, corporate investors might actually be willing to throw out an olive branch as long as your business model is strong enough.
Angel Investors – So-called due to their innate altruism, these investors are interested not only because of the bottom line but because they genuinely want to make a positive difference in the world.
Innovation
The energy companies that are really standing out on the global stage are those that are finding fresh, innovative ways to grab public attention. SEaB, for example, is a company that has developed a process of turning food and agricultural waste into energy. Breezi, meanwhile, is a startup that hopes to cheaply and effectively reduce unnecessary energy loss. American Wind, meanwhile, is a company that has developed a tiny “MicroCube” wind turbine that aims to deliver almost 1000 times the amount of energy generated by a solar panel. If your startup really wants to launch big, it needs to do so with a similarly bold and ambitious concept.
