Going green is no longer seen as optional for most businesses. It has increasingly become part of corporate social responsibilities worldwide and is vitally important when it comes to remaining competitive and relevant in today's market.
For businesses, energy use can really impact the bottom line. Energy is a significant cost for most organisations and there are opportunities to lower those costs while also benefiting the wider environment beyond the business itself.
However, not every business has the capability to manage or review their energy consumption in-house. That's where innovative organisations like Enel X come in.
Enel X offers a service called demand response, which will provide payments to large energy users that agree to reduce their energy demand during times of grid stress.
Enel X has been in operation in Ireland since 2006, initially as start-up Activation Energy. They help businesses to identify any opportunities from their energy use that solve challenges, help them achieve goals and give them competitive advantage in their respective markets.
Some well-known businesses already working with Enel X towards building a more sustainable energy ecosystem include, AIB, The Shelbourne hotel, Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and Roadstone, to name a few.
Demand response: Working towards a greener future
With more than 6GW managed globally, Enel X is the world leader in demand response.
So how can demand response help your business? Enel X works with your business directly to identify opportunities where you can contribute to a more reliable and low-carbon electricity grid without impacting your everyday operations.
This could mean something as simple as choosing to turn off any non-essential lighting or adjusting the thermostat levels. Or it could mean your business works to reduce its load when there is a high demand on the energy grid. Lights can actually be responsible for 40% of a building’s electricity use and are often left on unnecessarily in areas like meeting rooms, storage spaces and hallways.
Speaking about how simple it is working with Enel X on demand response, Kevin Donovan, Energy Manager at Roadstone says:
"You’ve got three or four pillars of energy use at your site. Demand response only requires you to turn one of those off at a time."
For example, if you own a manufacturing facility, you may choose to identify times where you suspend all production and conduct essential training or maintenance instead, taking the pressure off the grid for that period.
This is something that the multinational corporation Kimberly-Clark has opted to do. Kimberly-Clark Electrical Engineer Anthony Magistrale says:
“Being able to take advantage of downtime has really helped us internally to get our maintenance act together. And we did it with an ‘empty wallet’ approach. We didn’t have to invest capital to make our operations more efficient.”
There is no need for capital investment when it comes to participating in demand response. Your business maintains full control at all times and participation in the programme even creates a new revenue stream through receiving payment from Enel X for the flexibility.
Additionally, working with Enel X means you can receive further insights and advice from experts on how your business can improve energy efficiency even further and achieve your sustainability goals.
Planning for the future
Energy use has been climbing the corporate agenda for a number of years now and as a result, there are rising expectations about corporate environmental performance.
Gone are the days where companies will comfortably spend thousands or even millions directly on energy bills every year as a cost to be managed. This is now seen as a critical strategic mistake, overlooking the enormous opportunities provided to businesses who choose to think about the future and go green by participating in programmes like demand response with Enel X.
To learn more about demand response with Enel X visit: www.demandresponse.ie
