Chemical manufacturing resource efficiency

Renewable energy is energy generated from natural sources. Microgeneration is small-scale use of natural sources to generate electricity.

Generating renewable energy can save you money and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases your business emits.

Renewable energy sources include:

• water or hydropower
• wind power
• solar power
• wave power
• tidal power
• biomass
• anaerobic digestion

For information about the different sources of renewable energy, see how to generate your own renewable energy.

Financial benefits of microgeneration

There are three potential income streams from microgeneration:

• export tariffs
• feed-in tariffs paid by the government for every kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity generated
• green energy certificates

If you generate more electricity than you need you can sell the extra electricity back to your electricity company. The payments you receive for selling electricity are called export tariffs.

The government has introduced feed-in tariffs across the United Kingdom for both businesses and households for projects up to five megawatts. The government guarantees payment to microgenerators for every kWh of electricity you generate by renewables, including electricity you generate and use yourself.

If you operate a small-scale energy generator you can make your business money by selling green energy certificates to energy suppliers.

There are a number of interest free loans and other incentives available to businesses wishing to develop renewable energy generation.

Planning permission

If you want to build a renewable energy development you must apply for planning permission from the planning service.

Find out how to apply for planning permission.

Renewables in protected areas

If the site you wish to develop is in a conservation or protected area, you must notify the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

Find out if your proposed site is in or near a protected area using the online interactive map.

If your site has archaeological or architectural interest you must inform NIEA.