6 Solar Energy Business Ideas

Solar energy is becoming an ever more popular form of energy, and there are so many reasons why. A few key reasons people are embracing solar include:

Sustainability: Solar power is a clean source of energy that produces no carbon emissions
Cost savings: Installing solar panels on a building can allow occupants to harvest their own free energy without having to pay an energy supplier ongoing bills
Portability: solar panels can be used on vehicles or taken on camping trips to provide readily-accessible power from any location

The solar energy industry has been booming over the last decade and is likely to continue growing over the next few decades. It could be a great industry to get into if you want to tap into a growing demand while having a positive impact on the environment.

But just what kind of startup ideas can you consider within the solar energy industry? This post lists 6 solar energy business ideas that could be worth embracing.

Empower Business

Start a solar farm

Solar farms use masses of solar panels to harvest electricity from the sun, which is then sold to energy providers or local individuals. If you own an empty area of land that gets lots of sunlight throughout the day, this could be the perfect place to start a solar farm. Alternatively, you may be able to start a small-scale solar farm from your rooftop – community solar LMI projects typically involve providing energy to neighbors in exchange for funding or small fees, and are becoming more popular in cities.

Sell solar products

Another option could be to become a retailer for solar products. This could include solar panels for household and commercial use, or even solar panels to sell to solar farms. Alternatively, you could sell smaller solar products like vehicle solar panels, camping solar panels and outdoor solar lights and solar pumps for backyard use. Such a business could be operated online or from a physical store.

Install solar panels

If you already have experience as an electrician or roofer, you could consider specializing in solar panel installation. This will involve taking a separate solar PV course, which allows you to get licensing. You can then start marketing your services to homeowners or commercial companies, helping customers to choose panels and decide where to locate them as well as installing them.

Clean solar panels

Solar panels can get dirty and this can affect their efficiency. By starting a solar panel cleaning business, you could help to maintain solar panels for customers. This is a service that you could provide alongside installation or general maintenance – or you could make it your specialism.

Invest in solar projects

Solar projects typically require a lot of upfront funding. Starting a VC firm for solar projects could allow you to make a lot of money in the long run by receiving shares in future profits. Alternatively, you could start up a loan company, providing loans to solar projects. Such companies typically require you to have a lot of money upfront in order to launch them.

Specialise in solar marketing

If you have experience in marketing, you could consider focusing solely on solar energy businesses. Solar marketing is a niche field that is still being explored and could be a great USP for your marketing firms. Marketing services provided could include website design, social media marketing, SEO, PPC advertising or flyer production.