What Your Business Should Know About Upgrading to Electric

Every day, people who work in energy are talking about massive technological changes reshaping society on a global scale. The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Electric grid transformation. The rise of the modern electric vehicle.

If you’re not working in energy, there’s a good chance you’re missing out on these discussions. But your business still depends on energy access and affordability. More importantly, the future of your business relies on your ability to navigate a rapidly changing energy market.

Technology change brings exciting opportunities for business leaders who are prepared for what’s coming.

Solar Gain sees first hand how electric systems beat fossil fuel equipment in myriad ways. Electric is cheaper, cleaner, stronger, faster, more comfortable, and easier to control.

Electric systems are bringing powerful solutions to the retail market, and the solutions are perfectly scalable with limitless potential.

This post is the first in an occasional series on our electrifying world. We will introduce you to some influential thought leaders shaping our understanding about market trends and where we’re heading.

Today we’ll be featuring the work of energy futurist Daan Walter and his team at Ember, a global energy think tank based in the United Kingdom. About once a month, Ember publishes an analysis on the website Electrotech Revolution. We’ll highlight a selection of Ember’s commentary so far this year that the businesses we work with ought to know.

Beating Fossil Fuels

For generations there have been two ways to think about fossil fuels: as a natural resource that powers the global economy or a driver of global warming. Using the Electrotech Revolution, Ember tells us that the energy market is changing dramatically and fossil fuels’ grip on the world economy is loosening.

The agent of change is the combination of new supply-side technologies like solar, demand-side technologies like electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps, and connection technologies like batteries and software that together are driving a historic increase in energy worldwide.

Falling costs and rising deployments have given electrotech so much momentum, Ember says, that policy headwinds cannot slow them down. Electrification technologies have a decisive advantage over fossil fuels in terms of efficiency, economics, and energy independence.

Efficiency: Solar power and wind power operate more efficiently than thermal power, which constantly consumes fuel and loses energy due to friction and heat.

Economics: The technology is getting cheaper with scale while fossil fuel extraction is getting more expensive.

Energy independence: Most of the world relies on fossil fuel imports, but every country has enough renewable energy to be self-sufficient. As world powers impose new trade restrictions, electrification provides a path to energy independence.

A Tipping Point

Renewable energy has always been abundant. Manufacturing costs have been on a decades-long downward trend. What makes this moment in the energy transition uniquely relevant for businesses across the board?

Ember points to two recent energy crises – first Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, next the US-Israel war with Iran leading to closure of the Strait of Hormuz in 2026 and all that transpired in between. 

Moreover, Ember makes the case that many countries of all sizes are building forward to the electric age while some countries continue to reach back, struggling to patch up fossil fuel infrastructure. China has electrified 32 percent of its total energy consumption. India, at an earlier stage of development, is reducing fossil fuel consumption and scaling solar, batteries, and EVs at a faster pace than global peers. Southeast Asian nations, meanwhile, have surpassed the United States, which has been stuck at about 24 percent electrification, according to most recent figures.

To put the scale of electrotech growth in perspective, consider these facts:

• Avoided oil consumption from the global fleet of EVs equals about 70 percent of Iran’s oil exports in 2025.
• Solar generating capacity added in 2025 could displace the electricity from all 2025 liquified natural gas (LNG) exports through the Strait of Hormuz.

Your Electrified Business

If you visited a gas station while the Strait of Hormuz was closed, you saw a prime example of fossil fuel costs on a rising trajectory. And while nobody knows what new global crises might emerge in the future, the long-term trends are clear.

All building technologies can now be electrified economically: heating, cooling, cooking, and more. Many transportation technologies can also be electrified economically, including cars, buses, and trucks. In the industrial sector, some technologies can be electrified economically while others to this point cannot.

Wherever businesses need reliable electricity at an affordable price, perform due diligence on electric power systems including solar, batteries, and EVs before procuring new systems that depend on fossil fuels. Look at capital expenses and operating expenses.

In many markets, you will find that solar and batteries now have a cost advantage over gas and oil-powered technologies. This cost advantage is likely to grow.

While businesses cannot directly control national policy, we can lead by example, investing in electrification at the building level and the campus level and demonstrating the many advantages of these technologies.

Lastly, keep in mind that economics, not politics, is driving the energy transition. In the face of policy uncertainty, it’s reassuring for business leaders to know that the momentum is unstoppable. Much like the momentum that was behind fossil fuels at the dawn of the modern oil era in 1859.