Ohio’s energy technology industry is ready to take off, but obstacles remain for businesses taking their solutions to market.
Companies that provide customers with innovative payment options will have an advantage in the coming years.
Legislation hasn’t necessarily helped. Since 2014, the state’s energy industry has been impacted by several new laws, including Senate Bill 310, House Bill 6, and the recent Senate Bill 52. These, and other setbacks, have frustrated some solution providers.
Bruce Burcat, who represents manufacturers as the Executive Director with the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition, shared these obstacles from a utility-scale perspective with Energy Wire.
“The costs may just be too high to develop in the state for newer developments coming in. The more you raise the costs of development, the more you make it harder to develop, the less likely a project will become viable,” he said.
Ohio’s regulatory landscape impacts the adoption of clean energy more directly through a lack of business incentives. For example, a tax credit applied to solar paneling purchases is going down from 26 to 22 percent in 2023 and disappearing entirely by 2024.
This may impact the ability for Ohio-based paneling manufacturers to attract new customers.
For businesses with funding hurdles, this could impact their decision to move forward on their energy projects.
Meanwhile, Ohio energy technology manufacturers are growing in number. Companies have more competition as the state experiences an increase in solution providers.
Innovative financing needed for Ohio’s cleantech growth
Solution providers that can provide their customers with mutually-beneficial payment and funding options have an edge. The State of Climate Tech Report states that innovative financing is needed for cleantech adoption, and this is even more true in Ohio, where there are few financial incentives for businesses to reduce their energy consumption.
The result is that many cleantech projects never get off the ground due to a lack of financing. This makes it more difficult for Ohio solution providers to sell their products. Some companies attempt to overcome this issue by offering customer financing in-house to speed up sales. However, this can be expensive and complicated.
Implementing a financing program, training employees, and maintaining the process is time-consuming and costly. In addition, financing restricts cash flow and runs the risk of customers becoming delinquent on their payments.
Another option is for Ohio Solution providers to remove risk and offer customers a streamlined funding process by working with a partner that facilitates the financial agreement between the lender and the customer. This speeds up the sales cycle, enabling cleantech companies to close more deals and increase revenue.
How to compete in a saturated cleantech market
Despite financing challenges, many solution providers are based in Ohio, and the market is becoming more saturated. This makes it hard for customers to choose between products, leading to frustration and complicating the buying process.
Solution providers must provide more value to attract and retain customers. As most cleantech companies can’t easily adjust their prices to compete, they need to find ways to add value to their offerings.
Ohio solution providers can add value for their customers by:
- Providing customer financing options to simplify the process.
- Innovating their offerings to provide more savings opportunities.
- Coordinating and integrating with complementary technologies.
- Offering networking opportunities with the broad energy ecosystem.
It is difficult for Ohio cleantech companies to solve customer financing issues and the increase in competition on their own. A strategic partnership can help them gain a competitive advantage, expand their business, and increase sales.
How EnPowered helps Ohio cleantech companies sell more
EnPowered helps Ohio solution providers sell more by removing these barriers. With EnPowered’s Payments, you can overcome customer financing and competition issues. This will help you close more deals faster, stand out in the market, and streamline your sales process.
Payments gives you a unique way to sell your products by allowing your clients to pay as they save, as a line item on their electricity bill. This removes the financing obstacle, enabling you to unlock stalled projects.
Partnering with EnPowered gives you access to a network of lenders that approve energy efficiency projects. This allows you to improve the lending process, speed up sales, and increase revenue.
EnPowered is ready to help Ohio solution providers sell more. Contact us today to learn how Payments can help you grow your business and drive more sales.
