Inflation is rising, a recession is imminent, global warming is killing life, and the world is on fire. Quite literally. It seems that nothing is going right for humanity right now. What steps can we take to ensure survival? How can we ensure we leave a habitable planet for future generations? While there is no guidebook to ensure survival, all individuals can make a slight difference in their own way. Let’s begin by helping businesses adopt green payments with renewable sources of energy.
The rising gasoline costs directly impact the transportation and energy sectors, affecting all small and large businesses directly or indirectly. We need to reduce our energy and utility consumption or find green alternatives to contribute toward a greener future. The answer to a more sustainable future lies with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
What is Wind Energy, and How Do We Generate It?
We generate wind energy by harvesting wind to generate electricity using turbines. Wind energy and solar energy are the primary forms of sustainable energy. Studies show that wind energy contributed to 9.2% of the total utility-scale energy in the U.S. in 2021 alone!
Contrary to popular belief, humans have been harvesting wind energy for centuries. Previously, we used wind energy to operate windmills that pumped water, sawed wood, and ground grains. With modern technological developments, we now use wind energy to generate electricity which is further used to power our homes and run our appliances. We harvest wind energy on a large scale on wind farms. Wind farms are extensive barren lands with hundreds (or even thousands) of large wind turbines, usually near coastlines where the wind is readily available throughout the year.
Why Should You Adopt Wind Power?
Mitigate Price Uncertainty
The price of gasoline keeps fluctuating based on various geopolitical factors. However, its limited availability is why its prices keep going up. We are burning through earth’s natural gasoline reserves much faster than it takes for the planet to replenish them. Unlike fossil fuels, wind energy and solar do not have the same problem. Wind essentially acts as an evergreen energy source if the location of the wind farm constraints meets the design requirements. Hence, wind energy prices will only decrease as we invent technologies to generate and transmit wind energy more efficiently.
Healthier for the Environment
Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are undoubtedly healthier for the environment. Unlike fossil fuels (gasoline), they do not produce harmful greenhouse gases. Moreover, we are finding ways to harvest these solar and wind energy with technologies that are easier to manufacture and do not strain our natural resources. Controlling the amount of greenhouse gases in the environment helps us reduce global warming and other associated health hazards like air pollution.
Lower Barrier for Entry
The barrier to adopting new renewable energy sources is now lower than ever. Just a few years ago, the cost of adopting solar or wind energy was extraordinarily high, and the equipment was not very efficient. However, as competition in the market increased, the cost of setting up a wind turbine or solar panels reduced. Today, residential customers who cannot set up their personal wind turbines reach out to their utility service providers to access wind energy.
Challenges of Wind Power
Cannot Buy Wind Energy Alone
Most utility companies do not exclusively offer renewable sources of energy. For most consumers, the only way to rely entirely on solar energy is to set up their personal wind turbine. Without ample space and perfect conditions, wind turbines may be unable to power their household.
Wind Energy is Costlier
Consumers who want to buy wind energy reach out to the energy providers with tie-ups with a wind farm. Most providers with these tie-ups offer wind energy at a premium. So, consumers need to pay a little more to access wind energy and make the planet healthier. Energy providers can negotiate better deals with wind farm owners to lower the cost of power if more and more consumers opt for sustainable energy. Consumers can change trends and bring down wind power costs by increasing adoption as a community.
How Can Companies Get Started With Wind Energy Bill Collections?
- Step 1: Calculate Consumption
- Most utility service providers have tie-ups with software vendors or third-party service providers that calculate the consumers’ energy consumption.
- Step 2: Calculate Contribution by the Consumer
- Offer the consumers an option to rely on cleaner wind energy by asking them for their contribution. Energy companies offer the consumers a choice to get a specific portion of their consumed energy directly from renewable wind energy sources and add the additional cost to their utility account bills.
- Step 3: Generate Energy Bill Invoices
- Tech-savvy payment processors have developer plugins and open APIs that integrate with back-end energy usage calculators. These processors partner with the software vendors or the energy companies to get the consumption data for the end consumers and generate bills automatically.
- Step 4: Distribute Invoices Digitally
- Most large utility companies have thousands (if not millions) of recurring customers. With modern-day billing technology, they now send monthly bills to these customers via SMS payments or email invoicing. Sending digital bills helps them reduce paper use and collect bills more seamlessly.
- Step 5: Collect Payments Online
- Conventionally utility companies collected bill payments by check or money orders. Customers had limited payment options and had to pay by phone or in person at a local company branch, which took several business days. However, modern energy companies have online payment systems and customer service departments that help a customer pay their energy bills over a web portal. These energy companies usually tie up with a payment processor to offer multiple payment options to their customers.
Tech-savvy payment processors take care of the entire billing cycle. They not only generate and distribute bills but also help energy companies collect payments via hosted payment pages. When a merchant business works with these payment processors, invoices automatically generate and send unique payment links that redirect a consumer to a hosted payment page. The consumer can log in to this page using their account number to view and pay their utility bills online via credit debit cards or ACH. Utility customers that choose to pay via ACH can link their check or savings bank account on a recurring billing cycle. Dynamic recurring billing helps the energy provider automatically deduct the correct amount from their customer’s bank account on the fixed due date every month.
Closing Thoughts
It is important to note that the adopters of wind and solar energy have the advantage of contributing to a healthier environment. The initial costs of adopting these energy sources are relatively high. However, with the ever-increasing gasoline and coal power prices, these renewable sources will prove more cost-efficient in the long run. The prices of these energy sources will only go down as we develop more efficient technology and government norms. Setting up their consumers to be able to pay online and in other contactless methods to utilize these services with digital payment options, will only further increase the efficiency of time and carbon resources the energy businesses use when they go live with faster payment initiatives.
As a community, we are responsible for supporting these green energy companies since they hold the future in their hands. If you are a green energy company that wants to leverage the power of seamless and efficient payment processing, speak with our experts today. We are also actively partnering with software vendors that serve the green energy markets to help these progressive companies!