The pursuit of efficiency: the role of distributed energy in a successful infrastructure strategy

• 2 days ago (2026-04-20)
• Junior Isles

Distributed energy 12

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John Behan, CEO, AMPYR Distributed Energy

At the macro-policy level, COP28 committed to energy efficiency as the “first fuel” at the core of its policymaking, planning, and investment decisions. This was a recognition of the necessity of promoting energy efficiency, electrification and energy demand management in all relevant sectors if energy targets are to be achieved.

A similar process is also playing out at the company level, with businesses also increasingly looking to energy efficiency as their “first fuel”. Indeed, with peak global electricity demand predicted to rise by 40% by 2035 , businesses - especially those in energy-intensive sectors – require a stable, reliable and long-term energy strategy that offers long-term resilience amidst a volatile market.

As a result, the sourcing, pricing, and management of power has become one of the central investment decisions businesses make.

Emerging challenges

That energy has re-emerged as a key determinant of competitiveness for businesses is a result of a mixture of challenges. These include higher labour costs, more selective capital, and constrained grid capacity. This re-emergence of energy concerns is particularly apparent in Germany and the UK.

In Germany, energy prices remain high and unpredictable, weighing heavily on industrial output and investment confidence. In the UK, efforts to expand and electrify have been limited by network congestion and rising transmission costs, despite the availability of both demand and capital.

The challenges facing Germany and the UK are to some extent the result of historic and ongoing policy choices made by both countries. However, to be properly understood, the issue should be placed in its proper context – the growing global divide between what might be called ‘petro-states’ and ‘electro-states’.

Petro-states depend on imported fossil fuels, exposing their economies to both the fluctuating market and ever-present geopolitical uncertainty. Electro-states, on the other hand, seek to gain long-term economic advantage through their ability to generate clean and reliable electricity domestically. But unlocking that advantage will require countries and businesses to use energy efficiency as the “first fuel” as the process of electrification gathers momentum.

What does this mean for businesses?

If energy has become a significant factor in either limiting or spurring growth, it follows that businesses will want to ensure that they are on the right side of that equation. Decisions must therefore be cognizant of the implications of operating in either petro-state or electro-state systems. The importance of this can be seen in the shift in board-level conversations, with executives having moved away from pursuing the cheapest yearly energy contract and towards securing a supply of energy that can be relied on over a duration of years or even decades.

The conversation has also shifted from ownership to outcomes. Facing high costs and an uncertain economic backdrop, businesses understandably see less value in owning assets outright than in securing long-term energy performance, price stability, and operational certainty without tying up capital or management bandwidth. This has led to businesses seeking long-term partners who are able to fund, deliver and operate energy assets over decades, rather than simply install equipment and exit.

In other words, what we are seeing here is the complete upheaval of how businesses think about energy strategy.

Distributed energy as successful strategy

A successful strategy considers resilience, predictability and optionality. In combining on-site generation, storage, and intelligent controls, distributed energy transforms itself from a sustainability add-on to a strategic tool. It provides a solution to the inadequacy of short-term procurement models, which were designed for an era of surplus capacity and more stable markets, but falter under strain.

Organisations are looking away from the wholesale market and towards the potential held within their own estates, assets and operational footprints. With energy being treated more like infrastructure, businesses that understand how energy is generated, how exposed operations are to grid constraints, and how much control they have over their long-term cost base have an opportunity.

If we look to Germany, for example, distributed solutions are increasingly used to protect industrial competitiveness in a structurally high-cost environment, aligning with a policy shift towards decentralized generation, flexibility and long-term investment signals. If we look to the UK, distributed energy proves more often than not the key difference between growth and stagnation. This enables new sites, electrification projects, and estate expansions where grid access alone fails to deliver.

Looking ahead

Several trends are becoming clear as we progress through 2026. Distributed energy becomes an essential solution as grid constraints continue to intensify and reinforcement programmes struggle to fill the gaps. Here to stay, geopolitical uncertainty means that capital grows increasingly selective, favouring the predictability, resilience, and renewability of businesses. In the face of all this, distributed energy, whilst not a cure-all for businesses operating in electro-states, provides a stable, resilient, and long-term ener