By David Martini, Managing Director of CleanTech Wholesale
The world is changing. Our industry is shifting. For hard proof, just look at these numbers this year. The UK saw a record 170,000 solar installations in the first half of 2025. Home battery storage installs reached 20,000. Only the businesses that understand the true meaning of these changes are the ones that are seizing the opportunity in front of them and winning.
So what is holding so many businesses back? Well, for too long, the energy sector has operated on an outdated model of central control. This old way is governed by complexity and friction. And it’s created a system that burdens installers with administrative tasks and inefficient supply chains. The result is a clear disconnect between the incredible promise of clean energy and the frustrating reality of bringing it to life.
But a fundamental paradigm shift is underway. And it’s being driven by a convergence of three decentralising forces. For installers to succeed, they must understand that these forces are the very foundation of the industry’s future.
These three pillars give you a new way to win
1. Decentralised Energy = More Margin
The most visible pillar is the shift from large, centralised power plants to distributed, renewable energy sources. With home battery installs skyrocketing and EV infrastructure growing 27% year-on-year, customers now want integrated solutions. Professionals who empower individuals by offering solar, storage, and EV charging as a single system will win more jobs and generate higher margins.
2. Decentralised Systems = Less Friction
This is the move from central, human-led processes to intelligent, automated networks. AI and machine learning enable automated logistics, smart project management, and frictionless processes that remove resistance from the system. This means businesses can streamline processes to spend less time doing paperwork and admin tasks.
3. Decentralised Money = Faster Closes
Digital currencies are challenging traditional finance. For installers, this translates into faster-closed deals. Mix that with the ability to empower customers with the zero-VAT policy on installs until 2027 and the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) to strengthen their ROI, and you’re presenting a financial no-brainer.
Five moves you need to make this quarter
But this strategic shift only benefits the businesses that seize the opportunity now. Here’s how you can do it today:
1. Design bundled offers
Create standard, pre-priced specs for common jobs, like a 4-6kWp PV plus a 5-10kWh battery for terraced houses. This shortens surveys, simplifies quoting, and raises your conversion rate. The growing market demand needs this.
2. Quote with financial clarity
Make a zero-VAT line item and a SEG illustration a standard part of every proposal. You can even include the supplier’s SEG link as proof. This builds customer trust and speeds up their sign-off process.
3. Get ‘connection-ready’
For larger commercial jobs, you need to act fast. That means preparing planning documents and site studies early so you’re rewarded by the grid’s new ‘first-ready’ queue management rules.
4. Design ‘EV-ready’ as default
Even if you’re not installing the charger today, show your customers that you’re forward-thinking. Specify spare capacity, CT clamps for load balancing, a labelled isolator, and containment to the parking spot. Private installs will follow the public EV infrastructure growth.
5. Sell the outcome, not the kit
Frame your proposals around the benefits of bill stability, energy independence, and resilience. This resonates with customers and helps you close the deal faster.
Those five moves solidify your place as a winning business in these changing times. But there’s one final ingredient that makes all the difference.
A distribution partner today must embrace the three pillars and build their operations around them. It must use technology to remove complexity, not to create it.
Our business, now known as CleanTech Wholesale, has aligned itself with this vision to become a partner that gives you a new way to win. We are a business that believes in speed, simplicity, and sovereignty. We are not just talking about the future. We are building it.
In this new era, true foresight is understanding that the future of the energy industry is built not on fighting the old way, but on building a smarter one.