Energy is a vital resource required for the operation of any business. Currently, the vast majority of businesses use electricity derived for non-renewable fossil fuels, which are expected to run out at its current rate of expenditure and causing substantial environmental damage threatening the future generations. In the UK if the current energy source used by small and medium enterprises (SME’s) could be replaced by solar energy then damage to the environment can be prevented and reduce costs as solar cells become more efficient. Solar cells involve harnessing the energy from the sun to generate electricity. In this study a methodology has been developed to compare a model micro-business in Manchester, UK and Kurdistan, Iraq. The comparison shows quantatively that even though Kurdistan, Iraq is abundant in oil and gas its climatic conditions favour the implementation of solar cells. Therefore, it is more feasible to replace the existing non-renewable fossil fuel sources with solar cells in Iraq due to greater solar radiation striking the earth’s surface. Our research suggests that solar cells can replace a reasonable amount of the energy requirements even in Manchester, UK and a much higher proportion in Kurdistan, Iraq. Using existing 20% efficient silicon solar cells we can replace 28% and 88% of the energy requirements of the micro business in UK and Kurdistan, Iraq respectively.
