For renewable energy companies, video can be a powerful tool for attracting investment, winning new customers, and building brand awareness.
It’s one of those forward-facing niches, and video just so happens to be a format that can deliver the right marketing message to every type of stakeholder equally well.
Green Tech, Clean Tech, Climate Tech: this corner of technology, innovation, and business has plenty of sub-niches. However, all of them belong to the same industry: renewable energy.
To build a sample for analysis, I have pulled data from a range of sources:
- Google search results
- Roundups from authoritative niche sites and media (Wellfound, Fundrise Insider, Time, Y Combinator, etc.)
- Lists of startups that raised significant funding
- Various rankings of startups in renewable energy
- Other useful data sources
The result was a list of 83 companies that formed the backbone of our research. The full list of involved companies’ websites can be found in this list.
Methodology: What Exactly Did We Analyze?
At its core, this research is a structured content audit that answers the following questions:
- What share of renewable energy companies produce video content and how regularly do they create it?
- Which platforms are they using to distribute video content?
- Which video formats are the most popular in the renewable energy space (live action, animated explainers, etc.)?
- Common mistakes to avoid
- What we think is missing: where companies leave gaps and what they could do better in their video marketing strategy
- Other useful observations
So, if you’re curious about how the renewable energy industry is using video for marketing and sales, keep reading!
The Geography of Renewable Energy Startups and Companies
We pulled HQ data from each company’s contact page and official LinkedIn profile, so this information is as reliable as it gets! However, for the sake of data clarity, we didn’t break it down by individual country and went with a more global view by region instead.
Here’s how the geographic distribution looks across our sample:
- USA: 57.8% (48 companies)
- Europe: 37.3% (31 companies)
- Other: 4% (4 companies)
A noticeably large share of the sample comes from Europe, driven by strong interest in renewable energy from businesses, governments, and regular citizens alike.
How Many Renewable Energy Companies Create Video Content?
- 62.7% of companies create video content
- 37.3% don’t use video content
A meaningful share of companies already understand the value of content marketing and video specifically. With that being said, a sizable portion of players still aren’t using video marketing media.
“Of the companies that do produce video content, only 51.9% do so regularly.”
How often? See the chart below:
- Quarterly: 11.1%
- Monthly: 40.7%
- Rarely: 33.3%
- Once: 14.8%
Takeaway: as with other marketing channels, only a small share of companies take a systematic approach to video content production. That makes it a strong opportunity to stand out and grow brand awareness quickly, which is especially valuable for newer players.
Which Platforms are Used For Video Distribution?
Distribution matters just as much as creation in an effective video marketing campaign – or maybe more. After all, no matter how interesting, polished, or useful your video is, none of it counts if barely anyone watches.
Here’s how renewable energy companies share their video content:
- LinkedIn: 92.6%
- YouTube: 63.0%
- Instagram: 51.9%
- Facebook: 37.0%
- Website: 25.9%
- X: 11.1%
- Vimeo: 7.4%
- TikTok: 1.9%
The two most popular platforms for video among renewable energy startups and companies are LinkedIn and YouTube.
“48.1% of companies stick to just 1 or 2 channels, 13% are present on 3 platforms, and 38.9% diversify across 4 or more.”
- 1 platform: 18.5%
- 2 platforms: 29.6%
- 3 platforms: 13.0%
- 4 platforms: 25.9%
- 5 platforms: 7.4%
- 6 platforms: 5.6%
“Using the company website as a video distribution channel is used by 25.9% of companies.”
Organic Distribution vs. Paid Advertising
The overwhelming majority of companies rely on organic distribution, while only about one in six uses video in paid ads. The main goals on the business side are usually twofold: brand awareness and lead generation.
- Organic: 82.4%
- Organic + Paid: 17.6%
Which Video Types and Formats are Most Popular in Renewable Energy?
When it comes to the type of video content, 67.3% of companies use live action alone, while 32.7% mix live action with animated videos.
Specific video format usage across renewable energy startups and companies typically breaks down as follows:
- Corporate Documentary & Promo: 78.8%
- Talking Head: 48.1%
- Product Video: 34.6%
- Animated Explainer: 26.9%
- Social Shorts: 25.0%
- Webinars: 5.8%
- Testimonials: 5.8%
Breakdown by number of formats used:
- 1 format: 28.8% (15)
- 2 formats: 32.7% (17)
- 3 formats: 26.9% (14)
- 4 formats: 9.6% (5)
- 6 formats: 1.9% (1)
Overall, 88.4% of companies use between 1 and 3 formats, while only 11.5% diversify into 4 or more. Corporate documentary & promo is the runaway leader by far (with nearly 4 out of 5 companies), and talking head content often runs alongside it.
“Regarding video length, the picture is clear and consistent: the vast majority of companies (95%) produce short videos of under 5 minutes.”
LinkedIn is the undisputed leader on engagement. YouTube and Instagram lag behind on audience activity, and on Facebook and X engagement is minimal, even though companies repost the same content there as on other platforms.
- LinkedIn: 70.7% (29)
- YouTube: 24.4% (10)
- Instagram: 14.6% (6)
Top Renewable Energy Startups and Companies Whose Video Marketing Strategy is Worth Following
Several companies in our list clearly stand out from the rest. These brands take a comprehensive approach to video marketing, release new content monthly (sometimes weekly), diversify distribution across platforms, and combine multiple different video formats.
| Company | Distribution Platforms | Video Formats |
| Fervo Energy | YouTube VimeoWebsite | Animated Explainer Talking Head Corporate Documentary Product Video |
| Aurora Solar | YouTube | Animated Explainer Talking Head Corporate Documentary & Promo Product Video Webinars Social Shorts |
| Helion | YouTube | Animated Explainer Talking Head Product Video Corporate Documentary & Promo |
| Nextpower | YouTube X Website | Corporate Documentary & Promo Product Video Talking Head |
Here’s what their approaches have in common:
- Content is published regularly, at least once a month, and some companies add new videos every week.
- Distribution covers multiple platforms (usually 3 to 5), which significantly expands their potential reach.
- Combining different video formats lets them connect with multiple segments of their audience, giving viewers the type of content that resonates most with them.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Failure patterns often matter just as much as the success stories that are worth following. Based on this research, here are the main mistakes we’ve noticed from video content:
- Plenty of companies in the sample were active on LinkedIn but absent from YouTube. Ignoring additional distribution channels is a self-imposed limitation.
- Some companies produced a few strong videos early on that got real audience traction, but then simply stopped working on video altogether.
- The lack of a systematic approach is the most widespread problem. Videos go out irregularly, format choices follow no clear logic, and so on.
Key Takeaways
To wrap up: based on research into how renewable energy startups use video content in their marketing strategies, here are the main conclusions and recommendations that are worth taking note of.
- For startups and companies working in renewable energy, the main platform for video distribution (and the one with the highest engagement) is LinkedIn. YouTube comes in second.
- Most players focus only on live-action videos and miss the potential of animation, which is an effective tool for demonstrating how technology works and visualizing complex concepts.
- Uploading video content to your official website is one of the most accessible ways to improve conversion rates and audience retention. For example, you can add a video to your portfolio project page and publish customer testimonials there.
- One often underrated distribution channel is Vimeo. Very few companies use it, but the platform has a broad audience and is a valuable touchpoint if you’re targeting B2B clients.
- Short vertical videos (Shorts and Reels), which might seem unsuited to promoting this kind of business, can still drive solid reach and build brand awareness if you find the right angle. One example is ACCIONA Energia, which actively publishes this kind of content on its Instagram account.
Experimentation, hypothesis testing, analytics, and the ability to draw the right conclusions: that’s the secret to successful video marketing for any business.
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