You don't have to be an electrical engineer or architect to be able to earn a living in the renewable energy sector. Weve come up with 10 business ideas for you to get involved.

Sell Power Plans

If youre a residential energy customer, your power company may give you an incentive to sign up friends and family. They like rewarding people who provide them with new customers, which means you may be able to earn a living working as a sales rep. If this isn't an option for you, know that electricity providers are constantly changing their offerings. To compare how your provider measures up, visit iSelect.

There are several variations of this. One is selling solar panels and alternative fuel generators to people who live in rural areas. Another is selling renewable power sources to campers and RV owners so they don't have to connect to the grid to enjoy modern amenities.

Sell Renewable Energy Sources

You might be able to help someone set up a renewable energy source like a biogas collector with a cooking unit or a power generator attached to it. Or you could go the traditional route, taking down unwanted trees and clearing brush, then selling it as firewood.

Provide Power Storage

UPS and battery arrays provide a stream of power when the power is out, in addition to storing excess power from renewable energy sources. When you don't have solar power, customers seek better batteries, creating an opportunity for you to sell UPS. This could save people from losing their files on their computer when the power goes out.

Provide Expert Advice

There are plenty of do-it-yourselfers who need expert advice to get it right. Depending on your expertise, you could help prospective solar customers determine the right type of solar panels for their home and how to install them.

Be the Energy Efficiency Expert

You can earn a decent living performing energy audits. An energy audit should be done before someone switches to renewable power, since the audit tells them how much power they'll need for their current lifestyle. It also tells them how they could reduce their energy requirements.

Provide Installation and Maintenance Services for Renewable Energy Systems

There are people who buy solar panels but can't climb on the roof to install them. Others may do the installation but lack the expertise to troubleshoot electrical shorts. This creates an opportunity for those who understand the hardware well enough to install and maintain it. Note that this could also include solar heating systems for swimming pools and replacements for conventional hot water heaters.

Sell Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles can't be charged via the rooftop solar panel array yet, but they're a step away from oil and gas. If you're already in sales or love cars, you could earn a living selling electric vehicles. Remember that this includes electric cars for the average consumer, electric trucks for delivery companies and scooters and golf carts for businesses that want to aid those with limited mobility.

Promote Bio-Fertiliser

We tend to think of energy savings and renewable power in terms of replacing hydrocarbons with wind, solar and hydro. However, non-renewable resources like fossilised bird poop are transported around the world to fertilise fields. We also convert gasoline into companion chemicals to enrich the soil. One way to reduce the ecological impact of farming is to promote bio-fertilisers, especially those derived directly from animal waste.

Support Geothermal Energy

There are relatively few places in the world where they can harness geothermal energy to generate electricity. However, geothermal energy can be used to reduce heating and cooling costs. The simplest form of this is a passive heating wall or building partially into the ground to reduce heating and cooling costs.