WIND AND SOLAR INNOVATION SPECIAL


Knowing the rules around wind turbines has helped the business


Greg has taken advantage of the renewables market


Finding the perfect FiT


Te installation boom in renewables may have subsided, but SELECT Member Greg Hutchings says the sector still holds plenty of opportunities


By Stewart McRobert A


s a marketplace largely governed by subsidy schemes, long-term success in renewables depends on innovation, the right expertise and making sure the sector


doesn’t dominate your business. That’s what Greg Hutchings of Dumfries-based Lotus Electrical Services Limited has found. He explained how the firm’s early entry into the market and ability to navigate the finer points of feed-in tariffs (FiTs) have given it an advantage. “When solar


32 CABLEtalk FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020


panels and wind turbines started becoming popular in industry we turned our attention to the sector and became MCS certified,” he said. “In the first year of our involvement almost a quarter of our turnover was in renewables, although importantly, it never grew beyond that.”


eyond that.


The installation boom in thenstallation boom in the sector lasted for a few shortasted for a few short efore a change in ment incentives er


years before a chang government incentives and other


developments saw it falter


pments alter.


Greg Hutchings


ngpopular in industrywe our attention to the sector came MCS certified, n the first year of our ment almost aquarter urno er was in bles, although antly


As a result, many of the companies that had relied on that business coming in began to disappear.


Learning the rules


However, Lotus Electrical had maintained its interest and become familiar with the workings of Ofgem, the regulatory authority that deals with FiTs and other compliance qualifications. This started to have benefits could enter i


the regulatory author with FiTs and oth qualifications. ha


could enter into client dialogue ear


dialogue early because we knew what Ofg helping mak


benefits. Greg said: “We


knew what O em required, helping make sure a developmen and eligible f


“For example, if someone had solar pa to add a w fa


they’d face a challenge. Since t


Since the solar panels would


development was compliant and eligible for FiT. or examp


had solar panels and wanted to add a wind turbine they


would attract a different


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