By Vicki Owen
As large solar energy companies battle to keep their Government subsidies, one smaller business says domestic demand is booming as householders switch on to green energy.
Engensa expects to triple revenue this year to £15 million. Toby Darbyshire, 29, and Toby Ferenczi, 28, left City jobs to launch the solar panel installation firm in November 2009. The pair installed their first panel in June last year and aim to install 100,000 more over the next ten years.
Engensa, based in Willesden, north-west London, is one of many firms taking advantage of Government feed-in tariffs, a scheme launched in April last year to encourage small-scale, low-carbon electricity generation.
According to Lee Summers, director of Alumet Renewable Technology and EOS Energy, 28,032 panels have been installed on homes in Britain since the feed-in tariff scheme was launched.
Customers who buy panels receive the feed-in tariff themselves and a reduction in their energy bill. They can also have the panels installed for free by firms such as Engensa. In this case the company receives the feed-in tariff, while the consumer benefits from the free electricity.
Ferenczi, who designed the firm’s solar panels, says he saw the potential for solar energy in Britain when he carried out solar technology research for utilities giant General Electric.
‘An additional five to ten per cent of roofs will be suitable for solar systems if innovative SolarEdge technology is used, because it reduces the effect of shadowing over the roof,’ he says. ‘On 16.5 million homes an additional 825,000 to 1.65 million roofs will be eligible for panels’.
Darbyshire says part of the firm’s success is down to the experience of its team.
Julia Groves, commercial director, has worked in the renewable energy and low-carbon travel sectors for the past six years. Financier and environmentalist Ben Goldsmith, brother of Zac Goldsmith MP, is the venture capitalist behind Engensa.
Darbyshire says: ‘It is all about the team. Toby Ferenczi is a respected solar scientist and other members are hugely experienced.’
However, Summer warns that the refusal of High Street banks to finance rooftop panels is denying the public the full benefits of Government subsidies.
He says: ‘Banks do not regard the 25 year index-linked commitment as collateral for a loan. It would not be difficult for Government to instruct the state-subsidised banks to recognise its own feed-in tariff scheme as collateral.’
Tags: Energy Industry, Engensa, Green Business, Solar entrepreneurs, Solar Panels
This post has been commented 4 times
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April 24th, 2011 at 11:30 amTo Build Solar Panel » Business is booming for solar panel firm Engensa « FMWF says:
[...] original post here: Business is booming for solar panel firm Engensa « FMWF Uncategorized Electricity, energy, engensa, feed-in-tariff, from-customers, house, [...]
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April 25th, 2011 at 12:42 amTeam Director Electric says:
[...] Business is booming for solar panel firm Engensa « FMWF Toby Ferenczi, who designed the firm's solar panels, says he saw the potential for solar energy in Britain when he carried out solar technology research for utilities giant General Electric Toby Darbyshire says part of the firm's success is down to recruiting an experienced team Julia Groves, Engensa's commercial director was the co-founder of and has worked in the renewable energy and low carbon travel sectors for the past six years, [...]
3
April 26th, 2011 at 5:25 pmTo Build Solar Panel » Sun shines on smaller solar panel providers « FMWF says:
[...] the rest here: Sun shines on smaller solar panel providers « FMWF Uncategorized average-cell, energy, from-the-sun, last-year, means, over-the-next, [...]
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November 9th, 2011 at 3:37 pmalan ross says:
I think firms like Engensa will now find it very difficult, as the real world kicks in and the feed-in tariff is cut by 50%. The speed of the cut,now taking place this December 2011 not as thought in April 2012, as well as the amount (first thought to be a 30% cut- now 50% !)must be a worry for all these ‘free’ solar companies.