A RENEWABLE energy company is opening several new offices and predicting a trebling of turnover despite uncertainty over cuts to feed-in-tariff (FiT) payments.
Absolute Solar and Wind is seeing huge interest from people looking to install photovoltaic panels to cut their energy bills and sell excess electricity back to the National Grid.
As a result, the Glasgow firm is opening additional offices in Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh while hiring up to 30 staff in the next few months.
It has also just moved its English operation, which targets the South and Midlands, to a larger head office in Ipswich.
Now it is predicting the £2.4 million turnover reported in the year to September 2011 could be more than trebled during the current trading period.
A FiT pays money for every kilowatt hour of electricity generated and further cash for excess electricity which is sold back to the grid.
However, there is confusion over when the price will drop from 43p to 21p.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change is battling in court to have the date of the cut taken back to December while the industry is hoping for the higher rate to be kept until at least March.
Terry Doherty, sales and marketing director at Absolute, told The Herald that consumers can still benefit from the lower price.
He said: "The industry is in a little bit of limbo particularly customers who have been carefully watching what has been happening regarding the FiT case. They are waiting to see what is happening.
"But our inquiry levels are still decent as there is a sector of the market who don't have any knowledge of the FiT case.
"They see solar panels going up on their friends' and family's houses and would like to get in on the act. So there is not really a lack of demand but there is hesitancy which is holding things up until the situation clarifies.
"It looks like we will get a decision in mid-February probably saying it is going back to 43p until April which will create bedlam and a real goldmine-type rush which is similar to what happened in November when the initial Government decision came out."
But whatever happens, Mr Doherty is confident that Absolute will continue with its ambitious expansion plans.
He said: "We have set our stall out at the 21p tariff so are happy with that and the return we can provide for our clients. It is still a very viable business for us.
"Given the amount of enquiries we are seeing – and the areas we are getting them from – we don't see any reason not to plan to expand the business, so we are going for it.
"The figures really took off in the final four or months of our last financial year and if we continue on that trend and maintain our current levels we will top £7.5m."
Absolute has also announced the appointment of Mark Aylward, formerly of Morrison Facility Services and Taylor Wimpey, as finance director.
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