Partner Article

Behind the business with Dulas Ltd

Mike Clay, marketing manager for renewable energy firm Dulas Ltd, takes Bdaily behind the business.

What key challenges has your company recently faced?

Being a renewable energy services and technology provider we have had to face the challenges of ever changing Government subsidy schemes such as the Feed-in Tariff and previously the Low Carbon Building Programme. The indecision around the Feed-in Tariff policy has radically altered the market three times in the past year alone. It is only by virtue of the fact that Dulas is a well-established player with 30 years experience in the renewable industry that we have been able to ride out the turmoil where others haven not.

What is your biggest achievement over the past 12 months?

The past 12 months have seen many highlights for the company including the installation of two new-build hydro schemes in the Highlands of Scotland. We have continued to lead the way in the installation of individual wind turbines for farmers across the whole of the UK as well as developing innovative biomass wood-fuel heating systems and solar arrays for the National Trust. In the humanitarian field, Dulas has once again secured a long term contract to supply thousands of life saving solar powered vaccine refrigerators to the people most in need around the world.

What is your biggest focus for the coming year?

We are excited to be celebrating our 30th Anniversary this year. Our thirty years of experience in the innovation of life saving solar solutions and the development of renewable energy solutions helps to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. This is aligned with our vision of improving people’s lives and protecting the environment. We are the UK’s second largest worker-owned co-operative and, in the UN International Year of Co-operatives, Dulas is looking forward to promoting this model as a sustainable and effective way of running a very successful business.

If you had to choose one top piece of advice for someone just starting out in business, or is currently operating within your industry sector, what would it be?

If you can follow our worker-owned model, you will find that the employee
commitment to your business goals will bring an extra level of dedication and
engagement that ensures you have happy, well served customers. This will
ultimately translate into successful business performance.

Can you share with us your view of the current landscape of business, in this region or generally and where your organisation sits within it?

The UK renewable energy sector is growing; however there is huge uncertainty in the market as many of the market drivers are subject to political influence, whether those are planning policies, financial incentives and support schemes or global and local energy targets. The Government needs to ensure that there is long-term clarity on these subjects so that organisations like ourselves can continue to lead the way in the development of high-quality, high energy yield and long lasting renewable energy solutions that reduce carbon output and energy costs. As 25% of our conventional energy power stations are to shut down in the next ten years, we need to act quickly to ensure that we have a secure energy supply from our abundant renewable energy resources. Dulas has been at the forefront of this movement for many years and we plan to continue to do so for many more.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .