North East wind turbine installer receives £100k investment

A North East installer of small and medium wind turbines has received a £100,000 investment.

Hadrian Electrical Engineering (Hadrian) is based in Hexham and commenced trading in 2010, specialising in the supply and installation of renewable energy systems, as well as providing electrical and refrigeration support to local businesses and farmers in the North East. The investment, which comes from the Finance for Business North East Proof of Concept Fund managed by Northstar Ventures, is going to be used towards marketing projects, purchasing of new solar equipment and working capital. Renewables have now become a good investment opportunity for both commercial and private use due to the Government’s introduction of Feed in Tariffs (FiT).

FiTs are paid by the energy provider to the user of the renewable energy systems. For each unit of electricity the renewable system produces, an amount is paid to the user for the generation of green energy, and they are paid at a fixed rate for 20 years. The main aspect of Hadrian’s business is the supply and installation of wind turbines; they are the exclusive distributors of Kingspan and Tozzi Nord turbines and Kirchner solar trackers for the North of England.

The Tozzi is the leading performing small wind turbine, which outperforms all of its competitors by at least 36% - not only does it produce high energy levels, even at low wind speeds, but it is also aesthetically pleasing.

Doug Martin, finance director of Hadrian said: “The outstanding performance of the Tozzi turbines combined with the current Feed in Tariff levels has produced some exciting long term investment opportunities for general investors as well as local landowners. Solar trackers are proving to be an exciting opportunity to benefit from the Government subsidy where space is at a premium.”

Hadrian provides customers with a full service; from an initial site survey, through planning, installation and final commissioning, right through to the completion of the FiT paperwork. It then provides a remote monitoring and annual service.

Rebecca Crawford, investment manager at Northstar, said: “Hadrian is a great investment opportunity for Northstar – not only did we invest in it because of its brilliant potential, but we were blown away by the experienced management team.

“Hadrian is also supporting local businesses, and rather than importing all their solar panels from China and the Far East, which is where the majority are now manufactured, Hadrian is working with the only UK panel manufacturer – local company Romag, which is based in Consett.”