Re-Newsletter 1: Lockdown Update

Dear Customers, Suppliers, Friends,

We’ve been busy during this lock down, as we always are! Unable to undertake sales, installations or service and maintenance relying on customer facing its been quite a challenge. As you may know, we were very active during the election lobbying for local action on the global environment. We have not stopped since then. In late November we held a series of training sessions for politicians, civil servants, architects and the public all of which were well attended. We have also met with key politicians and committed heads once we knew who was elected where.

During lockdown we have been following up those meetings writing a new set of papers and ideas underpinning our Green Industrial Business Strategy. In March there will be a States meeting to discuss post-Covid/Brexit economic recovery and we hope some if not all our ideas will be taken on board. We fully expect some of these things to happen:

-          Relaxation of planning laws to allow easier uptake of solar on roofs facing the road.

-          Removal of the ‘standby charge’ which restricts take-up of systems over 25kW (some 80 panels).

-          Opening up the exploitation of old vineries to install solar PV fields.

Meanwhile we are campaigning for big changes to Guernsey Electricity. Did you know they are our biggest competitors? They exert undue pressure on the market and have their own contracting teams. Their unfair competitive practices restrict microrenewable uptake.

Some of the positive steps we are lobbying for is for the States to set up:

1.       Zero Energy Building regulations where homes are designed to generate all their own power by solar photovoltaics, consuming and generating equal amounts.

2.       Making solar and heat pump installations to be ‘controlled appliances’ under Building Control and for the installers to have ‘self-certification’.

3.       For the above to happen the States need to set up a Renewable Energy Training Centre for all the trades involved.

Our aim is for the island to become Carbon and Energy Zero by 2035 and we have a lot to do, so cannot wait to get back out there! Meanwhile myself and Jack are undertaking WhatsApp and Zoom video consultations should you have any requirements. We are actively looking to build up our repertoire this year and will be setting up a specialist installation team to undertake quality, advanced tech, aesthetically pleasing installations.

We are seeing great interest in systems 15kW to 30kW and EV charging facilities in which we are well versed. We are also seeking eco-developments where we can show off a raft of renewable energy and efficiency techniques achieving Zero Energy Building status. You can download a document containing the basis of our latest papers here.

If you’d like to see the full set, please feel free to email me and I’ll send it on once published.

Service, maintenance and installation works are going to run behind for a while, once we are out we shall be allocating customers according to priority relating to seriousness of the call-out or job. Any issues of consequence please let me know soonest.

My best wishes,

Paul

Co-Founder and Renewable Energy Systems Engineer

Renew Guernsey