Absolute Solar & Wind turnover reaches £5.7m

ABSOLUTE Solar & Wind, a Glasgow-based renewable energy installer, has shrugged off changes to the UK government’s solar panel subsidies to more than double its turnover.

The company, which was founded in 2007, has opened branches in Aberdeen, Inverness, Livingston and Reading in the past 12 months, helping it to grow its revenues to £5.7 million in 2012 from £2.3m last year.

Sales were boosted by several big projects, including installing solar panels on the roof of Matthew Algie’s coffee-roasting plant in Glasgow.

Absolute also created one of Scotland’s largest “solar farms”, with 800 panels being installed on the roof of a warehouse used by Malcolm Allan Housebuilders at Kintore in Aberdeenshire.

But the firm remained tight-lipped over its profits, declining to give a figure. The firm is listed as a small business at Companies House and so only has to publish abbreviated ­accounts without profit figures. Last year, Absolute ­appointed Mark Aylward, who had previously worked at ­Morrison Facility Services and Taylor Wimpey, as its finance director.

Absolute sales director Terry Doherty now aims to treble revenues during 2013. He said Absolute would be targeting specific sectors over the next 12 months.

“We have seen the agriculture sector really switching on to renewable energy recently as it begins to understand the benefits of lowering energy costs and taking advantage of the opportunities to host systems afforded by the space available on farm buildings and land,” Doherty said.

“We are also seeing customers who already have the likes of solar photo-voltaic systems fitted now adding energy-­saving technology, such as voltage optimisation to drive down their costs.

“Despite some uncertainty around regulation and subsidies, it’s an exciting time for the renewables industry and we are looking forward to 2013 with a real sense of ­optimism.”