Ecotricity rescues UK wind firm Evance from closure
Green SME news – by GreenWise staff
14th May 2014
Green energy firm Ecotricity has acquired Evance, the troubled UK small wind turbine manufacturer.
Leicestershire-based Evance has been operating for more than a decade and is behind the best-selling small wind turbine, the R9000. But the company, which two years ago was reporting record sales, was facing closure after being placed into administration last month.
Evance: “innovative new windmill”
“This innovative new windmill will bring large turbine performance to small wind, a massive step change in terms of efficiency and cost,” said Ecotricity founder Dale Vince.
“Ecotricity already has a vertical windmill called the Urbine at a similar stage of development, so we will soon be able to offer both horizontal and vertical axis windmills that will help to make Britain a global leader in the small wind sector.”
Evance ran into trouble last month, when investors backing the company pulled the plug on the firm. The move came after big cuts in the amount paid for every kilowatt of energy small wind turbines generate under the Government’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) subsidy scheme. In April, the FiT for wind turbines under 15 kilowatt in size was slashed by 20 per cent. It cut followed a 37 per cent drop in FiT for small wind last year.
80 per cent fall in sales
Last year, the small wind division of renewable energy firm Myriad CEG faced closure before being rescued by Scottish firm Urban Wind.
“So many small wind companies are going out of business in Britain due to Government policy,” said Vince. “With the green sector responsible for around 10 per net of Britain’s GDP growth, that’s hard to fathom.”
Ecotricity was the world’s first green energy company and today owns and operates wind farms and solar parks that help to power over 110,000 homes and business customers it supplies.
Evance: “innovative new windmill”
Ecotricity, which is developing its own small wind turbine, said it had acquired Evance because of the company’s “vital expertise” and an “innovative new windmill” the manufacturer is planning to bring to market in the next 12 months.
“This innovative new windmill will bring large turbine performance to small wind, a massive step change in terms of efficiency and cost,” said Ecotricity founder Dale Vince.
“Ecotricity already has a vertical windmill called the Urbine at a similar stage of development, so we will soon be able to offer both horizontal and vertical axis windmills that will help to make Britain a global leader in the small wind sector.”
Evance ran into trouble last month, when investors backing the company pulled the plug on the firm. The move came after big cuts in the amount paid for every kilowatt of energy small wind turbines generate under the Government’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) subsidy scheme. In April, the FiT for wind turbines under 15 kilowatt in size was slashed by 20 per cent. It cut followed a 37 per cent drop in FiT for small wind last year.
80 per cent fall in sales
According to Ecotricity, the once thriving small wind industry has been crippled by an 80 per cent fall in sales in Britain in the last year.
Last year, the small wind division of renewable energy firm Myriad CEG faced closure before being rescued by Scottish firm Urban Wind.
“So many small wind companies are going out of business in Britain due to Government policy,” said Vince. “With the green sector responsible for around 10 per net of Britain’s GDP growth, that’s hard to fathom.”
Ecotricity was the world’s first green energy company and today owns and operates wind farms and solar parks that help to power over 110,000 homes and business customers it supplies.
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