AN all-female team of green energy experts is giving new meaning to the term Girl Power.
Jayvee Renewables offers renewable energy installations, education and consultancy services and has just won a major housing association contract.
The Billingham business, made up of founder Julie Vaulks and project consultants Lorraine Dobson and Sharon Lashley, earned its accreditation with industry body Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) - the renewables industry’s equivalent of the Gas Safe Register - in record time.
It means clients that install green energy can attract payments for generating green energy under the feed-in tariff scheme.
“People are surprised when Lorraine and Sharon turn up in their hard-hats,” said Julie, “but they soon realise they know what they’re talking about.”
Julie, who worked in footwear sales for 20 years, set up the business after redundancy in 2009.
“I decided to do something completely different, so I set up a general building services business with the help of my partner, who is a quantity surveyor.”
Lorraine and Sharon joined towards the end of last year and the business went down the renewables route, offering solar panels, air source heat pumps and biomass systems.
Lorraine, who has worked in the energy sector for 13 years, said the business was expecting an influx of work in solar panels and other technologies, despite major cuts to feed-in tariffs.
She said: “The cuts won’t affect business as the price of panels has come down. We have probably reached parity now.
“Things will develop even more when the Government brings in the Green Deal later this year.
“Our business will take off because many properties are solid walls and hard to treat. With rising prices of electricity and oil, people are looking at alternative heating.”
Sharon, who is a member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, said: “We also look at working with schools, including promoting sustainability through use of renewables, that could involved installing PV panels on school roofs.”
