As more and more homes and businesses install solar energy, growing Irish business Solartricity is working with Bank of Ireland to deliver quality outcomes.
Leading Irish wholesale solar photovoltaic (PV) supplier Solartricity is in the process of expanding its business to support Ireland’s green transition.
The business is working with Bank of Ireland to position it for growth and facilitate the transition to new segments of the energy market.
“There is a huge amount of growth potential in the market. In terms of housing stock alone, Ireland has only achieved a fraction of its homebuilding target”
Founded by entrepreneur and sustainability pioneer Quentin Gargan, Solartricity has been designing and providing renewable energy systems since 2008 for supply to installers all over Ireland.
Solartricity’s success is based on its core value of “Expertise you can Trust”. They supplypremium quality solar equipment that they have tested themselves in-house, thereby ensuring strong performance and energy output along with a market leading technical support service for their customers.
Powering the green transition
Solartricity is working with Bank of Ireland to grow the business and facilitate the transition into new market segments.
“We’ve grown the team and moved to a new warehouse and increased our stock base to ensure we can `continue to have a consistent supply of equipment,” said the managing director of Solartricity Patrick Donovan.
“We’re seeing growing numbers of electricians who have gone from doing solar PV installations as a side gig to where it is now their sole focus. This means they need more support, especially with the growing requirement for more energy-efficient homes and businesses, and as systems become more complex with battery storage and other add-ons.”
Donovan pointed out that with grants from the Government available to support agricultural, commercial and school installations for more energy efficient infrastructure, the support that a business like Solartricity can provide is vital.
“There is a huge amount of growth potential in the market. In terms of housing stock alone, Ireland has only achieved a fraction of its homebuilding target.”
Supporting the growing solar PV installation market is a sophisticated affair with geographic and technical factors playing a huge role.
“We have a system design function that will look at all of the factors and technicalities and build up a quote that an installer can use to form a quote for his home or business owner. Then when the installer is on a job or after installation, if they can pick up the phone to our team to troubleshoot any issues and avoid repeatedly going back on site. This is a real benefit for the installer as it saves time and costs for them. This level of technical support is crucial in ensuring there is value added.”
Donovan said that working with Bank of Ireland the business was able to invest in a bigger warehouse to maintain a consistent supply of stock and mitigate against any potential supply chain issues.
“It’s about ensuring we have the stock to meet the demand but also crucially having the sales and technical abilities to support that demand. From the logistics of ensuring the equipment is in the right place at the right time to ensuring the resulting experience from solar PV is a positive one, we have to ensure a good result for the end customer.”
Solartricity is also seeking to grow its range of products to further develop the solar PV market in Ireland.
“Throughout its relatively long history in the renewables market, Solartricity has a track record of launching quality brands and products that have become trusted by the marketplace. We will continue to do that as the business evolves – for example we launched Weco batteries earlier this year and they have quickly become an established, reliable and trusted brand in the market. Huasun solar panels are another very high spec product that come with a 30 year performance and product warranty that is backed by Lloyds insurance. For our team it’s about being able to support our customers as they grow and scale and develop into other markets. It’s about selling quality products and providing a quality service at a competitive price.”
Pat Purcell, senior manager at Bank of Ireland Business Banking said that supporting businesses like Solartricity aligns with the bank’s strategy to support the green transition.
He said that by assisting Solartricity to fund the growth of its business, the bank is actively delivering in this regard.
“We are committed to supporting similar businesses that are delivering decarbonisation solutions for individuals and businesses across the country.
“Bank of Ireland is delighted to continue to support Solartricity in providing appropriate financing to support the business’s growth ambitions. Patrick Donovan impressed us from the beginning with his growth vision and Solartricity is a business that Bank of Ireland is particularly attracted to given its decarbonisation solutions fit neatly with the bank’s strategy to support the green transition.
“We look forward to deepening our relationship with Solartricity in the coming years.”
Main image at top: Photo by Nuno Marques on Unsplash
