Opinion

Two minutes with…

Who are you?
Harry Shepherd-Cross, co-founder and director of Ardenham Energy.

What do you do?
I look after the strategic side of the business particularly concerning the best ways for Ardenham to continue to thrive in what is a challenging and extremely dynamic environment.

Where are you?
Our head office is in Aylesbury. We also have regional offices in Guildford, Wellington, Cambridge and Wakefield.

How’s business at the moment?
Business in the last year in the PV market has been extraordinarily volatile but we are getting used to this now and are busy building up our order book and repositioning ourselves in the new multi-technology market.

How could it be better?
The government should change its stance and announce the much delayed domestic RHI and ROC bandings for large solar. Investment and business planning with such huge uncertainties is very difficult.

Who do you admire in renewables?
Angus Macdonald of Solar Power Generation Ltd who managed to develop a solar farm on his own land before the degressions cut kicked in after the 2011 fast track review. I confidently told him then that he had no chance of getting it registered within the timescale. It shows that he who hesitates is lost.

What’s the best business advice you have received?
I began my career as a graduate trainee with Persimmon PLC under the tutelage of chairman Duncan Davidson. He gave me extremely valuable advice such as injecting a sense of urgency into the business. If something needs to be done and can be done today, do it today.

How are you going green?
We have already installed an air source heat pump and low energy lighting in our head office. We are now installing a 50kWp PV array which will provide all of our power requirements and run the air source heat pump. At home, I have a 6kW wind turbine, a PV array and drive a Toyota Prius with a built in Kyocera PV panel on the roof.