Opinion

Two minutes with Hugh Taylor

HughTaylor
Who are you?
Hugh Taylor, business development director at Applied Sustainable Energy

What do you do?
Applied Sustainable Energy designs, supplies and installs commercial and large-scale PV schemes for commercial clients, the public sector, agriculture and leisure.  I am responsible for the strategic direction of the company, and for developing the enduring partnerships that are the life-blood of our business. 

Where are you?
We are based in Eynsham, five miles west of Oxford.

How’s business at the moment?
Business has never been better. We are installing PV on six public sector sites this month and have orders and a robust pipeline of 30kWp to 250kWp systems for local authorities, farmers and blue chip organisations.  We are co-developer of the 40MW solar farm at the ScienceMuseum’s Wroughton site in Wiltshire, and will be EPC subcontracting several other utility-scale projects this year.

How could it be better?
We have recently recruited in operations and engineering to address existing demand, and are taking on a ‘hunter’ to drive additional sales.  If these choices come good, the future will be very bright.

Who do you admire in renewables?
We have built our business on the skills and experience of our head of design, Graham Taylor, who is one of the top three PV and building services engineers in the UK.  The intelligence and robustness of his approach is stunning.

What is the best business advice you have received?
Cash is king.

How are you going green?
I have an electric motorbike for my commute. In the right weather it saves me a fortune.