The company has been successfully accredited to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), an initiative which endorses sustainable technology used to produce heat and electricity from sustainable sources. Under the scheme, Stepnell will be licensed to install photovoltaic systems, such as solar panels, which convert solar energy to electricity.
Stepnell鈥檚 accreditation to the MCS scheme comes as the UK鈥檚 solar photovoltaic panel market faces record demand following the government鈥檚 introduction this year of Feed-in Tariffs, which pay property owners for generating electricity from renewable sources.
To achieve MCS accreditation, Stepnell undertook a six-month sample project which was then assessed by officials from the National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers. As part of the process, the company has also registered with Renewable Energy Assurance Limited, a best practice initiative which guarantees quality for consumers looking to install energy installations at their properties. In addition, Stepnell will be required to complete regular audits to ensure that it continues to meet MCS guidelines.
鈥淪tepnell has a strong track record for innovative construction and we鈥檙e always keen to embrace the latest green technology within our building projects,鈥� explains Mark Wakeford, Stepnell managing director. 鈥淰ery few of our competitors have MCS accreditation. If they want to install microgeneration technologies such as solar panels, they have to bring in a licensed contractor to carry out the work which can be expensive. We鈥檙e now able to do all this in-house for clients and provide them with a total solar panel service, from an initial appraisal, right through to installation.
鈥淲e are seeing a significant rise in both solar panel enquiries and demand for installations, and our project pipeline is also very good. With the UK committed to contributing to the European Union鈥檚 aim of ensuring 20 per cent of all energy comes from renewable sources by 2020, we鈥檙e very excited about the possibilities that this opens up for our business.鈥�
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