A FAMILY business from Denbigh knows it has turned up the heat for renewable energy in Denbighshire after being shortlisted for a hat-trick of national awards.

Hafod Renewables, the solar panel installer established in 2010, has been selected in three categories for the Wales Energy Efficiency Awards held in Cardiff this month.

It follows the company's success last year when they were voted Wales’s best Renewable Heating Installer (RHI) and among the top three in the UK.

This year they are again in the running for the RHI award, which covers non-solar energy systems including air and ground-source heating and biomass, but are also in the final lists for Solar Installer of the Year and Small-Scale Project, following the ground-source system they installed at an egg farm in Conwy last year.

It is a continued story of success for managing director David Jones and his father, Richard, who now employ nine staff with a turnover of £1.5million, making Hafod Renewables a key player in solar and non-solar heating installation across North Wales and the border counties.

David said: “We’re delighted to be up for three awards in Wales this year. It’s a testimony to the expertise and hard work of our staff because this is a very competitive sector as solar power has become ever more popular as a domestic energy source.

“Our success has depended on us being versatile and very customer focused as well as by only using our own dedicated and highly-trained teams of installers.

“Over the last 12 months a number of innovative new products have come onto the market and I believe it is vital to stay abreast of what is a rapidly developing industry because that’s the way to continue to grow the business.”

The Welsh Government tariffs for solar power are due to end by April and although this has prompted a rush of customers David Jones is confident that solar will continue to be popular.

The former Holywell High School pupil, a graduate in renewable technology, said: “Solar power can now hold its own against oil, gas and conventional electric competitors. Advances in the technology of solar panels which has made them more efficient at the same time as they have become cheaper and a revolution in battery technology have altered the landscape.

“Solar power can compete on level terms with oil, gas or conventional electrical systems and it has a better, cheaper long-term future than fossil-fuel or even nuclear generated power.”

Solar installations currently make up slightly more than half of their work but RHI systems, like the ground-source heating installed for a 16,000-hen egg farm near Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr, remain popular.

The business are also approved partners with renewable industry giants such as Daikin, Mitsubishi and Tesla.

David said: “The UK recently saw a third of its power produced by renewable sources– who would have believed that was possible even five years ago.

“In just a few years electric cars will be the norm and 33 per cent will be dwarfed by the power being produced by solar, wind, tidal and other renewables.”

For more on Hafod Renewables go to https://www.hafodrenewables.co.uk/

The Wales Energy Efficiency Awards will be held at Marriott Hotel, Cardiff on February 13.