Between the 10th and 13th of May 2023, Action Renewables attended the 154th Balmoral Show. This is Northern Ireland’s premier agriculture show, which attracts over 100,000 visitors across the four-day event. For the first time since 2016, Action Renewables took a stand at the event, located in the Agri-Pavilion in an area of heavy foot traffic between the cattle and sheep judging rings.
A significant amount of time and effort was put into the preparation, organisation, and marketing of the event. High quality advertising including banners, stands, media packages, contact information and promotional material was brought to promote our services and to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the company. Over the four-days, staff members from a number of Action Renewable’s departments were on hand to speak with existing and potential customers, network with clients and installers and promote the benefits of increased renewable energy deployment across Northern Ireland.
Like most business sectors, the ongoing energy crisis has impacted the agriculture industry significantly, with production, transportation and overall management all being affected. This in conjunction with a growing societal desire to transfer to more renewable energy systems, meant that there was a high level of engagement and curiosity among attendees. Action Renewables staff agreed this was the charity’s busiest year at the show. Throughout the event a broad range of queries and questions were raised, with some of the most common questions being: What is the price of export for domestic and large-scale generation? Do we offer feasibility studies for domestic installations? What is the cost of wind turbine installations? How do heat pumps work and do we install them? Do we manage and trade ROCS/RTFCs? Are there any grants, tariffs, or incentives for generating renewable energy in NI? To ensure all enquiries could be addressed appropriately and all contacts saved, a QR code was created and placed at the stand which allowed people to direct any questions to the relevant teams. We received queries relating to all of our workstreams, as shown in the chart, with the large-scale generators team receiving the most enquiries. These questions largely focused on ROCs/RTFCs and NIE Grid applications.
While the show was an excellent opportunity to meet with existing and potential customers, it also allowed us to network and connect with a number of the local companies and industry colleagues. Some of these included Solar PV Installers; Encom Energy Systems, Surge Renewables, eeco Energy, Future Renewables, Glenfield Renewables, and Start Solar. Furthermore, we also met with staff from SONI (System Operator for NI), Northern Ireland Environmental Link and The Conservation Volunteers. Speaking with organisations and bodies such as these allowed Action Renewables to develop new business, build stronger industry relations and work to further develop the renewable energy industry in Northern Ireland.
Overall, the Balmoral Show was considered to be a hugely beneficial event for Action Renewables. Significant thanks is owed to all staff who helped across the event and thank you to everyone that stopped to chat with us. Discussions and planning for next year’s event between the 15-18th May 2024 has begun, with the aim of surpassing the success of this year’s event.
For those seeking any further advice please do not hesitate contact Action Renewables via phone on 028 9072 7760, email at info@actionrenewables.co.uk or through our enquiry form at Contact Action Renewables. In relation to potential grants/tariffs the NI Sustainable Energy Programme link outlines what is available for both commercial and domestic properties.
