A Bright Year Ahead
16 February 2023
For everyone at MCS, 2023 signals an opportunity for innovation, efficiency, and growth across the renewables landscape. Speaking with Insider magazine, our CEO, Ian Rippin, reflected on the challenges of the last year, while affirming our role in renewables for the year ahead.
A year to remember
It goes without saying that 2022 was jam-packed. Ian told Insider that we ‘exceeded our expectations in a number of ways with some clear highlights.’
One of our key successes was that in summer we relocated to brand-new, more sustainable offices at Sci-Tech Daresbury near Warrington. Designed by Eatock Design and Build, the space ‘captures our value of collaboration’. It provides us with an innovative space to ‘grow the team and attract future talent from the local area and beyond’, as Ian explained.
Last year also marked the launch of the MCS Data Dashboard, our brand-new, dynamic platform, which tracks the adoption and distribution of small-scale renewable installations across the UK in near-real-time. In bringing the MCS Data Dashboard to market, our data was made freely available to the public for the first time. In November, this data produced a first in our annual Low Carbon Landscapes report series, providing a high-level, in-depth summary of the adoption of low carbon technologies across the UK.
An insight into 2023
In 2023, our goals remain no less ambitious. Speaking with Insider, Ian revealed some exciting insights into what’s on our agenda for the year ahead.
This year, we plan to launch the UK’s first Low Carbon Heating Technician Apprenticeship. Ian explained the apprenticeship will ‘upskill existing electricians for the installation of domestic battery-based energy storage, supporting qualified plumbers and heating engineers, in their transition into the installation of heat pumps.’ The dedicated training pathway will play a key role in bringing new talent into the green heating sector – we can’t wait to see it rolled out later this year.
What’s more, solar and battery storage installations will continue to rise exponentially in 2023. As in the previous years, solar remains at the forefront of renewable technology installations. The MCS Data Dashboard shows that there were 138,377 MCS certified installations in 2022. Plus, with a 67% increase in certified battery storage contractors from just November to December, we expect battery storage to skyrocket this year also!
Our vision
Our vision has and will always be to see MCS certified products and installations in every UK home and community. Ian told Insider that in 2023 our focus will remain on ‘helping the Government to meet its legally binding net zero targets”. Importantly, we recognise the challenges that lie ahead for us. The cost-of-living crisis, means that people may have less money to invest in decarbonising their homes. However, you can’t deny that renewable technologies are on their way to becoming the ‘new normal’ as we transition away from fossil fuel systems. This is a fact that the Government has acknowledged with the creation of the new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
It’s the role of MCS to give people confidence in these home-grown energy solutions. So, it’s encouraging to see the Government restate its commitment to reaching our 2050 net zero goals by establishing a dedicated department.
Working to decarbonise how we heat and power UK homes remains at the forefront of our shared agenda and combatting the rising cost of living will be of critical importance for all of us.
A passionate team
We are a strong, ambitious and growing team. We are especially proud that women make up more than 60% of our workforce – something we know is beyond the norm for the renewables sector. Ian told Insider that we plan for recruitment drive to add roles across our business into 2023. Looking to the year ahead, Ian added: ‘With a much stronger team in place, ever supportive stakeholder relationships, effective collaboration with industry and the Government, and mountains of useful data at our fingertips, we are as prepared as we can be for another exciting year ahead.’
Read the original article from Insider here.
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