Activ8 Is Having Its Moment In The Sun
As demand for solar panels surges, CEO Ciaran Marron talks to John Kinsella about the opportunities in the sector and explains why a skills shortage is a cloud on the horizon
Avery tangible form of climate action for business and households is installing solar panels to generate electricity from sunshine and UV light. Besides the green halo effect, there’s the financial benefit of saving money on energy bills. Running to keep up with demand is Ciaran Marron, founder and CEO of Activ8 Solar Energies in Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, whose main growth constraint is finding staff qualified to install and connect the panels.
Marron was ahead of his time when he started the venture in 2007. Back then the focus was on solar thermal, and this led to entering the solar rooftop panels business in Northern Ireland, where incentives for adopting the new technology were superior to south of the border.
More recently Active8 has become the leading solar installer in the Republic too, mostly for households. However, the activity mix is changing rapidly, and Marron expects half the business to be commercial in the near future.
“We are the largest domestic installer in the country, and our current split is 75% to 80% domestic focused and the remainder commercial,” Marron explains. “Within two years that’s going to be 50/50, even though four years ago we didn’t have a commercial department. The early solar PV adopters did it because it was the right thing to do. What’s expanded the market is the introduction of grants for commercial installs in 2023 and the spike in energy prices in 2022.
“For many customers, adoption is still driven by green agenda reasons, but the main accelerator in the past few years has been energy prices. Another factor is that the market is now regulated.”