Eco2: Making renewable energy exciting

Source: Supply Chain Digital

Date :17/12/2007 08:42:09

Eco2 is responsible for some of the most exciting renewable energy projects in the world. The latest is a straw-fired power station in Lincolnshire, UK.

Written by Abigail Saltmarsh and produced by Alex Smith

For David Williams (pictured), renewable energy is more than just his job - it’s his passion. CEO of his third highly successful renewable energies company, he has been in the business for almost 20 years and now oversees many of the UK’s most interesting projects.

Cardiff-based Eco2 specialises in initiating, developing, financing and operating renewable energy projects. It was set up in 2002 and now focuses on projects ranging from wind farms through to landfill gas, biomass and tidal power.

“I have been in renewables for more than 18 years now and it is something I still very much enjoy and find challenging. We have been involved in some very exciting projects and will be rolling more out over the coming months,” he says.

Eco2 is investing in renewable energy projects before delivering them to the operating owner. Today there are 30 companies beneath the Eco2 umbrella yet the main development company is deliberately a break-even outfit because it contains all of the early project costs.

“This system has given us a presence in a range of industries, with each business netting its own profits,” he explains. “Each project is basically a shell company until the point at which planning permission is obtained, then the assets are handed over and it suddenly has an enormous value.”

David Williams, who holds a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, as well as post-graduate qualifications in Accountancy, Finance and Business Management, first began to work in the field of renewable energy while at South Wales Electricity (SWALEC) in the 1990s. Here he was tasked with starting and growing a renewable energy company.

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