Green technology firm Own Energy Solutions has teamed up with IT specialist NVT Group to harvest wind energy using lamp posts.

The scheme, which uses a small wind turbine and inverter system to capture energy, will see up to 25 new jobs created over the next 12 months, rising to around 300 by 2020.

The produced energy by the turbine is conditioned via a bespoke inverter, resulting in metered clean energy being fed directly into the National Grid.

It is estimated each suitable lamp post conversion will save half a ton of carbon being released into the atmosphere.

The deal, worth £3.5 million to NVT Group over the next 15 years, will see Own Energy relocate from Glasgow to NVT's Bellshill HQ, where its outsourced Managed Services team will provide a fully integrated technology platform and back office services, as well as connectivity solutions.


Stephen Park Brown, Managing Director of NVT Group, said: "We have a great record of working with winning teams and this new venture has every prospect of eclipsing our recent commissions. We believe that Own Energy can become a significant player in the renewables market both in the UK and beyond."

David Gordon, Chief Executive of Own Energy, added: "We chose to partner with NVT Group based on its extraordinary performance in recent years, particularly in the delivery of the technology for world-class sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow – which of course was widely regarded as the most successful in history.

"Our business is likely to scale up quickly and we know that NVT Group will be able to accommodate such growth based on its past experience. There are around ten million lampposts in the UK and upwards of 20 percent of these are suitable for conversion which makes this a very scalable business opportunity with huge export potential.

"We have already had positive preliminary discussions with UK public and private bodies and have had indications of interest from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Ireland and South Africa. We believe this business has the potential to achieve an annual UK turnover of over £400m within five years."

(LM/JP)