A Stroud woman who beat Eion Musk in a solar energy competition is going from strength-to-strength in the world of renewable energy.
Back in early 2018, Melissa Briggs from Ebley happened to open the in-flight magazine on a return flight to the UK and the double-page spread in front of her showed a technology that immediately sparked her interest in sustainable, renewable energy.
It covered the development of a Finnish solar tracking system that could be placed in your garden, rather than on the roof. It would track the sun from sunrise to sunset, therefore, generating much more power.
This was ideal as her roof is covered in veluxes and gables, which made the installation of a rooftop system impossible. She photographed the article to research the company on her return. She wanted to buy a system and contacted them via their website because they had no UK office, and as they say, the rest is history.
Fast forward – Melissa has worked with the company for 5 years on global business development, (surviving very difficult market conditions owing to Brexit, the pandemic, etc) and is now very busy transferring the production process to the UK. The previous Swedish manufacturing company no longer has the capacity to supply the various elements of the frame.
A successful run of sales was terminated by lack of stock but Melissa’s conviction is that renewable energy solutions need to be more available to the UK domestic user.
Bee Solar Technology Limited was born in early July 2022, around her kitchen table with three friends, with the aim of being part of the solution to rising energy prices.
The steel is being processed in Worcester, the control boards are coming from the original developer in Finland and other components are being sourced as close to home as possible.
The silent systems can be used singly or in quantity to generate as much power is required. They can also be used in conjunction with battery storage to achieve independence from the grid.
Deliveries of the systems, proudly marked “Assembled in England”, will commence in September. If you would like to know more, please contact Melissa via her website, www.beesolartech.co.uk.
Melissa won the PEA Award for Solar in 2020, pipping Elon Musk into second place. Heliomotion won the Build It Award for Best New Technology Product in 2018.
