A SURGE in business has resulted in one of North Yorkshire’s top renewable energy companies yet again expanding its workforce and preparing to move to bigger premises.

Clean Energy (Yorkshire) Ltd is facing booming demand for its supply and installation of solar panels, ground source heat pumps, turbines and solar hot water systems.

Orders have flooded in from Yorkshire home-owners, local authorities and landlords in the commercial market, many of them taking advantage of a new “feed-in” tariff which pays those whose renewable energy systems contribute to the national grid a guaranteed annual income for 25 years.

Staff at Clean Energy (Yorkshire) Ltd has almost doubled to 14 to cope with demand, the latest recruitment being three York-based specialists, surveyor Andrew Dove and installers Adam Locklin and Ben Martin.

Now entrepreneur Spencer Cassidy, who started the business two years ago, will be moving the firm next month from Stainburn into larger premises on the former Dunlopillo site in Leeds Road, Harrogate, to cope with anticipated growth involving 28 more jobs over the next three years.

Mr Cassidy said: “This is the fastest-growing sector at the moment. We expect to expand by 300 per cent by 2013. Orders are predominantly domestic, but we have a huge number of commercial inquiries which we are hoping to convert into orders and we are doing particularly well when it comes to seamlessly installing equipment on listed buildings.”

Last month, the company launched a division offering specialist planning advice for the owners of listed buildings.

“From the outset, we always saw York as a key element for our growth. We have appointed Andrew, Adam and Ben, who all live in the city, to help us achieve our goal.

The firm has recently completed an installation on a Grade II Listed building within the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.