Ampair pulls in fresh investment for buoyant small wind sector

The growing attractiveness of the UK small wind turbine sector to investors was underlined yesterday as leading manufacturer Ampair Energy announced it had secured £1.5m in new venture capital investment.

Ampair's chief executive David Sharman told BusinessGreen.com that he plans to use the investment from Sigma Sustainable Energy to further develop the company’s product range, treble the size of its premises and fund a recruitment drive.

He added that the Dorset-based company, which produces small-scale hydropower systems as well as turbines, will also use the funding to bolster its export business, which already accounts for a sizeable chunk of the company's revenue.

"We are already one of the top 10 [small wind turbine] companies and we are trying to become number one," he said.

Patrick Graham, Sigma's investment team director, said the company's recently developed 6kW wind turbine had an edge over rival products. "We were drawn to Ampair due to the fact that the overall performance of the Ampair 6000 is comparable to that of the top manufacturers in the industry but it comes at a lower price point, and hence a lower cost per kWh," he explained.

Sigma's investment provides a further boost to the burgeoning UK small wind sector, which is already anticipating rising sales as a result of the government's recently launched Clean Energy Cash Back feed-in tariff scheme.

Alex Murley, head of small systems at trade association RenewableUK, said he expects to see a dramatic increase in the installation of small wind systems across the UK, fuelling demand for British manufactured turbines.

He added that RenewableUK would hold its second two-day annual small wind systems conference in Glasgow next week. "The main message will be that the sector is rapidly maturing and starting to deliver on its long-recognised potential," he said.