Bankrupt UK small wind power developer Proven Energy has been sold by KPMG receivers to cleantech company Kingspan Renewables. Those involved said the sale will safeguard employment for the 20 staff still working at Proven and allow the continuation of manufacturing at the company's plant in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Blair Nimmo, joint receiver and head of restructuring for KPMG in Scotland, said, 'Following a competitive sales process, we are delighted to confirm the sale of the business and assets to Kingspan. We would like to thank Proven's remaining employees, customers and suppliers for their patience and support and would also like to thank the many parties who showed an interest during the sales process. We wish the business every success in the future.'
Noel Crowe, managing director of Kingspan Environmental and Renewables, added, 'Kingspan Renewables intends to launch 6kW and 3kW turbines, incorporating the high performance, reliability and key features of the Proven P11 and P7 models, and will manufacture these products in Stewarton. A decision on whether or not to launch a 15kW turbine will be made at a later date, but any launch is unlikely to be before January 2013.'
Proven officially went into receivership in September after the investment company that owned the business Low Carbon Accelerator said the business will not survive without a cash injection.
Phil McVan, manmaging director of renewable company Myriad CEG Power, said, 'The entry of a large player into the space left by Proven can only help the wind sector mature and grow stronger. Unfortunately it seems likely that Proven's new owners will not be obliged to honour its guarantees, which is not great news for farmers who have turbines on their land that are standing idle and who invested in the technology in good faith.'
He added, 'Something needs to be done to help them get back up and running and it is important for the sector that this happens. The industry needs the investment that larger organisations can bring which will create jobs and train workers. That's important because one of the government's renewable energy targets is employment and job creation. The entry of larger organisations should also mean improved standards and procedures, with reliability and quality not an issue as the sector moves away from the cottage industry approach. This really could be great news for the development of wind power and wind turbines in the UK.'