A COUNTY Durham company is recruiting 40 staff to help meet demand in the booming renewable energy industry.

Cleaner Air Solutions, based in Meadowfield, Durham, is one of Europe’s leading suppliers and installers of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems which generate electricity from sunlight.

As well as installing on domestic properties, Cleaner Air Solutions also installs on commercial, public sector and social housing premises.

Since the introduction of the Government’s Feed in Tariffs (FiTs) in April, which allow users to sell excess energy back to the National Grid, North-East energy firms have reported a dramatic increase in sales of solar panels to both domestic and commercial customers. Users who install electricity-generating solar panels can earn about £900 in the first year, on top of a £140-a-year saving on their bills. Experts estimate that gives payback in about ten years.

In the recent months, Cleaner Air Solutions has secured business worth about £5m, which includes a contract to install PV panels to 1,000 houses in the region.

And the Durham company is one of three North-East installers appointed as preferred installers by Community Energy Solutions (CES).

Rothwell Plumbing Services Ltd, of North Shields, and the Dodd Group, with a depot on Teesside, were also successful in bids to install PV systems on behalf of CES as part of a European tender process covering up to 2,000 installations across the North.

CES, which has offices in Boldon, Tyne and Wear and Leeds, will work with the three appointed companies to complete the installations within the next two years, in a bid to help communities generate their own electricity from renewable sources.

The PV equipment will be supplied by Consett-based company Romag, which was awarded the contract worth up to £10.2m earlier this year, and will be installed by one of the three newly-appointed firms. All equipment and installations will be Microgeneration Certification Scheme accredited.

Terry Skee, commercial director of Cleaner Air Solutions, said: “We are delighted to be a part of this unique opportunity, working with CES GoSolar and mobilising the clean, green revolution in the North-East and Yorkshire.”