Welcome to our Little Black Book, an inspirational series of business stories and insights from our brilliant members.

Paul Phelps on powerful purpose

By Paul Phelps

Managing Director, Solent Power Ltd.

Electrical engineering first sparked the interest of Paul Phelps when he trained as an apprentice in power distribution. The technical experience he garnered enabled him to travel worldwide both as an engineering contractor and as a cruise ship engineer before living in Australia and working as a generator electrician.

Upon returning to the UK, Paul realised his ambition of starting his own power company, Solent Power, giving him a new sense of purpose. Now, the Mancunian is giving back not just power, but a dedication to championing his industry and supporting his local community.

Connect on LinkedIn

Can you give us an overview of Solent Power’s services?

Every business has a downside associated with power loss. If you lose your power to a building – from a storm, a planned outage, or the main distribution equipment failing – there's always a downside, so there’s a real need for all businesses to have emergency power equipment in place.

This equipment means that when mains power is lost, a generator will start automatically and keep the business systems and servers running during the mains outage.

We design and supply bespoke emergency power backup systems for businesses to protect them from mains loss. From the consultancy to the procurement of the equipment, along with the service and maintenance, everything is tailor-made for the individual business owner or manager.

We deliver bespoke solutions in backup power and we aim to be transparent with everything that we do. We share as much knowledge as we can about our service to inform people openly and honestly about the industry.

Do you want more articles like this in your inbox? If so then register below...

How are you embracing new energies and technologies?

We’re going through a transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy – it’s trying to find that balance between realistically delivering power and price, whilst also trying our best to be sustainable in everything that we do. It’s a big challenge for our industry. The reality is everyone’s relying on diesel & gas generators, and any large power is coming from fossil fuels. But we’re trying to position ourselves to try and reduce our impact.

We supply cleaner fuels like gas-to-liquid and HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil). We can supply more economical engines that reduce emissions and electronic engines that use less fuel. For smaller power requirements we also supply inverter generators because they can run slower and use less fuel.

New renewable technologies like electric vehicles, plant and machinery still need the power infrastructure in place so there’s an exciting opportunity to offer more renewable solutions in the future.

What other opportunities and challenges is the power sector facing?

Skilled labour is also a real challenge in this market. To grow a business, you need the skills to be able to deliver the service. As soon as we’re able to provide the right structure we’ll be delivering apprenticeships and training in this field with Solent Power.

I think there are massive opportunities in the sector because the way that people work has changed. With people working remotely and the transmission of information in the digital age, we’re all relying heavily on data and back-end systems so it’s imperative that servers have secure backup power for business continuity – that’s really fuelling growth in this industry.

"We're going through a transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy – it's trying to find that balance between realistically delivering power and price, whilst also trying our best to be sustainable in everything that we do."

How do you as a company adapt to changes in your industry?

We’ve seen legislation change for fuels recently, which has prompted a lot of consumers to change to alternative cleaner fuels, so we’ve had to adapt and find ways to offer that.

New legislation means that mobile power generators now have much stricter emissions regulation. It is the same with power generation in city centres and low emission zones. Engines have got to meet tighter emissions regulations now, so you’ve got to supply a completely different bit of kit or come up with retrofit solutions to modify existing equipment to comply.

You’re passionate about supporting local charities, can you tell us about that?

I’m involved with numerous charities in the local community where I live. The work I have done with charity and community has been an amazing experience. I raised £3000 for CALM for suicide prevention by doing a wing walk last year, and we’re providing the generator hire for the Wessex Cancer Trust in July for the Walk for Hope in Royal Victoria Country Park.

People think that it’s only big businesses that can work with charities, but even as a small business you can find the time and still make an impact.

"With people working remotely, we're all relying heavily on data and back-end systems so it's imperative that servers have secure backup power for business continuity – that’s really fuelling growth in this industry."

Paul Phelps - Managing Director, Solent Power Ltd.

Who do you find inspiring?

I find the most inspiring people to be those who’ve been through unimaginable personal trauma and then dedicate their time and lives to helping others. Like those who have lost loved ones to suicide, who are banging the drum for mental health and trying to raise profile on depression.

What has your journey taught you so far?

If you don’t feel challenged, then you’re not growing. I’ve always put myself in a position where I always think – How can I get out of my comfort zone? Where do I need to be to learn an extra skill or to get to where I want to be?

We’ve all got irrational fears that prevent us from doing what we want to do in life. But, when you think about the worst thing that can happen by taking a chance, 99% of the time the worst doesn’t happen and a large percentage of the time something amazing happens.

It took me to lose my job, to then have the confidence to go out and start a business and fulfil this purpose and mission that I’ve got with Solent Power and with what I’m doing personally.