Renewable energy engineers, based in Northern Ireland

B9 Renewables operates out of Larne on the Antrim coast, covering all six counties. We survey, design and manage every job ourselves, and all electrical work is carried out by NICEIC-approved electricians. When you ring in year four because an inverter has thrown a fault code, you speak to the people who managed your install.

B9 Renewables is part of the B9 Energy group. Our parent company, B9 Energy, works on landfill gas power and Power-to-X projects, including hydrogen, from the same Larne base. Within the group, B9 Renewables installs solar, batteries and EV chargers for homes and businesses.

We work this way because much of the market does not. National operators have long sold through commission-based agents, with nobody accountable after handover. The result is optimistic generation figures and prices that move after the deposit.

How we quote

We survey before we price. That means climbing into the roof space, checking the rafters and covering, measuring shading through the day, opening the consumer unit and establishing the earthing arrangement. It costs us a visit; it saves you a variation on install day.

Generation estimates are specific to your roof's pitch, orientation and shading, not a national average. Where the numbers do not work, we say so. Around one roof in eight that we survey does not justify the spend.

Why Northern Ireland needs different advice

This region is not covered by the Smart Export Guarantee, so there is no obligation on suppliers to pay for exported units. Voluntary microgeneration tariffs sit around 4–6p per kWh against import rates near 27p. Grid connections go through NIE Networks under G98 and G99 rather than a GB distribution operator. Grant schemes such as ECO4 do not operate here at all.

Each of those changes the right system design. Advice written for Great Britain will often point you at the wrong array size, and talk you out of the battery that would have made the investment work.