Knaresborough Striders won the prize for the best team performance at the Harrogate 10K yesterday.
A total of 742 runners took part in the race — well up on last year’s 486.
It started and finished at Harrogate Sports and Fitness Club and took competitors around Crimple Valley, finishing with the dreaded ‘Crimple killer’ uphill final kilometre.
Organised by Harrogate Harriers, Olympic triathlon champion Jonny Brownlee was on hand to present trophies to the winners.
Ben Douglas, of Leeds City Athletic Club, claimed first place in the men’s race in 34 minutes and two seconds. The 33-year-old had won the Leeds 10K in May.
Jack Kelly, running for Knaresborough firm and race sponsors Harmony Energy, was runner-up for the second consecutive year.
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Rebecca Flaherty, of Bingley Harriers, took the women’s race in 37 minutes and 14 seconds — her mum Sarah was second.
Knaresborough Striders’ trio Tom Calvert, Dan Caven and James Ireland secured the Berwins team prize.
It went some way to alleviating the disappointment they felt at last month’s Great Knaresborough Bed Race, when they were part of the team who saw their hopes dashed when a wheel on their seized up.
A fun run for children preceded the adult event.
Here are some photos of the event.
Pictures by Richard O’Brien and Andrew Hawkes Photography
The winning Knaresborough Striders team
Mother and daughter Rebecca and Sarah Flaherty took first and second in the women’s race.
The men’s top three receive their prizes from Jonny Brownlee.
Still smiling despite the tough route.
Jonny Brownlee (left) and Peter Kavanagh, chief executive of race sponsors Harmony Energy.
It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is after-work drinks at Manahatta, on May 25th at 5:30.
Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.
A Knaresborough green energy company has appointed a new chief financial officer.
Harmony Energy, which is based at Conyngham Hall Business Centre, has hired Rob Scott to the position.
Mr Scott, who lives in Boroughbridge, previously worked at Key Group, as well as AA and Saga.
He will be tasked with overseeing finance, IT and human resources at Harmony Energy.
Peter Kavanagh, Harmony Energy’s chief executive and co-founder, said:
“I am delighted to welcome Rob to the business.
“He brings with him a wealth of experience and will provide the strategic guidance, insight and leadership we need as we continue to grow, not only in the UK, but overseas as well.”
Mr Scott said:
“Harmony Energy presents an exciting challenge for me, as it’s a business that I believe has the ambition and drive for growth.
“It has a fantastic team led by an exceptional management team who collectively are committed to delivering excellence in the global renewable energy sector.
“The company has achieved great success to date, and I look forward to adding to that as we build on what has already been accomplished.”
Harrogate business group meeting to focus on tourism
A Harrogate business group’s next monthly meeting will focus on tourism in the town.
Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce is holding the event, which will include its annual general meeting, on Monday, May 15.
The meeting will include a presentation from Helen Suckling, destination events manager at Destination Harrogate, about the organisation’s strategy for 2022 to 2025.
The event, which is being held at Windsor House on Cornwall Road, will include a networking session and refreshments for guests.
For more information and to register attendance, visit the EventBrite page here.
Guests can arrive at 5.30pm and the meeting will start at 6.15pm.
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Business Breakfast: Knaresborough finance firm makes three new hires
It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The third in our series of networking events in association with The Coach and Horses in Harrogate is a lunch event on March 30 from 12.30pm.
Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.
A Knaresborough-based financial advisory firm has hired three new employees as part of growth within its group.
Prosperis Ltd, which is based at St James Business Park, made the hires to meet demand from corporate clients locally and around the UK.
Corporate services associate Ben Morris has joined the firm at its Knaresborough head office, while Dominic Ferneyhough joins as an independent financial adviser at its Skipton office.
Meanwhile, Ryan Green joins as a trainee in Skipton.
Niall Gunn, managing director at Prosperis, said:
“Recruiting new staff is never easy but we are delighted to have secured the services of Dom, Ben and Ryan,
“We will look to add high quality staff to the team as we continue with our expansion plans this year.”
Knaresborough company to sponsor Harrogate 10k
A green energy company based in Knaresborough is to sponsor this year’s Harrogate 10k.
Harmony Energy announced this week it will sponsor the event, which is being held on Sunday, July 2, and organised by Harrogate Harriers.
Peter Kavanagh, Harmony Energy CEO, and Rachel Gregson, Harrogate Harriers’ communications officer
The annual race starts and finishes at Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre on Hookstone Wood Road.
Peter Kavanagh, Harmony Energy chief executive, who along with five other Harmony employees ran last year’s 10k, said:
“We are delighted to once again be partnering with Harrogate Harriers to sponsor this year’s Harrogate 10k.
“I was approached last year by one of the committee, who lives near me, asking if we would consider sponsoring the Harrogate 10k. I’ve always enjoyed running and the health benefits it brings so I welcomed the opportunity to support the event.
“Harmony Energy already sponsors the Brownlee Foundation, which sees thousands of children taking part in triathlons, and it is great being able to support another sporting event involving children and adults on our doorstep.”
Rachel Gregson, Harrogate Harriers’ communications officer, said:
“Once again we are indebted to Harmony Energy for sponsoring the Harrogate 10k.
“Their funding allows us to not only stage the event, but to ensure it is properly marshalled, with first aiders and the necessary insurance in place.
“Last year nearly 500 runners took part in the event, and this year with covid fading into the distance we hope it will attract many more. It’s a really good course, takes in some beautiful scenery and is suitable for runners of all ages and abilities.”
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Hot Seat: leading a £274m Knaresborough green energy firm
When Peter Kavanagh gave up a career in finance to set up a wind energy company 13 years ago, some thought he had lost his marbles. He says:
“A lot of people said to me ‘you are wasting your time, wind turbines don’t generate money, you’re crazy’. I wanted to prove them wrong and it felt like the right thing to do for the next generation.”
Mr Kavanagh, 44, now runs Knaresborough firm Harmony Energy, which employs 33 staff and acts as the ultimate advisor to London-listed Harmony Energy Income Trust PLC, which is valued at £274 million.
The company operates wind, solar and battery energy storage systems and has relationships with companies like Tesla.
It has schemes in New Zealand and France as well as the UK, where one of its projects involves developing a battery storage facility at Wormald Green, between Ripon and Harrogate, which will have the capacity to power 9,000 homes. Work on the site is due to start this year and the firm would like to also build a solar farm there.
Not only has Mr Kavanagh proved the doubters wrong, he has also given investors the chance to behave ethically while generating a return on their money.
But for all the talk of the climate crisis and soaring energy bills, the battle to establish renewable energy has been far from straightforward.
Mr Kavanagh cites connectivity to the grid as the main ‘blocker’. He says a lot of development projects fail simply because the grid is full and they can’t connect.
Grid connection, planning issues and land agreements are the three essential issues when choosing sites, he says. Harmony negotiates sites and employs four project managers plus experts in fields such as law, finance and asset management to oversee progress.
Harmony Energy’s battery energy storage system at Pillswood, near Hull.
There’s also the slight matter of trying to wean the nation off fossil fuel companies, which continue to generate billions of pounds of profit and benefit from relationships built up with government over years.
Harmony has shifted its focus from wind to battery energy storage systems because of a change in the political climate since it was founded. Mr Kavanagh explains:
“Because of planning rules in England it’s almost impossible to build a wind farm in England now.
“In 2016 we were submitting planning for a completely unsubsidised development but pulled it because at the time David Cameron changed the rules on planning which pretty much made that sort of development impossible, which is frustrating because had we and others been able to develop at the time then going into this energy crisis England would have been in a much better position.”
He admits wind is “contentious” but says recent survey since the war in Ukraine started suggests more people support it, adding:
“If I was in government — obviously I’m slightly biased — I’d be saying ‘let’s build as much unsubsidised renewable energy as we can, look at land use, but look at it as a whole’. Even if we used up all the land for large scale solar requirements, for example, the stats published by national bodies say we would only use three per cent of the overall land mass.
“It makes sense because we desperately need energy bills to come down because businesses are going bust left, right and centre.”
Battery energy
Battery energy is the main focus now. So far, Mr Kavanagh has overseen the development of 500 megawatts of battery energy storage systems in the UK with the Harmony group. Harmony is Tesla’s biggest customer in Europe, having been ordering its batteries since 2016.
Harmony’s largest scheme is at Pillswood, which employs a Tesla two-hour megapack system that has the capacity to store up to 196 megawatt hours of electricity in a single cycle. This is enough electricity to power about 300,000 UK homes for two hours.
He says batteries are “the key to unlocking the potential of other renewable technologies, including solar” because they enable electricity to be stored until it is needed by the grid.
Because wind and sunshine aren’t predictable, they produce intermittent energy. Batteries can stabilise and balance this outflow of electricity and ensure it is used more effectively.
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Harmony uses lithium batteries, made of 93% recycled content, says Mr Kavanagh.
The company was floated on the London stock exchange in November 2021 with a market capitalisation of £210 million. Its value has since soared to £274 million.
Its latest set of accounts, for the year ending December 31, 2021 showed a £33m profit compared to a £1m loss in the previous year.
Mr Kavanagh acknowledges this financial transformation was largely due to the stock market listing but adds 2022 was “another good year for us” and talks about hiring more staff and exploring new markets in Germany, Italy and Poland.
‘Not all about the money’
It is easy to be cynical about combining ethics and profit but Mr Kavanagh insists he is “100% not all about money”. He says investors appreciate the chance to support renewables and it’s hard to dispute the fact the planet needs change to survive.
He says the company tries to behave ethically in other ways, for instance it did not furlough any staff during covid and refused business rate relief from Harrogate Borough Council during the pandemic.
“I said ‘you should not be handing free rates out willy-nilly. Morally I felt it was the right thing to do and I wish others had done the same because the bill from covid will cripple the economy.”
Harmony, which is based at Conyngham Hall and also had an office in London’s Bond Street, supports various local good causes, including Henshaws, Candlelighters and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. It sponsors the Harrogate 10k race — an event keen runner Mr Kavanagh took part in last year. The firm also has a community fund supporting green schemes in areas where it operates.
Harmony is based at Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough.
Mr Kavanagh, a father-of-two, also tries to live ethically. His home in Birstwith is “predominantly powered by solar”, he owns an electric vehicle and travels by train when possible.
He also follows a plant-based diet, although this is partly a legacy of being diagnosed with bowel cancer when he was 29.
That experience played a major role in his change of career direction after a decade in finance. He says:
“You can make a return but do it in the right way. That’s the ethos we are trying to get through on Harmony. We are trying to build infrastructure without any support from the UK taxpayers, that’s as green as it possibly can be so it’s not only environmentally sustainable but from a financial point of view.”
Mr Kavanagh is also a director of Jones Food Company, Europe’s largest high care hydroponics facility now majority owned by the Ocado Group, and is an early-stage investor in several green tech companies outside of Harmony.
Despite the challenges. he says the tide is turning and he is optimistic about the future of renewable energy.
“We are minnows compared to big boys like EDF but a key advantage is that we are nimble and can move quickly.
“That’s why our focus will always be primarily on energy storage because it’s such a huge need. Anywhere that has a lot of intermittent energy will require lots of storage.”
He says if you can build a solar farm in North Yorkshire without any taxpayers’ support you can build one anywhere in Europe and it was looking to work with “trusted partners” in new areas on the continent. He says:
Business Breakfast: Marketing agency appointed to support Knaresborough energy firm“The UK will always be our core market but we see lots of potential in Europe.
“Being a small part of the solution is what drives us. If we can be 10% of the market in 10 years time I will be very happy.”
Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.
A Harrogate marketing agency has been appointed to support a Knaresborough-based international energy company with its plans for growth.
The Big Bamboo Agency will deliver strategic marketing, PR, social media management and community engagement activities for Harmony Energy.
The firm, which develops utility-scale battery energy storage along with wind and solar projects, has worked across the UK as well as developing its work in France and New Zealand.
It has a long-standing relationship with Tesla, which has provided battery systems for its UK sites.
Pete Kavanagh, chief executive of Harmony, said:
“We were looking for an agency that would become an outsourced marketing and communications team, as an extension of the wider team we already have in place. We wanted to find a partner that we could build a long-term trusted relationship with.
“Having met Nicola and other members of the team, we knew we had found what we were looking for. Their experience and capabilities fit nicely with ours and we know they will understand our industry, due to their extensive credentials.”
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Money-saving energy advice for Harrogate BID businesses
Businesses will have the opportunity to learn more about saving money on energy bills at a series of events today.
Harrogate BID is inviting its members to join one of three sessions in person or online to hear from energy consultant Ryan Edwards.
He will give businesses a clearer picture about the current energy market, as well as giving advice on securing energy contracts.
The first event is at Jespers Bar and Kitchen on Station Parade at 9.30am, with another at Starling Cafe on Oxford Street at 5.30pm. A session will also be held on Zoom at 11am.
Businesses interested in taking part can email Harrogate BID for more details.
Business Breakfast: Knaresborough company to build solar farmBusiness Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.
A Knaresborough-based energy company has been given the green light to develop New Zealand’s largest solar farm in Waikato.
Harmony Energy will create the development, which will generate enough electricity to power 30,000 homes.
The country’s Environmental Protection Authority has approved Harmony’s proposal for the 147-megawatt solar farm to be installed on 182 hectares of a 260-hectare site at Te Aroha West, 140 kilometres south of Auckland.
Harmony Energy director, Pete Grogan, who is based in New Zealand, said:
“We are thrilled this important renewable development can now proceed. Renewable energy is critical to mitigate the negative impact of climate change and help support New Zealand’s net zero ambition.
“One of the great advantages of solar power is that it accommodates dual use of land, allowing for energy generation alongside continued farming production, as will happen at Tauhei.
“This proposal creates opportunities for local businesses and employment and creates significant biodiversity gains. We will deliver an exceptional project that Waikato can be proud of.”
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Yorkshire estate agent introduces online auction
Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley.
Harrogate district estate agents Dacre, Son & Hartley has introduced a new online auction service.
The service allows people to buy and sell land and property online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The company, which has offices in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and Pateley Bridge, partnered with Bamboo Auctions to launch the service.
Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley, said:
Up to 1,000 runners set for Sunday’s Harrogate 10k“This new service is specifically designed to make it quick, easy and straightforward to list and sell properties and vendors don’t have to wait to join other sellers in a collective auction catalogue.
“Buying and selling a property through this method provides each party with an additional degree of certainty, because once the auction ends, both the buyer and seller are legally bound to proceed with the transaction, in accordance with the published terms and conditions.”
Up to 1,000 people are set to take part in the Run Harrogate 10k this weekend.
The annual race, which goes around Crimple Valley, is Harrogate Harriers‘ premier event of the year.
It starts at Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre on Hookstone Wood Road at 10am on Sunday and finishes at the same place.
This year’s event, which is sponsored by Knaresborough renewable energy firm Harmony Energy, includes a new kids’ fun run, starting at 9am.
The fun run has a 1.3km run for children in years two to five at school and a 2.6km run for children in years six to nine.
Rudding Lane will be closed from about 9.30am to 11am while the race takes place.
The multi-terrain route is about 70 per cent tarmac road, with the remainder on good footpaths.
The men’s race record is 33 minutes and 29 seconds, set by Marcos Palacios. The women’s record is 42 minutes and 32 seconds, set by local athlete Tam Calder, who has entered this year.
Marcos Palacios
Tam Calder
About 550 people have entered so far. The race capacity is 1,000 so you can enter on the day.
Sue Moul, membership secretary at Harrogate Harriers, said:
“It’s our premier event and we are looking forward to welcoming everybody back to the course.”
All finishers receive a medal and goody bag and there is a £1,500 prize fund.
Entry fee for runners who aren’t affiliated to Harrogate Harriers is £19 if paid in advance.
The kids’ race costs £3 to enter and all proceeds are donated to CALM, the Campaign Against Living Miserably.
A donation from the adult races will go to Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Further details are available here.