As the UK solar and storage sector gathers momentum, Solar & Storage Live 2025 set the stage for conversations about innovation, infrastructure, and growth.
Among the exhibitors was Aaron Sallows, Divisional Director for sister companies Maintech Power and Dunamis, who shared insights into how the two firms are shaping the future of large-scale solar and storage.
From navigating the bottlenecks of grid connection approvals to tackling harmful SF6 in high-voltage switchgear, Aaron highlights the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.
What are the roles of Maintech Power and Dunamis in the solar-storage industry, and how do the two entities complement each other?
Aaron: Dunamis focuses as an ICP – an independent connection provider – up to 132kV, specialising in design, build and project management, with a particular focus and specialism in battery storage and solar PV. Both gridscale independent and co-located projects.
Maintech Power, the sister company to Dunamis, essentially has many of the boots-on-the-ground teams operating as high-voltage and low-voltage electrical contractors.
We complement each other very well: Dunamis would step in as the ICP contractor, particularly on larger projects, fulfilling the ICP design and build scope requirements and sometimes moving into the balance-of-plant electrical side, depending on the client’s contracting.
Maintech Power would then come in, boots-on-the-ground, to carry out the installation, working alongside Dunamis as a partner. We also sometimes carry that through into the warranty periods post-energisation.
With the growth in solar farms, wind farms, and BESS, what technological innovations or improvements in infrastructure are you most excited about?
Aaron: Personally, I’m excited about moving away from reliance on high-voltage switchgear containing SF6. SF6 is a hugely harmful greenhouse gas, and from my own experience with switchgear leaks, it has a massive detrimental effect on the environment.
Moving away from that – especially in low-carbon renewable technologies – really boosts the benefits of renewable energy from grid-scale solar PV and from BESS as well.
What are your views on the current UK policy and regulatory landscape for large-scale solar-storage? Are there areas that need reform?
Aaron: Without commenting on any specific policies or regulations, I think – as most people in the industry would agree – getting grid connections approved faster would help stimulate the industry.
That would mean more projects being built, and more grid-scale renewable energy and battery storage coming onto the networks.
I also think there’s a huge need for investment to upgrade infrastructure to handle the increased capacity required for these projects. Without that, we risk bottlenecking the industry and slowing delivery.
Where do you see the biggest growth opportunities for Maintech Power and Dunamis over the next three to five years?
Aaron: The biggest opportunities are in transmission projects at 275 kV and 400 kV. There’s huge interest there, but also a big shortage of skills to deliver those projects.
In the next three to five years, we want to explore this area and look at how we can deliver the 300–400 MW projects currently coming through.
What are you hoping to showcase at Solar & Storage Live this year?
Aaron: This year we have a joint stand, showcasing the strength and synergies of Dunamis and Maintech Power.
We’re two side-by-side businesses with a good reputation in the industry, but we don’t usually shout about it too much. A big part of being here is to network and raise brand awareness among attendees.
We also want to showcase our skills by bringing engineers and technical expertise to the show – talking in depth with people about their requirements, helping them feed into tender processes and procurement, and ultimately generating more work.
So far, we’ve had a good mix of people at the stand – suppliers and project opportunities at different stages, from early investment through to more advanced development. It’s been a really positive experience.
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