Founded in 2022 by Josh King and Robert Wilson, Gensource provides services from design and installation to testing and commissioning of renewable energy systems. The company, recently named ‘High Growth Business of the Year’ at the 2025 Midlothian and East Lothian Business Awards, moved this year into a 12,000 square foot headquarters after three years of growth.
Gensource works with everyone from community groups to private corporations looking for advice. Commercial Director Robert Wilson said: “A business of this size means we get involved in all sorts. I mainly handle the commercial sales, finance, project delivery and day-to-day running, while Josh is more technical, handling more of the people and the strategy.”
“Personally, I fell into the renewable energy sector, I finished my economics degree and didn’t want corporate life. I started working with my dad installing solar thermals and that’s where I met Josh, who was the director at his previous company and I just asked for a job in the office.”
Managing Director Josh King explained that his journey into the sector stemmed from time spent working in Asia:
“I was a physics teacher in China in 2012. “I was in a city with a 10 million population and it was one of those iPhone factory cities. It was very smoggy in 2012, peak smog and you couldn’t see 10 metres in front of you.
“There was one photo I used to show when people said wind turbines spoiled a view. It was the kids from my class playing basketball on the ground floor outside. I was on the second floor and you couldn’t see any of the kids because of the smog, you could only see the orange ball, some hands and the basketball nets because it was just so smoggy. It was quite depressing, you finished a class and you weren’t allowed to go outside and I was wearing a 3m mask cycling to work.”
Returning to Scotland, King studied renewable energy and worked in a solar company in the north before reconnecting with Wilson. They moved back to Edinburgh and started planning Gensource from King’s spare room, later setting up their first office at Musselburgh’s Fisherrow Centre.
“We both lived in Edinburgh,” King said. “We had previously worked at similar companies and just had a lot of respect for each other because I used to look at Robert and think, if everyone else here got hit by a bus he could do all their jobs.”
After initial months in a spare room, Gensource expanded to Broxburn and hired staff across Dunfermline and Dundee. The choice of Musselburgh was influenced by Fisherrow Centre’s community hub, where rent supports a local trust.
King said: “We liked the fact that all of our rent was going towards a community trust.”
Supporting local initiatives is central to Gensource’s approach. The company has worked with organisations including Glasgow Community Energy, Men’s Sheds Association, and Cycling Without Age, a volunteer group offering free trishaw rides.
When Cycling Without Age lost its storage facility last year, Gensource helped by erecting a shed on Fisherrow Centre land, supplying materials, and installing solar panels for the electric trishaws.
Morna Dawson, co-founder of Cycling Without Age, said: “There was a point we thought the lack of suitable storage would mean an end to Cycling Without Age in Musselburgh. But when Ewan (co-founder of Cycling Without Age) approached The Fisherrow Centre they were adamant they would help. They roped in Gensource who’ve built us this amazing shed – it even has solar panels to charge the bike. It’s the community spirit that keeps us going.”
Wilson said: “Fisherrow Centre gifted the space, we built it and put solar on it. You’ve got a local charity, a community trust, and a local business all coming together. We don’t want our charitable work to just be a money donation; being hands-on is much better than handing over a check.”
Gensource is following their aims of being the most established energy specialists in Scotland, whilst still remaining very engaged with local community groups and charities.
This article is from our print magazine The Power Shift.
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