The spectacular collapse of engineering group RCR Tomlinson, which crashed into administration on Thursday just months after raising $100 million in capital, is the story of a company that flew too close to the sun – literally.

Back in 2016, the companys former chief executive, Paul Dalgleish, made it clear he was going big on solar projects. He told The Australian Financial Review that while renewable energy had typically accounted for only a small proportion of the contractor's revenues, he wanted renewables to be half its business in the future.