| Speaker Details |
| Jamie Adam Development Manager Community Energy Scotland Jamie Adam is the Development Manager for Community Energy Scotland. He has worked for CES for 10 years, initially on the West Coast before moving to cover the Central Scotland area, where he was involved in supporting the development of the Callander Community Hydro. Since then he has project-managed the construction of several wind sites of up to 7.5MW in size. He has also supported several off-grid communities, most recently the construction of a hybrid wind, solar and battery project on the Isle of Canna. Jamie has worked for several years with Knoydart Renewables in the operation and development of their hydro scheme and distribution network. | |
| Catherine Anderson EIA Associate Director Aecom Catherine is an EIA Associate Director with over 15 years’ experience in the environmental and energy sector, and is the EIA lead for hydropower in AECOM, with experience in the UK and overseas. She project managed the 99MW Glyn Rhonwy pumped storage scheme, which is now approved by the Secretary of State, and is currently the technical EIA lead for the ILI portfolio of pumped storage schemes in Scotland, the first being submitted at the end of October 2018. | |
| Crispin Angood Principal Engineer Dulas Ltd Crispin is a highly experienced Chartered Civil Engineer, having worked in the water and environmental sector for 21 years. Crispin has extensive experience of consultancy, construction, project and contract management and has acted as the lead on a wide range of UK and International projects. Crispin has spent the bulk of the last eight years delivering hydro schemes that are integrated into the existing water utility network. Last year he delivered three separate schemes for Welsh Water, two making use of both compensation flow and spill water downstream of reservoirs, and one embedded within a water treatment works. | |
| Russ Blaber Director Cobalt Project Management Ltd Russ is a Civil Engineer and Director of Cobalt Project Management Ltd, a bespoke project management and cost consultancy that has a considerable track record in the energy sector. Since founding Cobalt, Russ has delivered upwards of £40m of renewable energy projects across hydropower, solar and wind. Since 2017, he has been involved in strategic placement of co-located and grid-connected battery storage facilities. With offices in the South of England and Scotland, Russ is a staunch advocate of hydropower and constantly seeks new opportunities and commercial/technical innovations to further deploy generation across the UK. | |
| Jonathan Brindley Associate Partner Mobaro Energy Jonathan is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM). He has 20 years’ industry experience working within market leading businesses operating in process, power and energy. He has first-hand experience of managing marketing, business development, and renewables departments within energy OEMs, with considerable influence over board decisions and subsequent product/service growth strategies. One of Jonathan’s core passions is the topic of organisational behaviour and in particular the adoption of technology to enable safer working and more effective service based teams. | |
| Graham Cook Managing Director Cook Capital Advisors Graham is a graduate chartered accountant (FCA) and MBA with more than 25 years’ professional experience. He is MD of Cook Capital Advisors, where he leads both the business as a whole and the renewables and cleantech team. Since 2014 Graham has developed significant experience of all financial considerations in the hydropower sector in the UK as CFO of Barn Energy, Yorkshire Hydropower and Northern Hydropower; in addition to energy storage understanding as the first CFO of Eelpower. In these roles he has played a leading role in the raising of funding of more than £40m, both equity and debt. Graham has been professionally committed to addressing climate change, since being part of the team advising government in 2010/11 on the foundation of the Green Investment Bank (now The Green Investment Group). | |
| Jonathan Cox C Eng B Eng (Hons) MEI FEANI Representative Erre Due UK Jonathan is a civil & structural engineer by training, a chartered engineer and has been a Member of the Energy Institute for 30 years. He has enjoyed a long and varied career in the consulting, contracting and manufacturing arenas. In recent years he has worked largely in the field of renewable energy (being the UK Agent for the CINK & GESS ranges of hydropower turbines) and in the more specialist sectors of Nitrogen & Hydrogen gas production and their applications, including Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Renewable Energy Storage. He is currently developing his role as an assessor of Energy Institute & Chartered Engineer applications, though he still finds time to advise private & public clients alike on a range of subjects. | |
| Stephen Crosher CEO Fleet Renewables Stephen founded Fleet Renewables, a consultancy that engages with early stage innovators and helps to commercialise those innovations that have the greatest potential, in 2011. Current projects include lowering emissions on construction sites and innovation in energy storage. Stephen is also engaged with the development of policy within political parties and think tanks, relating to the transition to the zero carbon economy of the future. Stephen has recently held the position of Commercial Director of two wind turbine manufacturing businesses. | |
| Philipp Daus Global Product Manager - Mini Hydro Voith Hydro Philip graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe (KIT in Germany) and the University of Stockholm (KTH in Sweden). He joined Voith Hydro in 2010 and started as a development engineering the department for hydraulic development for tidal energy converters. During 2013 and 2014 he acted as Engineering Project Manager for tidal energy and joined Small Hydro at the end of 2014. Since August 2016, he has been responsible for global mini-hydro in Mississauga, Canada and now Heidenheim in Germany. | |
| Mary Drury Head of Hydro UK Innogy Renewables UK Ltd Mary is the Chair of the BHA. A chartered Mechanical Engineer with great enthusiasm for hydropower, Mary is currently Head Hydro UK at Innogy Renewables UK Ltd and responsible for the operation of more than 80MW of hydro capacity as well as the development of new hydro schemes. Her 25 years in the industry includes roles at Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon, GE Hydro and RWE, delivering projects from 85kW to 75MW in the UK and abroad. | |
| Austin Flather Director ANF Consulting Ltd Austin is a chartered civil engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He has worked throughout his career in both the contracting and consulting areas of civil engineering and for the past 10 years has worked largely in the field of renewable energy, particularly small hydropower. During this time he has designed and developed several hydropower plants and is part owner and operator of a number of these. His consultancy company, ANF Consulting Ltd, works with numerous hydropower clients designing, developing, improving and operating small scale hydropower installations. | |
| Simon Hamlyn Chief Executive Officer British Hydropower Association Simon, who is a 3-Dimensional Designer by qualification, comes from a family of architects - both parents and his Grandfather. His career has embraced international branded drinks, hotels & leisure, electronic entertainment, magazine publishing, internet businesses and most recently holding senior posts in a variety of membership organisations. He has been at the BHA since January 2014. , Simon is based in Whitchurch, Shropshire, and enjoys, when time permits, a love of music, cricket, football, skiing, walking, running and game shooting. | |
| Harriet Harmon Senior Commercial Analyst National Grid Having started her career in energy at E.ON in 2008, Harriet has been a senior analyst at National Grid ESO for around a year. With a background in managing industry change as both a Supplier and Generator, she currently represents the ESO on charging reform and changes to access arrangements. | |
| Richard Haworth Technical Director Glen Hydro Consulting Ltd Richard Haworth is the Technical Director of Glen Hydro Consulting and Glen Hydro Development. Glen Hydro Consulting is gaining a strong reputation throughout Scotland for optimisation of the performance of operating hydro schemes. This work began with the review of Glen Hydro’s own development portfolio of schemes and their role as both consultants and developers means they bring a unique proactive approach to this work. As Technical and Development Director, Richard is responsible for all technical aspects of the schemes and for initial discussions with clients and land owners. Trained as a mechanical Engineer, Richard gained experience in the petrochemical and construction industries before founding Glen Hydro. | |
| John Heaton Projects Director Glen Hydro Ltd John is an electrical engineer by training with a background in telecommunications who has gone on to develop a track record in the hydro industry with particular emphasis on project delivery, system design and performance optimisation. John’s first encounter with hydro was the operation, maintenance and refurbishment of a number of poorly performing schemes that had been constructed during the time of the RO. With the advent of the FIT John has managed the development and construction of a number of new schemes in Scotland as well as the refurbishment of a number of poorly performing FIT schemes. John is responsible for the ongoing development of Glen Hydro Development’s portfolio in Scotland and has led Glen Hydro’s consultancy business since early 2017. | |
| Kenny Hunter Director Hunter Hydro As Director of Hunter Hydro Services, Kenny Hunter is responsible for managing a portfolio of hydro schemes throughout Scotland and providing a range of additional support services on behalf of clients including Guinness EIS Investors, Mount Stuart Trust, CRF Hydro, Farr Hydro LLP and Glenkiln Hydro LLP. Over the past two years, Kenny has been at the forefront of the Scottish hydro sector’s lobbying efforts on business rates, engaging specifically with the Scottish Government on behalf of a BHA/Alba/Scottish Renewables working group. Before establishing Hunter Hydro Services in 2018, Kenny worked for MEG Renewables, developing and managing a portfolio of hydro and solar pv assets. | |
| Robin Hutchison Partner CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP Robin Hutchison is a Planning and Environment partner at international law firm CMS and an expert in energy infrastructure planning and consenting (Legal 500). Robin advises companies, public bodies and funders on major projects, developments and transactions. He has a particular focus on planning/consenting in the UK energy and infrastructure sector. He has advised on some of the UK’s largest and most contentious energy and infrastructure projects including renewables, power stations, electricity networks and transport projects. Robin’s practice also includes compulsory purchase, EIA and Habitats, European environmental law and he has complementary experience in judicial review, DCO examinations and inquiries. Robin is qualified in Scotland and England & Wales and holds an LLM in Environmental Regulation. | |
| Stuart MacLeod Account Executive - Renewable Energy Bruce Stevenson Insurance Brokers Stuart MacLeod joined Bruce Stevenson in 2001 having spent the previous 10 years working for a global insurer then insurance broker. For the past 10 years he has been working in the renewable energy team at Bruce Stevenson and specialises in hydroelectric and wind project insurance. The insurance team at Bruce Stevenson has arranged cover on over 800 renewable energy projects during this time and are champions of green and sustainable energy in the UK. | |
| Grant McEachran Head of RIIO Electricity Distribution Ofgem Grant is Head of the RIIO Electricity Distribution team in Ofgem, which is responsible for monitoring the performance of the Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) to ensure they provide value to consumers, both now and in the future. He is an economist and has worked in energy regulation for almost 20 years. In previous roles he has been responsible for setting the first RIIO (Regulation = Innovation + Incentives + Outputs) price control in transmission, undertaking the charging review for the programme that introduced GB-wide trading and transmission arrangements, and the project that led to the removal of supply price controls. | |
| Chris McKaig Lead Customer Relationship Manager Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks Chris has spent the last 10 years working in different areas of the Electricity Distribution business of SSE. With a background as a multi- disciplined engineer in the manufacturing sector, previous work experience is in design prototyping mechanical and electrical maintenance. In his previous role in SHEPD’s control centre, he managed a team of 10 Engineers in the planning and operations 11 & 33kV electrical distribution network for the North of Scotland. In his new role he manages the business strategy aimed at delivering optimum customer and stakeholder service whilst delivering regulatory outputs. | |
| Jamie Needle Development Manager Derwent Hydro Jamie works as Development Manager for Derwent Hydro, after joining in 2005. He is primarily responsible for acquiring new sites for development, procuring permissions and consents, and arranging finance. Derwent Hydro has been actively involved in developing and operating UK generating stations since the 1980s. The Company specialises in schemes in the 1-1,000kW range, both new build and refurbishment, high head and low head. | |
| Simon Needle Engineer Derwent Hydro Simon joined Derwent Hydroelectric Power Ltd in 2006. He works primarily in the design, installation, commissioning and servicing of the Company's and client's electrical systems relating to hydropower. Derwent Hydro has been actively involved in developing and operating UK generating stations since the 1980s, specialising in schemes of 1-1,000kW, both new build and refurbishment, high head and low head. | |
| Daniel Pargeter Business Development Manager - Power Limejump Ltd Daniel Pargeter is an expert in maximising the value of generation and hydro plant output. Having delivered PPA’s and trading agreements to site owners, hedge funds, industrial and commercial businesses across multiple technologies, Daniel continues to drive the trading of power for distributed generation with value and innovation at the core. | |
| Chris Pasteur Director Caireyhill Ltd Chris has over 30 years’ experience in the water and hydro industries. In 2014 Chris established Cairneyhill Ltd, a consultancy service to the hydro industry, supporting the entire hydro scheme lifecycle - feasibility, consenting, construction and asset management. Cairneyhill Ltd has been involved in the development and construction of 24MW of hydro schemes in the UK. Prior to this, Chris managed the delivery RWE’s UK hydro development programme and before that he worked for SSE on the asset management and refurbishment of their 1300MW, 60 hydro power station portfolio, and the development of the Glendoe hydro scheme. | |
| Alex Reading Development Director SIMEC Green Highland Alex was one of the first employees at Green Highland Renewables (GHR) and has been instrumental in growing the business into one of the UK’s leading hydropower developers. Within GHR, Alex is responsible for the appraisal and development of GHR’s portfolio of hydro projects. Prior to joining GHR, Alex served for seven years as an Infantry Officer in the Black Watch. During his time in the British Army he served in Germany, Iraq and Northern Ireland. He holds an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from Newcastle University. | |
| Richard Rees Managing Director North wales Hydro Power Since Richard founded North Wales Hydro Power in 2011, the Company has gone on to establish 25 hydro schemes of up to 100kW in output and has ownership of 11 of those projects. The Company is currently working on consenting and constructing projects for clients, and maximising output and performance from the existing operational schemes. Richard is also heavily involved with Volta Energy Storage, which is developing multi-MW standalone battery storage schemes. | |
| Francois Richard Project Manager EFINOR With a background as research engineer in materials for aeronautic, Francoishas been working for EFINOR as a project manager mainly in the nuclear industry since 2013. As part of his experience in the development and commissioning of the OBTOPLUS® technology, he is also involved in transferring this technology for other purpose in other industries. He will present a project using the OBOTPLUS® for the hydropower industry. | |
| Scott Simmons Doctoral Student Researcher College of Engineering & Physical Sciences, University of Guelph Scott is a PhD student at the University of Guelph (Canada). Having completed his Masters of Applied Science (MASc) in 2018, his work has a focus on modelling the power output and efficiency of Archimedes screw generators. Scott has been studying Archimedes screws since 2012. | |
| Robert Thompson CEO Rotaheat Robert is heating up Rotaheat, leading the commercialisation of Rotaheat’s approach to convert motive power sources direct to inexpensive clean heat. Captured by the elegance and simplicity of Rotaheat’s technology, Robert joined Rotaheat as CEO in 2015 intent on disrupting how heat is traditionally generated. Prior to joining Rotaheat, Robert worked with both large and small companies to deliver organic growth through successfully developing and launching new products. Robert’s past achievements, which include contributing to the launch of satellites and developing utility scale coal power stations, pale in comparison to growing Rotaheat. | |
| Stuart Wallis UK Sales Manager (Water Business Unit) SPP Pumps Limited Stuart has worked at SPP Pumps as a Sales Manager for last 6 years, prior to which he spent 20n years working with several other large pump manufacturers. He has an HND in mechanical and production engineering and served his apprenticeship as Mechanical Engineer for British Rail Engineering in the early 1980s. He also worked for the Royal Ordnance in their Guns & Vehicle Division, a roll that included supporting the product “in theatre” around the world. For over 140 years SPP Pumps, a UK based pump manufacturer, has been at the forefront of pump development for the UK water market and other important market sectors. | |
| Paul Wheelhouse MSP Scottish Government Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands Scottish Government Paul has an honours degree in Economics from the University of Aberdeen and an MBA from University of Edinburgh. He is a professional economist, having specialised in higher and further education markets, policy evaluation and economic appraisal and impact assessment of capital projects. Paul previously held a number of roles in the Scottish Parliament and is SNP MSP for South Scotland. Prior to taking his Ministerial position Paul was a member of cross-party groups on Epilepsy, Rural Policy, Armed forces Veterans, Funerals and Bereavement, Boating and Marine Tourism and deputy convener of Sport. He has previously held posts in the Scottish Government as Minister for Environment and Climate Change and Minister for Community Safety & Legal Affairs. In May 2016 he was appointed Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy. | |
| Alan Wilson Energy Director Buccleuth Alan is Energy Director for Buccleuch and as such has responsibility for the development and delivery of energy projects across all of Buccleuch’s landholding. His current portfolio of projects includes the Glenmuckloch Pumped Storage Hydro project, which has obtained Section 36 consent from the Scottish Government for a scheme of up to 400MW. A Mechanical Engineer by discipline, Alan has worked within the power industry throughout his career in roles covering project development, construction, commissioning and operation & maintenance for a range of power generation technologies including gas, run of river hydro, pumped storage, wind, energy from waste and biomass. | |
| Mark Wilson CEO ILI Group Mark has over 15 years’ experience in the residential property market. As a result of the economic downturn in 2008 he diversified into the renewable energy sector. Mark recognised that energy storage would complement the growth in renewable energy and new pumped storage hydro plants were the next logical step, so he set up Intelligent Land Investments Group. For the last five years, Mark and his team have assessed over 80 sites, taking the three best projects forward. Having secured funding in 2017, ILI Group now has its first 450MW site in the North of Scotland ready to go into planning in Oct 2018, and a further two at the scoping stage. Mark is a highly motivated and entrepreneurial individual who brings creative solutions to the table. His personal and client successes are a consequence of his energy and knowledge, and above all his willingness to put his reputation on the line. | |
| Peter Zell P. Eng. President SSES Peter Zell, P. Eng. is a Principal of Eco Flow Energy Corporation that owns the 7.6 MW Brandywine Hydro facility, and is a Principal of Sea to Sky Energy Solutions Corporation (SSES). SSES provides contract operating and asset management services for three run of river hydro facilities (combined capacity 60 MW); developed the Coanda screen cleaner; and is currently involved in the permitting of two further projects (combined output 27 MW). Peter also acted as the Owner’s Representative for the development, construction and commissioning of the 25 MW Skookum Creek hydro power facility. He has over 30 years’ project management and engineering experience in run of river power, biomass and pulp & paper, working on projects throughout British Columbia and in Brazil. He is also a partner in the 350 MW Amisk Hydro project in Alberta, Canada, that will play an important role in the displacement of 3,000 MW of coal fired generation with renewables. | |
