Speaker Biographies

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Ed Crooks, Energy Editor, Financial Times

09:30

Ed Crooks is the Energy Editor for the Financial Times, a role he took up in 2006. He joined the FT in 1999 as economics editor, and then went on to become UK news editor. Previously he was an economics correspondent for the BBC, reporting on both television and radio. He started at the BBC as a researcher and producer and worked across several news programmes. He has also been a reporter and editor for Investors Chronicle as well as an economic analyst for the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Greg Barker MP, Shadow Minister for the Environment

09:40

Gregory graduated in History, Economic History & Politics from London University in 1987 and has over ten years experience of working in the City of London. In 1988 after working at the Centre for Policy Studies with David Willetts, Gregory trained as smaller companies analyst and subsequently became a Corporate Finance Director of the Australian owned International Pacific Securities, specializing in cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
In 1997 Gregory became an Associate Partner of the leading financial public relations firm, Brunswick Group Ltd. The following year he was appointed head of International Investor Relations for Sibneft, a major Russian oil company, where he helped lead the company's drive to modernize in the post Soviet economy and open up to Western markets. He returned to Britain in May 2000, to continue as a director of Bartlett Scott Edgar, the recruitment advertising business, of which he helped lead a "management buy-in" in 1998. The company was sold to TMP Worldwide in 2001.
Gregory was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexhill and Battle in his native Sussex in June 2001.
Gregory served on the House of Commons Environmental Audit select committee between 2001 and 2005. He was appointed to the Opposition Front Bench as a Conservative whip in 2003, resigned on July 2005 to help run David Cameron's successful leadership campaign.
David Cameron appointed him Shadow Minister for Climate Change & Environment in December, 2005. Greg accompanied David to the Arctic in March 2006, to highlight the dangers of global warming and has since been working closely on Climate Change and wider environmental policy, his policy paper "Power to the People" advocating a radical increase in the use of decentralised energy, greatly informed the Conservative Party policy paper of the same name, published in November 2007.
Greg lead the passage of the Climate Change Bill through the House of Commons in 2008 and was a key author of the Conservative Party’s ‘Low Carbon Economy’ green paper, launched in January 2009.
In October 2008 he was promoted to Shadow Climate Change minister in the new Shadow Department of Energy and Climate Change

Presentation: The challenges facing UK energy production

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Kevin Allars, Director, New Nuclear Build Generic Design Assessment, Nuclear Directorate, HSE

10:00

Kevin is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer.

For 11 years he worked in the nuclear power industry, before, in 1989, joining HSE’s Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, working in assessment, safety research, site inspection and policy functions.

In 2000 Kevin was promoted to Senior Civil Service, responsible for developing policy and legislative reform on nuclear and major-hazard sites. He also coordinated HSE’s input to the Government’s response to the 11.9.01 terrorist event.

From 2003 Kevin headed up HSE’s Chemical Industries Division, responsible for inspection, assessment and enforcement of all on-shore Major Chemical Facilities.

In 2008 he moved to HSE’s Nuclear Directorate, as Deputy Chief Inspector, responsible for inspection, assessment and enforcement at sites such as Sellafield and Dounreay, as well as managing the UK’s operational safeguards activities.

Since February 2009 he has been acting as Director, New Nuclear Build Generic Design Assessment (GDA), responsible for delivering the GDA for the proposed new generation UK reactor designs.

Kevin is involved in charity work: organising wishes for terminally ill children. His hobbies include stock car racing, football, bowls, and live music. He has a son of 29; and a daughter of 26, both of whom have added children to the family dynasty, so at 52 Kevin is a 3-time grandad!

Presentation: The Regulator's role in achieving a balanced energy mix, with nuclear included

One of the Government's challenges to delivering a balanced energy portfolio for the future is to include nuclear power in that equation, and to ensure, through appropriate regulation, that nuclear power is safe and secure, and does not have a disproportionate impact on the environment. It also has a role in ensuring that there are no unnecessary barriers to investment in new nuclear power stations. The presentation, from the regulator's Director responsible for the safety assessment of the new reactors, will outline:
- the role of the independent nuclear regulator in assessing, up front, the adequacy of the safety, security and environmental issues relating to the proposed new designs, known as Generic Design Assessment,
- the importance of the regulatory independence but also of the interactions with the designers, future operators and other Government Departments, and
- the ongoing regulatory role during construction and commissioning phases.

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Malcolm Chilton, UK Managing Director, Covanta Energy

11:15

Malcolm Chilton is Managing Director of Covanta Energy. Malcolm joined Covanta in 2005, when the company opened its UK headquarters in Kingswinford, West Midlands.

Malcolm graduated from Cardiff University with a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and commenced his career in the energy industry with Midlands Electricity in 1974 as a postgraduate engineering apprentice. Over the next 23 years he developed a wealth of experience in various managerial and engineering roles within the energy and waste industries and has been pivotal in advising on a number of major acquisitions and pioneering strategies for the waste management and energy recovery sectors.

Before joining Covanta, Malcolm was a founding director of Energy Power Resources Ltd (EPR). Prior to this, Malcolm was also a director of Associated Energy Projects Ltd, now part of Veolia. For much of the 1990s Malcolm was chairman of the Energy from Waste Association, an industry association set up to lobby government on issues affecting the EfW industry.

Presentation: The role of biomass in meeting renewable energy objectives

Malcolm Chilton will highlight the significant role that biomass must play if renewable energy targets for 2020 and beyond are to be met and will outline the policy and fiscal drivers needed to facilitate more rapid delivery of biomass projects.

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Chris Murray, Director UK Transmission, The National Grid

11:35

Chris started his energy career with East Midlands Gas in 1977 where he held various sales and marketing roles before moving to British Gas Southern as an Area Manager in 1989. Having a gas background he made his first move into electricity in 1992 as Development Manager for UK Power Generation within Global Gas.

He created Accord Energy running that business until 1995 when he was appointed as the first CEO of Phoenix Natural Gas in Northern Ireland.

In 2000 he became Asset General Manager for Transco’s North West of England Network before moving to the West Midlands as Network Director in 2002. In 2003 he joined UK Transmission within National Grid, initially as Commercial Director, followed in June 2005 by his appointment as Network Operations Director.

In February 2007, Chris took up the role of Director of Asset Management where he led a team of 2000 staff responsible for the gas and electricity transmission asset lifecycles – from the point that the need for a new asset is identified to the point where assets are removed from the network. On 1st July 2009 Chris was appointed as Director – UK Transmission in which role he is leading a review of National Grid’s Transmission business and, in particular, National Grid’s response to the need to decarbonise energy.

Chris is a Board Member of the Energy Networks Association and the Energy & Utility Skills Council. He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute, Companion and Trustee of the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers and a member of the Institute of Directors. Chris has also been a Board Member of National Grid Gas, Chairman of the Energy Emergency Executive Committee, a member of the Executive of both NJUG and HAUC, a Director of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, and Council member of both CBI Northern Ireland and CBI North West.

Presentation: Topping up the National Grid: Dealing with future demand

Climate Change and the need to transition to a low carbon economy present a variety of significant challenges and opportunities for National Grid. Chris will explore the issues surrounding how we ensure our national energy networks continue to be balanced in a "renewable & nuclear" world where we expect to see a fundamentally different supply and customer base linked by smart grids.

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John Harris CBE DL, Chairman Coal Forum

11:55

John Harris is chair of the UK Coal Forum (former chair of the Coal Authority), and other current non-executive roles include chair of the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency Audit Committee (and a member of the MoDPGA Owners Advisory Board), chair of the Guinness Northern Counties Housing Association North East Region Committee (former member/chair of NCHA and former member Guinness Trust Partnership Board), and chair of the Governors of The Wakefield District Community School.

He was awarded the CBE ‘for services to industry’ and is a Deputy Lieutenant of South Yorkshire. He has two Law Degrees from Cambridge University (Clare College).

He commenced his career as a solicitor, specialising in planning, development and urban regeneration - then moving into executive management, latterly as Chief Executive of the South Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council.

He moved into the private sector as a management consultant, including being Founder Executive Director of an international consultancy company working in the UK and overseas (particularly post 1994 in South Africa). In recent years he has specialised in non-executive roles serving as a member/chair of a variety of national, regional and local organisations.

Presentation: Coal Fired Power Stations... are they the future?

The UK Coal Forum was convened by the UK government ‘to facilitate dialogue with and within the energy industry’ and the c. 45 energy stakeholders who are members have sought to fulfil a remit ' to work to ensure that we have the right framework, consistent with (the government’s) energy policy goals, to secure the long term contribution of coal fired power generation and optimise the use of economical coal reserves in the UK’. It has issued two reports and a third should be available in December.

John Harris CBE DL has chaired the CF for the last two years and will outline the work of the Coal Forum and their view of the 'right framework' which would enable 20 mt of indigenous coal to be produced annually for the forseeable future and for coal to be utilised acceptably by industry for power generation in the UK. He will refer to the varous aspects of security of supply and generation capacity, to coal as part of the energy mix, to carbon capture and storage, and to public perceptions.

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Dr Gordon Edge, Director of Economics and Markets, British Wind and Energy Association

15:00

Dr Gordon Edge has been involved in energy throughout his career, initially in academia, followed by journalism. After gaining a PhD in power systems planning from Imperial College, he undertook a research fellowship in energy and the environment at the University of East Anglia, a post sponsored by Eastern Electricity (which later became TXU Europe).

Moving from there into journalism, he worked on a number of specialist electricity magazines before being recruited by Financial Times Energy in 1999 to establish and edit Renewable Energy Report, a monthly publication covering business and policy developments in the wind, solar, biomass and geothermal sectors. After five years in that role, he joined BWEA, where he initially had the role of Head of Offshore, and now works as Director of Economics and Markets.

At BWEA, Gordon leads on all issues relating to economics of renewable generation, and in particular the Renewables Obligation, UK’s green power support mechanism. He also has responsibility for issues relating to delivery, supply chain and industrial development.

Dave Sowden, Chief Executive, Micropower Council

15:00

Dave Sowden was appointed in 2003 as the first Chief Executive of the Micropower Council, an organisation he co-founded with Lord Ezra consisting of over 25 companies, Trade Associations and environmental groups to advocate the role that small scale low and zero carbon technologies can play in the Energy Policy Mix. Since 2001, he has also run the UK government’s work programme to remove regulatory barriers to the uptake of microgeneration. He is also the founder and owner of JDS Associates, a consultancy specialising in strategies for regulatory and public policy change in the sustainable energy sector, and in 2006 he was appointed by the Energy Minister to a board of government advisers on renewable energy policy. His early career was spent in the UK electricity industry, specialising in regulation and government policy, both in the UK and in Brussels.

He is an electrical engineer by training, holds an honours degree in Electrical Engineering, an MBA from the University of Warwick and is a Member of the Institute of Director, the Institute of Engineering and Technology, and the Energy Institute.

Dr Keith Tovey, Energy Panel Member, Institution of Civil Engineers

15:00

I read Mechanical Sciences at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and for my PhD had the opportunity to be one of the pioneers into the development of electron microcopic methods for studying soil microfabric in the Engineering Department at Cambridge. Following four years as a junior member of faculty in that Department, I joined the School of Environmental Sciences in 1973. During most of 1979 I was an Associate Professor in the Geology Department at Arizona State University. In 1981 I became a chartered Civil Engineer.

During 30 months of unpaid leave of absence from UEA from 1982 to 1984, I advised the Hong Kong Government on landslide matters, and was responsible for establishing the Geotechnical Information Unit as a central repository for all geotechnical, geological, hydrological and related information in Hong Kong. At the time the unit was unusual as it was open to the public all of whom had access to information on any of the several tens of thousands of boreholes which had been drilled.

I made substantial advances in quantitative image analysis of soils during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s with collaborative research with Arizona State University, University of Glasgow, Moscow State University, University of West Indies, Jamaica, and Hong Kong University. At the same time I began my research interest in energy related matters. From 1992 to 1996 I was Vice Chairman of Sub Commission B of the International Society of Soil Science and from 1996 to 2002 I was International Secretary, (and for much of the time also Acting co Leader) of the International Geological Correlation Programme 396: Continental Shelves in the Quaternary.

Since 2001, my research has been largely focussed on energy and carbon reduction although during parts of 2003 – 2005 I also developed new methods of landslide hazard management in Trinidad in a collaborative project with the University of the West Indies, Trinidad.

Since 2003, I have been regularly advising numerous groups within the Energy Industries and Parliaments, from Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakstan, and more recently on collaborative projects exploring low carbon futures in China. In 2003 I became Energy Science Director of CRed (the Carbon Reduction Programme) and more recently also as HSBC Director of Low Carbon Innovation at UEA. Both these roles have involved numerous presentations to public bodies as well as the Scientific Community in promoting low carbon futures for the UK.

Graham Meeks, Director, Combined Heat and Power Association

15:00

Graham Meeks has been the Director of the Combined Heat and Power Association since August 2007. He previously worked in the advisory team of specialist investment bank Climate Change Capital and as Head of Fuels and Heat at the Renewable Energy Association. He was Head of Policy for the CHPA between 2000 and 2003. Graham is an engineer by background and in his early career served in the Royal Engineers.