The Energy White Paper – Will it Chart the Course to 2030?


Session A2 | Day 1, Tues 25 Oct, 11.30-12.45 | Exchange Auditorium, Ground Floor

This session will examine the proposals the Government set out in July in the Energy White Paper and the impact it will have on the development of the wind, wave and tidal industries. Leading figures from Government and business will look at the robustness of the package, and whether it will truly deliver on the need to decarbonise our electricity supply by 2030, as recommended by the Committee on Climate Change.

• Chair: Dr Gordon Edge, RenewableUK
• Jonathan Brearley, Department of Energy and Climate Change
• Ali Lloyd, Pöyry Management Consulting
• Nigel Cornwall, Cornwall Energy
• Gareth Miller, Barclays Corporate
• Matthew Delany, Vestas Offshore A/S

Chair:
Dr Gordon Edge, Director of Policy, RenewableUK

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. After five years in that role, he joined RenewableUK (then known as BWEA), where he initially had the role of Head of Offshore, followed by a period as Director of Economics and Markets. He was recently promoted to Director of Policy. Gordon now has overall responsibility for all policy issues relating to all aspects of planning, economics and delivery of all the technologies that the association champions.
Speaker:
Jonathan Brearley, Director of Energy Markets and Networks, Department of Energy and Climate Change

Decarbonising the UK’s Electricity Market
Jonathan’s address to the conference will cover the rationale for reform of the electricity market, what this means for the renewables sector and what the next steps are in the road to reform.

Jonathan leads one of the Department’s key priorities: the reform of the electricity market to deliver secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity. Previously, Jonathan set up and ran the Office of Climate Change – a cross departmental strategy/ delivery unit. This took forward strategy projects and delivery arrangements across energy and climate change policy. This work included developing the draft Climate Change Bill, setting up the secretariat for the Committee on Climate Change, modelling international climate finance, and public reviews of carbon trading and of deforestation. Prior to these roles, Jonathan worked in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit focussing on domestic policy issues and at (what was) the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, developing the Local Government White Paper. Prior to coming into government, Jonathan worked as a strategy consultant and has an academic background in maths, physics and economics.
Speaker:
Ali Lloyd, Principal Consultant, Pöyry Management Consulting

EMR: The Journey So Far and The Road Ahead
It is essential that the details of the EMR package are designed correctly so as to encourage the increased levels of investment which the government hope EMR will deliver. This presentation charts the history of the EMR proposals to date and how the government has responded to concerns of the wind industry. It then highlights the key outstanding uncertainties, in particular in relation to the proposed CfD FiTs for intermittent generators, and explores the issues surrounding the proposed capacity mechanism and how this could impact on wind generation.

Ali is a member of Pöyry’s renewables team, providing advice primarily to renewable developers on project valuation and off-take contracting strategy. He has a detailed knowledge of the UK electricity market including support schemes for renewable and CHP generators. Before joining Pöyry, Ali was with a renewable operator based in the UK, where he managed the company’s participation in environmental trading schemes, co-ordinated its commodity risk management activities, and led its lobbying activities with government and regulators. Previously he has worked for a large utility, an energy trading organisation, and as a freelance consultant.
Speaker:
Nigel Cornwall, Managing Consultant, Cornwall Energy

 Electricity Market Reform and the Feed-In Frenzy
The Government’s EMR package is a bold move to stimulate huge levels of investment in low-carbon generation and decarbonise the power sector. But the likely preferred mechanism – the CfD FiT – raises important issues for developers, and the presentation addresses these. There are also important interactions with liquidity in wholesale electricity markets, and the paper will argue that reforms being pursued by Ofgem are a pre-condition for the development of these FiTs. It will also explain why it is premature to close the RO for new investment from 2017 and will argue that it should be retained at least to 2020.

Nigel Cornwall has run an independent energy consultancy business since 1994. For the past nine years he has been an independent industry-elected member of the BSC Panel that governs the centralised trading arrangements in the electricity market and is a non-executive director on the Elexon Board. Nigel takes a strong interest in the low-carbon agenda and public policy and also competition issues, working with a variety of smaller players and newer entrants both in the gas and electricity markets. He has also worked extensively for the regulator and consumer bodies.
Speaker:
Gareth Miller, Director, Head of Renewables & Natural Resources Project Finance, Barclays Corporate

EMR: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The presentation will explore the impact of EMR on offtake terms, liquidity for roc-able intermittent renewables both now and in the future. It will assess how policy might impact how investors view foreacast value curves for wholesale power and rocs for renewable generators going forward. It will also explore possible bank credit considerations associated with CFD introduction and the holes that need to be filled to get investors generally comfortable with their introduction. It will summarise by looking at the possible resultant changes in funding models for renewable projects and who might be the winners and losers.

Gareth miller joined Barclays as part of their business leadership programme in 2001. Since then he has held a number of senior coverage and origination roles within their large corporate bank. For the past six years he has spearheaded Barclays Renewable Project Finance Lending team which has funded over 1GW of renewable generating capacity since its inception. Gareth has been involved in the financing of multiple transactions across onshore wind, solar, and electricity transmission in the UK, Ireland and western Europe.
Speaker:
Matthew Delany, Director, Government Relations, Vestas Offshore A/S

Energy White Paper – A Manufacturer and “Pure” Wind Player’s Perspective
The UK is experiencing the most fundamental and radical change to its electricity market in years. In this presentation Vestas, the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturer, will present its analysis and views on the Government’s Energy White Paper proposals and what they mean for the wind sector, touching upon the likely outlook for future wind development in the UK, confidence levels in the supply chain and prospects for “green growth”, the UK’s position as global offshore wind leader, and the challenges associated with re-inventing the electricity market and delivering the proposed reforms set out in the white paper.

Matthew joined Vestas in 2008 from a position as Head of Inward Investment at the British Embassy in Copenhagen. After almost two years as a Policy Advisor within Vestas’ group government relations department, leading Vestas’ UK Government Relations activities, he moved to Vestas’ offshore business unit to head the government relations function, widening his UK scope to a global perspective. Matthew holds or has held positions on RUK’s Economics and Markets Strategy Group and Communications and Public Affairs Strategy group, as well as Scottish Renewables’ Wind group. He holds a bachelor degree from the University of East Anglia and Masters from Copenhagen Business School.