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Our first event in a jam packed November saw The Future Economy Network celebrate “Innovations in Renewable Energy Supply”, as part of an exciting November energy series. The event was attended by a wide range of attentive early-risers, and attendees enjoyed some pre-seminar networking in small break out groups before the event began.
Katherine Piper, Director of The Future Economy Network, welcomed attendees, highlighting the benefits of joining the Network and also sharing updates about The Future Economy Network’s Carbon Neutral Hub in Bristol, Future Leap. Katherine also briefly ran through the plans for The Festival of Sustainable Business.
John Turvill, Retiring Agriculture and AD Specialist at Ecotricity, opened by speaking about how we are within an era of change for Renewable Energy, with a lot of changes to policy. With regards to Green Gas, Ecotricity has the intention of being the greenest gas supplier in the UK. In order to be sold as green gas, at least 10% has to be from renewable sources, Ecotricity has 15%. He stressed the importance of the polluter pays policy to help justify renewables.
Pippa Winship, Energy & Agriculture Policy Analyst at the University of York, discussed agrivoltaics. Energy and food insecurity are challenges facing many communities in East Africa, so Pippa discussed the potential for agrivoltaics - solar panels raised above arable land – as a means to benefit livelihoods through simultaneous production of both electricity and food.
Tom Steward, Senior Regulation & Policy Manager at Good Energy, stated that the energy market is broken. Many energy suppliers market themselves as selling 100% renewable electricity, but in reality they don’t buy a single unit of power from a renewable generator. What’s worse is that this is perfectly legal – millions of customers are being deceived because of a loophole in the regulations. Good Energy call on the regulator OFGEM to change the rules to ensure that when customers choose to support renewable power, that’s what actually happens.
Monika Palaczyk, Senior Investment Manager at Thrive Renewables, explored the different options for businesses to source renewable electricity, from onsite renewables to corporate PPAs.
During all discussions, the audience were invited to ask questions and take part in the conversation throughout. Multiple attendees made use of the 60 second pitch opportunity, and everyone was then able to network in different groups using facilitated break out rooms, before the event finished. A huge thank you to the speakers and attendees of this event, without which our events calendar would not be possible.
