BHA Hydro Network 2019
 
Speaker Details
Jorn Baayen
Optimisation Expert
Kisters
Jorn heads the optimisation group at the Business Unit Water at KISTERS. The group maintains and develops a dedicated optimisation solution for water systems where both energy contracts, turbine characteristics and hydrodynamics play equally important roles. Previously at Deltares, Jorn is the architect of the software used to control many of the weirs and pumping stations of the Dutch water ways
 
Edmund Bailey MRICS
Director
Baileys and Partners
Edmund is a Chartered Surveyor and Managing Director of Baileys and Partners, which includes amongst others specialist grid connection land officers and engineering consultants. Baileys and Partners is a member of the BHA and specialises in hydroelectric projects, taking a project through the whole cycle from the initial feasibility report, licensing and planning process to project management, successful commissioning and thereafter operations and maintenance. Edmund has significant experience in dealing with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and the Environment Agency in England on licensing and flood defence consents, and also the relevant local Planning Authority where planning consent is required. Edmund has acted in an Expert capacity on valuations of such schemes. He also works alongside the BHA on the Wales Hydropower Stakeholder Group assembled by NRW and a Task and Finish Group for Hydropower assembled by Welsh Government, influencing future abstraction and impoundment licensing guidance for Welsh applicants.
 
Prof. Chris Binnie FREng
Independent Consultant
After earning a double first in engineering from Cambridge, Chris attended the hydropower course at Imperial College. He was responsible for the design of the dams of the 1500 MW Dinorwig pumped storage project in Snowdonia and has been a Reservoirs Act panel engineer for 30 years. He was on the Management Board of the Severn Tidal Power Group and chaired the DECC Independent Technical and Engineering Expert Panel for the Severn tidal power studies. He was also on the design review Panel of the Mersey barrage and the Wyre barrage. The ICE gave him the Hislop Award for his paper on Tidal Energy in the Severn. He was also President of CIWEM and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Visiting Professor at Exeter University. Formerly a main board director of Atkins Consultants, he is now an independent Consultant.
 
Josh Brown
Renewables Manager
Co-op Energy
Josh is the Renewables Manager for Co-op Energy, previously spending over five years with renewable energy consultancy Natural Power, where he managed renewable energy projects from feasibility through to construction in the UK and Ireland. As the Renewables Manager he manages Co-op Energy’s ever growing Power Purchase Agreement portfolio and is in charge of implementing their pioneering Community Energy Strategy.
 
Ian Cook
Director
ICCL
Ian is a professional electrical power systems engineer who has been involved in hydro engineering for over thirty years. He was employed until fifteen years ago as Electrical Engineering Manager by First Hydro Company at Dinorwig and Ffestiniog Power Stations, leading the solution to many problems on the electrical to 400 kV systems and control equipment and additionally undertook many multidiscipline projects. Currently working as a Consultant including in a project management role for multidiscipline hydropower projects, Ian's specialisms include electricity/energy storage, high voltage electrical engineering - including hydropower stations and all aspects of the power systems connecting hydropower stations to National Grid (ESO) and the DNO and other grid systems, including the associated Connection Agreements.
 
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.
 
Adam Cropper
Project Director
Ellergreen Hydro Ltd
Adam, a mechanical engineering graduate from Southampton University, has been working in hydropower and pump engineering for the past 10 years. He is a BHA Board Member and Director of Ellergreen Hydro Ltd, a hydro consultancy operating in North West England and South Wales that has an extensive portfolio of hydro stations developed or project managed by Adam and his team. The Company now maintains and operates 10 hydro stations ranging in size from 15-900KW, as well as providing feasibility, consenting, design and project management services to new projects. This currently includes nine new hydro plants currently moving into construction, making use of the Feed in Tariff pre-accreditation two-year construction window.
 
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.
 
Henry Dixon
Chairman
North Wales Tidal Energy & Coastal Protection Ltd
An Engineering & Management graduate from Durham University, Henry started his career in the Army, serving for 9 years in the 14th/20th Kings Hussars. After a brief period with Ferranti plc, Henry joined his wife at Barrett Dixon Bell (BDB), a marketing agency specialising in industrial and B2B campaigns. Under their leadership, BDB became of the country’s leading agencies, winning the Queens’s Award for International Trade and the PRCA’s International PR Agency of the year in 2011. In 2012, Henry became High Sherriff of Clwyd, working throughout Denbighshire, Conwy, Flintshire and Wrexham to represent Her Majesty and support the Judiciary, 3rd Sector and industry. In 2015 he became Chairman of North Wales Tidal Energy & Coastal Protection (NWTE) and is passionate about achieving the Company’s aims and objectives. He is also involved in a number of other companies in health and cleantech.
 
Julie Dracup
Senior Advisor, Water Resources
Environment Agency
Julie has worked at the Environment Agency since 2002, predominantly in water resources. As a water resource specialist, she has worked across all aspects of water resource management including abstraction and impoundment licensing, drought management, water company planning and the development of abstraction licensing strategies. Now working as a senior advisor in the national water resources team, her current work is focused on improving the way we manage water. Julie is leading the work to move the regulation of abstraction and impoundment licensing to the Environmental Permitting Regulations regime.
 
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.
 
David Harries
Partner
Aaron & Partners LLB
David Harries heads the Planning, Environmental, Energy and Regulatory practice at Aaron & Partners LLP Solicitors and specialises in renewable energy. Under his leadership, the team acts for developers, land owners, consultants, suppliers and manufacturers, advising on all aspects of renewable energy and all sizes of scheme, including numerous hydro schemes. In the course of doing so, Aaron & Partners LLP has gained a knowledge of the issues of renewable energy installations, which is detailed but rounded and highly practical. In particular, the firm aims to give sound, clear, practical advice, on time and on budget.
 
Julian Jones
Volunteer
Water21
Julian Jones is a Distinguished Fellow at Schumacher Institute. Julian volunteers for Water21, a non-profit Agenda 21 organisation. He developed sustainable drainage, or 'SUDS', to address public health issues linked with sewage contaminated aerosols spraying from weirs during spates (sewage & rainwater soft engineering) to resolve this, demonstrating this first on BBC TV in 1991; the first UK Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) in 1993 for Stroud District Council, and the first UK Defra Pilot sustainable catchment proposal for Severn Trent Water in 2004. Julian is the Hon. Water Scientist for Gloucestershire NHS, funding and mentoring postgraduate studies into river catchment management. He represented Coventry University at the Parliamentary APPG Commission of Inquiry into flood resilience of the future (2015), which highlighted his recommendations and has honorary posts at Cranfield Health and Ossberger.
 
Mattias Kullberg
Senior Mechanical Engineer
Multiconsult
Mattias is a Mechanical Engineer with ten years of experience in hydropower development in Norway and over 50 power plants on his CV. The portfolio is varied with 1-25 MW installed power and 9-650 m gross head. He currently works for Multiconsult Norway as senior advisor, working as a project manager and owner’s engineer. Previously team leader for a cross-discipline engineering group at Norway’s largest small-scale hydropower developer,  Mattias has a special interest in innovation and is eager to utilize new technologies and new way of thinking design for hydropower. He has been part of the hydropower boom that has been going on for the last 15 years in Norway. Low energy prices forced developers to reduce cost and innovation was needed in both design and project management to maintain profitability. Mattias has been working with both of these issues together with developers.
 
Josh Riddett
CEO
Easy Crypto Hunter
Award winning entrepreneur, CEO of Easy Crypto Hunter and one of the UK’s leading Cryptocurrency Mining experts, Josh Riddett, has keynoted at major energy and sustainability conferences all over the UK as well as providing consultation and advice to some of the biggest names in the industry. Josh’s honest and transparent approach to business has established him as the ‘go to guy’ for all things Blockchain and Crypto.
 
Dylan Roberts
Head of O&M
Dulas
Dylan is a highly experienced engineer, having worked in the aerospace industry for 17 years before entering the renewables sector. Having been at Dulas for 11 years, Dylan has primarily been involved with hydropower scheme design but specialising in AquaShear Coanda screens and intake design. More recently Dylan has taken responsibility for delivering Dulas Ltd.’s Operation and Maintenance operations in the UK. Dulas Ltd supplies O&M services to more than 40 hydro installations across Wales and a dozen more schemes across England and Scotland.
 
Harry Terry
Sales Manager
Turbiwatt

Harry is the Sales Manager at Turbiwatt. He has studied many projects and been part of the launch of marketing the turbines in 2013 and has been at the heart of defining the different range of applications of the turbines according to the needs and opportunities in the low head hydro market; the latest development being the T 1300 for larger scale projects. He has carried out more than 70 projects, with many new projects in developing countries for islanding applications. Since joining Turbiwatt and participating in hydro events, the first in Bordeaux in 2014, Harry has always believed in the future development of low head hydro.

 
Dr Richard Voegeli
CEO
Aquazoom AG
Richard holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Oregon. He has a long international career in large organisations and as an entrepreneur. His track record includes 13 years at Swiss Re, last as Industry Practice Leader Global Energy, followed by many full and part time roles as an entrepreneur and consultant, among them in the fields of insurance, investment management, renewable energy and Corporate Social Responsibility. In 2015 he undertook an active effort to focus all protagonists working on vortex hydropower technology into one organisation and set up AquaZoom, which he has been running as CEO since.
 
Charles Ward
Head of Route to Market
New Stream Renewables
Charlie has been involved in financial/commodity markets since 2001. From 2005 he worked as a Fund Manager for a London based Multi-Family Office with a keen focus on renewable development and optimisation. In 2013, Charlie joined New Stream Renewables and is now responsible for New Stream's PPA tendering service for both short and long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).
 
Alan Whitehead MP
Shadow Energy and Climate Change Minister
UK Parliament
Alan has been the Shadow Energy and Climate Change Minister since October 2016 and served as the Shadow DECC Minister for Generation and Transmission from September 2015 to June 2016. During his time in office he has championed the development of a new decarbonised energy landscape and he is frequently lauded by his fellow parliamentarians for his grasp of the complexities of this policy area. Since becoming the Labour MP for Southampton Test in 1997, Alan has served on the Select Committee for Environment, Transport and the Regions; Energy and Climate Change and Environmental Audit. He has a Ph.D in Political Science from Southampton University.