Speakers

	Ed Bailey MRICS Partner, Rural & RICS Registered Valuer Carter Jonas Edmund is a Chartered Surveyor and is the Western representative of the Carter Jonas Energy team, which includes specialist consultants and environmental planning specialists located throughout the firm’s offices in England and Wales. The Bangor and Shrewsbury offices specialise in hydroelectric projects (HEP) and have specific expertise and training in LowFlows software which facilitates the means of providing bespoke un-gauged flow data within feasibility studies on any particular site in the UK. The team can take the project through the whole cycle, including the initial feasibility report all the way through the licensing and planning process to project management and successful commissioning. As part of this process, Edmund has significant experience in dealing with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) in Wales and the Environment Agency in England on licensing and flood defence consents, and the relevant local Planning Authority where planning consent is required. Edmund also has experience of acting in an Expert capacity on valuations of such schemes. Edmund currently represents the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) on the Wales Hydropower Stakeholder Group assembled by Natural Resources Wales, influencing future abstraction and impoundment licensing guidance for Welsh applicants.

	Andy Billcliff BHA Chairman Andy is a Mechanical Engineer with 33 years' experience in the power industry. Until January this year, when he took early retirement, he was head of the UK Hydropower business for RWE and Director of Innogy UK and Npower Renewables Limited. He has since had a brief spell working on tidal lagoons and is now about to embark on a more local challenge in North Wales. He has his own company providing executive and specialist support for those involved in the power sector, especially renewables. Andy is a director and Chairman of the BHA, Chair of CBI in North Wales, a member of CBI council for Wales, a member of Energy Island Board representing renewable energy technologies, and a member of the Grwp Llandrillo Menai Corporation Board.

	Chris Blake Director (TGV) Community Energy Wales Chris is a passionate advocate of social enterprise and a founding Director of The Green Valleys – joint winners of NESTA’s Big Green Challenge - which supports community responses to climate change. He is also a founding director of The Green Valleys subsidiary TGV Hydro Limited - dedicated to support the design and development of community micro-hydro schemes in Wales. He has been active in helping to set up of Community Energy Wales dedicated to promoting the community ownership of renewable energy and Chair the Steering Committee of the Lottery Funded RENEW Wales project. Closer to home he is Chair of Talgarth Mill, a community owned, restored water mill. Previously, Chris had a varied career that has included managing educational and professional publishing businesses, a successful internet start-up, early-stage venture funding, business angel, university lecturing, and he is an author on decision making in management. Alongside his interests in social enterprise and sustainability he finds time to be a director of the award winning social video agency Unruly Media.

	Chris Brett Director Hydro Survey Ltd Chris is a Director of the BHA, present Vice-Chairman, and the owner of Hydro Survey Limited. Inspired by a visit to Dinorwig pump storage station as a boy Chris has had a keen interest in hydropower ever since. He trained in engineering in Cheshire, where he was project engineer on flow and temperature regulating valves for thermal power plants. He moved to Gilkes in 1990 and joined the hydro industry in 1994. Chris has worked alongside designers of run-of-river and storage hydro in the UK and overseas. Hydro Survey Limited is an independent hydropower consultancy and is on a mission to make hydropower make sense for developers of all types. Offering a wide range of services to owners, developers and other consultancies Hydro Survey Limited is happy to help.

	Mike Case Head of Turbines Tidal Lagoon Power Mike is an environmental scientist with a background in renewable energy development. He has been developing the turbine technical solution, energy modelling and operational optimisation for the Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay project since November 2011, taking the tidal range energy potential of the UK from a theoretical opportunity through to a commercially viable reality. Before this Mike worked for nearly ten years in Africa and the Middle East managing procurement and logistics in the aid & development, power and airline sectors before developing East Africa’s first commercial scale wind farm in central Tanzania with Wind EA Ltd.

	James Cole Director Hawkins Hydro Ltd James is a corporate finance lawyer and has advised investors on a range of renewable investments, including the privatisation of CEE hydropower operators and the launch of a China focused hydro development acquisition company. James is 47 years old. He has worked in London and New York for over 20 years for leading international law firms, in the last eleven years as a partner. His UK hydro experience includes several site identification, option and lease arrangements, tax and corporate structuring, and permitting. James has an LL.M in corporate and commercial law from King’s College London. He also has significant charity sector expertise in both the hydro and other fundraising spheres. He is a trustee of the Tamar Valley Trust.

	Hugo Elliott Director Hawkins Hydro Ltd Hugo is the owner and CEO of Highland Power, a hydroelectric consulting firm focused upon developing, delivering and financing small hydroelectric schemes predominately in the UK. Hugo is 41 years old. He also has interests in emerging market hydropower development. Prior to this, he worked for Deutsche Bank for seven years in their Real Estate Investment Banking group. Before this he spent seven years as a Commissioned Officer in the British Army in the Coldstream Guards and UKSF. His hydro expertise includes site identification, tax and corporate structuring, finance and cashflow modelling. Hugo has an MBA from the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, USA.

	Kate Gilmartin Administrator Micro Hydro Association Kate has a background in renewable energy and low carbon consultancy. She provides technical consultancy, delivering renewable energy feasibilities across the country, both site specific and broader area scoping studies, working with clients and communities to address and overcome the practical barriers to installation. She has also provided due diligence for potential renewable energy investment assets, undertaking project analysis and financial modelling. Kate has a particular interest in hydro and is the administrator for the Micro Hydro Association, providing support to individuals and developers progressing micro hydro projects. This role involves liaising with the EA and lobbying DECC and Defra to highlight the increasing challenges faced by the industry through regulatory burden, raised abstraction charges and degression. Kate set up the Community Hydro Forum two years ago, which has been awarded funding through the Peer mentorship project to support communities through the complexities of hydro development.

	Grenville Ham Manager TGV Hydro Grenville is the founder of The Green Valleys CIC, a unique community organisation that solely owns a hydroelectric design and construction company (TGVHydro) and part owns a hydro turbine manufacturer (Hydrolite). By day Grenville works for TGVHydro and has been involved in many of the hydroelectric schemes that have been installed across Mid Wales in recent years. He has designed several nationally recognised environmental projects, winning over £500,000 in innovation prize money along with the British Gas Green Streets and NESTA's Big Green Challenge Innovation Prize. He was recognised in the 2013 New Years Honours list for Services to the Renewable Energy Industry in Wales and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts for expertise in social enterprise. He lives in Brecon with his wife and 3 children.

	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. Simon's career has embraced international branded drinks, hotels & leisure, electronic entertainment, magazine publishing, internet businesses and, over the past 12 years, consumer membership organisations. Simon is based in Bangor on Dee, just south of Chester, with two terriers and two young children. He enjoys, when time permits, a love of music, cricket, football, skiing, walking, running and game shooting.

	Ross Lowrie National Permitting Service - Hydropower Lead Environment Agency Ross has been involved in hydropower regulation with the Environment Agency for 4 years, working in Policy to advise on streamlining permitting and implementing the Area Account Manager role before joining Yorkshire & North East Region as Regional Hydropower Lead. He now works for the National Permitting Service as Hydropower Lead. In this role he chairs the Hydropower Flows Panel, ensuring that the new hydropower flows guidance is implemented consistently across England. Ross joined the Environment Agency in 2004 and is based in Tyneside House, Newcastle. He raises a small but growing family in rural Northumberland, only 3 miles from Cragside House, the home of the world's first hydroelectric power station.

	James Marsh Senior Policy Adviser - FiTs Team DECC James currently works as senior Policy Adviser to Ministers and senior officials in the Feed-in Tariffs Team, which is part of the Office for Renewables Energy Development in DECC. Prior to taking up this position in August 2012, he spent over two years as the DECC policy adviser on hydropower and tidal range (barrages and lagoons). He has worked in several renewable energy roles during his 30 years in the Civil Service, including the Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study. James has worked for half a dozen Secretaries of State at DTI, BERR and DECC, and for over a dozen Energy Ministers of all parties, except UKIP!

	Jon Needle Director Derwent Hydroelectric Power Ltd Jon Needle founded Derwent Hydroelectric Power Limited following a long-term passion for waterpower. He has over 20 years' experience in the design, construction, installation and operation of small hydro schemes in the UK. He has developed and now operates nine low head sites with a combined capacity of over 1MW. In addition he has been directly involved in the refurbishment or installation of more than 40 other hydro schemes.

	Olly Paish Director Derwent Hydroelectric Power Ltd Oliver is a Mechanical and Hydraulic engineer with over 20 years’ professional experience in the research, design, and project management of hydropower systems, in both the UK and developing countries. He has been a director at Derwent Hydro Developments Ltd since 2003, working on the consenting and detailed design of small-scale hydro schemes throughout the UK. He wrote the Guide to UK Mini-Hydro Developments available on the BHA web-site.

	Mike Pedley Head of Energy Dwy Cymru Welsh Water Mike has accountability for all aspects of Welsh Water’s energy strategy encompassing energy purchasing, optimisation and generation as well as their energy and carbon reporting. His background includes commercial, technical and environmental themes, much of it in the Water Industry with Yorkshire Water, Kelda and now Welsh Water. These themes combine in his current role where he has overseen Welsh Water’s self generated renewable energy grow from 2% to 10% of consumption in the past 3 years. Mike has long held an interest in hydro, being impressed as a child by visits to see Rheidol power station and the early Centre for Alternative Technology near Machynllyth, and sees hydro as an important part of Welsh Water’s diverse renewable energy portfolio. He lives in the Yorkshire Pennines in a valley of long-gone water-powered woollen mills, works in Wales and when not driving between the two is a keen fell runner and orienteer.

	Richard Rees Managing Director North Wales Hydro Power Ltd I graduated from Reading University in 2009 with a degree specialising in Commercial Property Management and Valuation. The commercial property sector was in a bad place at this time and so I was lucky to be able to turn to my rural roots and gain a trainee land agency position with Carter Jonas before becoming a renewable energy specialist, focusing on hydropower, in the same firm. In February 2011 I started NWHP and in November 2011 I left my position with Carter Jonas before having taken my professional exams. In October 2012 I completed an investment deal with the Hydropol Group and following on from this in 2013 we consented 20 hydro schemes for ourselves and for clients ranging from 15 to 350kW, with a total capacity of circa 2.1MW. The majority of these schemes need to be built by December 2015 and so we have a busy time ahead of us. We currently have another 10 schemes in the formal development process. Having not had an engineering education and as a UK team of 4 we are self-taught and I believe that we view the sector in a less traditional light and being more receptive to risk. My background was in managing risk and therefore in trying to limit uncertainty.

	Emyr Roberts Chief Executive Natural Resources Wales Emyr was born in Benllech, Anglesey, and obtained his first degree in geography and economics at Reading University, follwed by a PhD at Aberystwyth University. After a career with the National Farmers’Union, he joined the Welsh Office in 1991.Following posts in health and culture, Emyr was promoted to senior civil service and held posts in Financial Planning and Economic Policy. In 2003 he became Chief Executive of the Welsh European Funding Office. Within the Welsh Government, Emyr has been Director, Department Social Justice and Regeneration; Director of the Department for Social Justice and Local Government; Director General, Public Services and Local Government Delivery; and Director General, Education and Skills. In November 2012 he was appointed Chief Executive of Natural Resources Wales, which came into operation in April 2013.Emyr is an honorary fellow of Aberystwyth University.

	Tim Simon Assistant Manager - Renewable Schemes Ofgem Tim has worked on the Feed-in Tariff Scheme for two and a half years. Much of this time has been spent handling applications and queries regarding the ROO-FIT application process. He has also been involved in developing the processes and implementing new policy decisions, such as the introduction of Preliminary Accreditation. While working across all the renewable technologies supported under the FiT scheme, he has dealt with a number of applications for complex and unique hydro developments.

	Stuart Stephens Commercial Director Non-Fossil Purchasing Agency After graduating in Politics from Nottingham University, Stuart spent several years with Unilever before working in commercial roles for other consumer goods businesses. For the last five years, Stuart has been Commercial Director at NFPA, leading the team as the organisation makes the transition from a statutory body to a purely commercial business. Outside of work, Stuart is married, living in Yorkshire and spending most of his spare time with his wife and two children but also finding the odd hour or two to train for the upcoming Yorkshire marathon in October.

	David Williams CEng FIMechE DAW Hydro David Williams initially worked for Gilbert Gilkes and Gordon Ltd from Sales Engineer to Manager of the Hydropower Department. From 2000 to the present he was first UKTI’s Hydropower Export Promoter for five years and from 2006 he was the British Hydropower Association’s Chief Executive, retiring in January 2014. In 2004 he was engaged as a Visiting Professor at the University of Edinburgh School of Engineering and he continues to run an annual ten-week course for MEng undergraduates on the design of a hydro scheme from rainfall to selling energy. David is now actively involved in hydropower training courses and was recently invited to partake in courses and workshops in South Africa and Sri Lanka.