The Old Etonian Environment, Energy & Sustainability Society (OEEESs)

Members,

We had an enjoyable and interesting evening at the Cavalry and Guards Club with guest speaker Michael Liebreich (Chief Executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance) who was interviewed by Charles Perry (Founder of SecondNature). The wonderful photographs, very professionally taken by Danielle King, capture some amusement shared by both audience and speakers on the UK’s renewable energy performance compared to old rivals such as Germany. Michael confirmed that Germany has achieved grid parity (renewable energy same price as fossil fuels) with the former soon to be cheaper than the latter. Once again, we have some catching up to do.

Photographs of the event: http://www.danielleking.co.uk/proof/OEREA/index.html

Charles Perry interviews Michael Liebreich at the Cavalry and Guards Club.

The HEEDnet seminars are sponsored by the Cambridge Trust for New Thinking in Economics and HEEDnet.  The next seminar is kindly hosted by DEFRA and is entitled:

NUCLEAR POWER: HOW COMPETITIVE IS IT UNDER ELECTRICITY MARKET REFORM?

Seminar at DEFRA, Room 808, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London
5.30 (for 6.00) till 9.00 pm, Tuesday 17th July 2012

The seminar will be followed by refreshments at 8.00pm, to be provided by the Cambridge Trust for New Thinking in Economics.

Topic:
How is it that all three nuclear power consortia are in various states of withdrawal or uncertainty about moving ahead with their proposals?  Might this have anything to do with negative financial appraisals of nuclear new build prospects in the face of the Electricity Market Reform Proposals?   Should earlier Government assessments of nuclear power’s relative competitiveness (compared with renewable energy) in practical liberalised market conditions be subject to critique?  Dr David Toke analyses nuclear costs from the standpoint of how they may be assessed by a consultant hired by a credit rating agency considering actual project delivery costs.  This he argues is a surer way to assess whether nuclear (compared to other fuels) can be brought to market under EMR proposals than Government assessments that have so far been done.

Chair:
Henry Leveson-Gower
Policy Adviser in Defra and an environmental economist for almost 20 years working on a wide range of policy areas.  He is also the coordinator of Heednet.

Presenter:
Dr David Toke
Senior Lecturer in Energy Policy at the University of Birmingham, based in the Department of Political Science and International Studies.  He has published various analyses of the political economy and practical financing of renewable energy, as well as research into the commercial practicalities of technologies such as combined heat and power and nuclear power.  In the earlier 1990s, he was Managing Director of a wind power company which bid for a contract under the NFFO scheme.

Discussant:
Mike Thompson
Leader of the central analytical team at the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), covering the power sector and cross-cutting issues relating to carbon budgets. Mike has been with the CCC since the secretariat was first established in shadow form in 2007, and has covered a range of topics, from advising on Scottish carbon targets to the UK’s fourth carbon budget, and from agriculture to electricity market reform and the Renewable Energy Review.  He studied economics at St. John’s College, Cambridge and University College London.

Followed by discussion.
*
Please present yourself at the building reception on the ground floor.  The staff will have a list of participants and will issue badges.  You will be  escorted to the room.

To register, please e-mail me at dt@camecon.com and I will confirm your place.  There is no charge for attending.  The HEEDnet website is http://www.heednet.org.

Please put 24th April 6pm at Cavalry and Guards Club, 127 Piccadilly for our next OEREA meeting with Michael Liebreich, CEO Bloomberg New Energy Finance as guest speaker – invite to come soon.

Dear Members,

Happy New Year! I feel 2012 will be an exciting year for the OEREA. I am glad to announce that Michael Liebreich, Chief Executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, has been confirmed as a guest speaker (time/venue tbc).

As the site’s administrator, I have been able to witness the expansion of our list of members over the past few months. The OEREA contains a diverse body of OEs from various sectors and stands as a valuable networking platform for individuals interested in the Renewable Sector.

I have so far been able to meet many OEs in the clean-tech finance space. As a recent graduate, it has been extremely interesting for me to meet people in the industry and learn about their backgrounds and skill sets. I have also found it highly valuable to receive guidance on my career and strongly appreciate the OEs who have kindly taken the time to meet me for coffee or lunch.

As we all know, the period since the financial crisis has not been ideal for businesses and employment. However, I feel one should remain optimistic for the Renewable Sector as a growth engine for the UK and global economy. Initiatives, such as the OEREA, could prove to be extremely valuable in both the short-term and long-term as we progress through this period of political and economic uncertainty.

Furthermore, I would be extremely grateful if you could recommend new members. Please feel free to forward the registration form (https://oerea.wordpress.com/about-register/) to other interested OEs. I have already contacted my housemaster, Peter McKee, to try and attract the young generation of sustainability enthusiasts.

I am excited to see how the OEREA will develop over time.

All the best,

Paul Soskin

Miles Montgomerie and Charles Perry are having an informal drink in Burlington Arms, Old Burlington Street, 30th November at 1730. Any OEREA members welcome.

Beers after work.