1st Claverton conference 24 Feb 07

From Energy-Experts

ONLY 10 YEARS LEFT FOR ACTION (STERN) - ONLY 3 YEARS LEFT FOR ACTION (PEAK OIL) WHICH PRACTICAL LOW CARBON ENERGY POLICIES SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT IMPLEMENT?

24th Feb at Wessex Water Headquarters, Claverton Down, Bath

Background The conference is a meeting of an impressive array of senior energy experts, specialists, policymakers and writers covering all aspects of the subject who have been debating on line practical solutions to lowering dependency on fossil fuels for the last 12 months (some for 30 years in fact), and who are getting together to begin to begin to thrash out a provisional energy policy list. The network had 140 members at the last count. The exercise will be repeated at another conference in 3 months time. Policy makers, Govt advisers. think tanks etc. are specifically invited to participate in the conference and the on line discussions.

The energy subject is so complex (technical, political, sociological) that unless all dimensions are knowledgeably and freely addressed, no clear, correct, meaningful answers are possible. This network is intended to ultimately model the true complexity of the issues via the interaction of the specialists each familiar with each a particular aspectof the problem. This means the network should be able to offer well thought out and integrated guidance to government, journalists, general public. These interactdive dialogues means thatthe Relevance Paradox, whereby many inadvertently inappropriate polices can be introduced is solved. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relevance_Paradox

The plan is ultimately to produce a carbon reduction plan* including the main policy options. See: The Claverton Consensus (Provisional title ) for the latest list. This objective, and assuming the majority are in agreement, will be discussed at the first meeting and further developed via email discussions for the next meeting which is planned to be April 7th 2007, which will be a more formal conference where various experts Will present parts of an already pre- agreed consensus, which by definition will from an integrated whole.

• Attendees will initially be asked to vote on how many points in the Claverton Consensus should be listed, 0 - 30, and then when the number has been decided to rank them to produce a final ranking using the Swarze method. But we may all agree that no consensus is possible)

Venue: Wessex Water have kindly allowed us to use their Headquarters (an award winning environmentally friendly building) which has numerous meeting rooms and conference facilities, at Claverton Down Road, Bath, BA2 7WW, 01225 526000. If driving, make sure you pass the University on your left hand side, then its about 1 mile further along, just over the mini-roundabout on your left.

Free Bus to Wessex Water HQ leaves from behind Bath railway station at 5.50pm, 6.10 pm, 6.25 pm Friday. Go under arches, over river foot bridge, then left along river and 50 yds on the right is a bus lay-by in the short link road joining the two lanes of the (stupid) one way system.

Domestic Friday evening a low cost quality hot meal plus wine will be provided, also Saturday evening. Breakfast also available at Claverton from 8.00 Sat(Sign up on Registration and catering). Creche, sight-seeing for non attenders. Free Parking,

Chatham House rules apply for the duration of the debates ie no commentary attributable to individuals externally.

Laifong Chiew has offered to video the presentations only of those who want to be videoed, but not any discussion, providing no-one raises objections. Make arrangements with her.

Lap top and Projectors - we have about 15 LCD projectors available - but if you have one please bring it along as we need about 24. Bring your own lap top as well. All CDs must be virus checked at reception.

Programme – this program below is totally flexible so if you want to suggest another topic /change the slant / or suggest another speaker, or if you want to do a topic change this Wiki page. Anyone can do this, or you can put a note on the discussion tab.

Friday Evening - Meet from 6.00 onwards. Hot meal from 7.30 -9.00 drinks / chat / set up till say 10.00pm

8.00 - Breakfast available in building.

9.15 - Chairman’s introduction and overall scene setting - Professor John Hammond Faculty of Engineering & design University of Bath Bath BA2 7AY Director International Centre for the environment (ICE)

9.30 11.00 Workshops – 20 or so simultaneous workshops each presented 3 times with bullet points fed back in poster sessions later. These take the form of a 10 -20 minute presentation by the chairs, named below, then free for all discussion. Attendees would pick 3 workshops to attend in a 1.5 hour period. Rapporteurs will be volunteered on the day and harvest bullet points and the back office will recycle by paper hand out within day.

Some presenters will only give once or twice depending on demand, so we will try to arrange it so that presenters can also get to particular workshops.

Workshops - 30 minute to run in parallel and each repeated 3 times one after the other: NOTE - THIS IS NOT THE LATEST VERSION - CHECK ON Whose going to what FOR LATEST LIST

1. Transforming Technologies - Detailed description of how the UK and other Grids work in terms of load control and the size of embedded load shedding and storage that is potentially available and costs. David Hirst

2. Clean power from deserts to UK: CSP / TREC / EU-MENA energy proposal - / Gerhard Knies / Gerry Wolff

3. Transport energy demand reduction

4. Bio-fuels - scope and feasibility - best uses

5. Scope and practicality mass of European Wind power - Wind Prospect- Colin Palmer

6.World wind power resources

7. Long distance cables - costs and impacts

8. Deleted - combined with 13

9. Peak Oil and energy security - Roger Button

10. Immediate steps to force the incumbents to improve performance such as Requirement to source short term reserve generation from 'cold' plant e.g. Load management on small machines, pumped storage, load shedding. Uniform VAT ONCE ONLY- Bernard Quigg

11. upcoming battery storage technology and role in transport / taking wind power to vehicles - NOBODY

12. Upcoming Renewables - Wave and tidal energy -Professor David Elliot, Open University (One session only)

13, Energy Policy - David Toke

14. The role of battery / hybrid electric vehicles / battery charging stations as storage for renewables

15. Understanding distribution networks. Bernard Quigg.

16. Installation of mass 500 kW CHPs as an interim carbon saver, capacity gap filler, fuel stretcher simultaneous with the development of massive renewable tranche - William Orchard.

17. Greenhouse Gas Cap - A feasible European transport fuel demand reduction Programme. Hugo Spowers an engineer and car designer

19. City wide CHP - Dr Bob Everett (Twice only - at 10.15 and 11.00)

20. Energy Pools - how "Asset-based" Finance using the new UK Limited Liability Partnership ("LLP") makes it possible to invest in energy savings, and more economic to develop renewable energy than any other type - Chris Cook

9.30 - 10.00 - First 30 minute workshops - each attendee picks one workshop

10.00 10.15 - Stretch legs and chat / coffee

10.15 10.45 - Second 30 minute workshop - each attendee picks a 2nd workshop

10.45- 11.00 - Stretch legs and chat / coffee

11.00 - 11.30 - - Third 30 minute workshop session - each attendee picks a 3rd workshop

(There are 20 rooms of varying size, with white boards, and flip charts. 3 rooms have large fixed projectors.)

11.30 -12.00 coffee + poster sessions / consultancy offerings WRITE A POSTER ABOUT YOURSELF / COMPANY AND HANG AROUND TO DISCUSS.

Main Technical Presentations 1: Chair - Dr John Hemming, Director of the Royal Geographical Society from 1975-96

1200 - 1245 Building heating energy demand reduction Programme – Professor Robert Lowe, Prof of Energy and Building Science, Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London

1245 - 13.00 Discussion above

1300 - 13.45 Lunch +poster sessions / consultancy fair

13.45 - 14.30 . A Renewable Electricity Scenario for the UK. based on Green Light a model which models the entire UK energy demand and can model various renewable scenarios picking out leas cost options. Dr Bromely 14:30 - 1445 discussion of above

1445 - 1500 coffee

Main Technical Presentations 2: Chair Maurice Smith - Campbell Carr, National Grid and transmission systems Expert)

1500 - 15.45 William Orchard - CHP proposal 500 kW CHPs on each substation, plus how to correctly use marginal cost analysis to compare insulation with CHP. Why the DEFRA model for CHP economics is wrong.

15.45 - 16.00 discussion of above

16.00 - 17.30 general discussion (yes that's an hour and a half discussion)

17.30 - 18.00 Future of the group, organization and next conference

19.00 Close then optional evening meal at Claverton .

Note: All papers and workshops presentations must be placed on the wiki for initial review by10th February

Posters: All attendees are encouraged to bring a poster displaying interests / advertise any consultancy / any papers of relevant for informal poster sessions. Consultants are encouraged to promote their business.

Rationale Most energy conferences, special tv energy programmes, or newspaper "Special Energy Supplements" indeed government policies come up with a random selection of disconnected and duplicated ideas with no overall integrity - often pet projects of individual promoters, and or vested interests from the incumbent suppliers – audiences / public / politicians / media / are left confused. It is clear that the recent government Energy Review ignored many of the well researched inputs to come to a pre-concieved conclusion.

I believe we as a group of academic experts, commercial practitioners, scientists, engineers, energy consultants, can come up with a reasonably coherent overall global energy plan, backed up by facts, expertise and good modelling. This should be something publishable - in the way The Open University's EERU conference is being published by Earthscan as a book and therefore referable to later on by journalists / other interested parties. There could also be an on line archive of discussions.

The plan is to have an initial relatively informal get together with presentations and discussion, on Feb 24th, to begin to sort out a more or less common view (which has of course been happening with the on-line discussions via Google Groups – many people have clearly shifted positions and learnt new ways of looking at the issue.)

Then, if still thought worthwhile, and there is some sort of consensus after 24th, to go away and modify presentations as required then repeat as a more formal conference say in April 7th 2007 to which as many main stream media / politicians / policy makers etc are invited (there were sadly very few journalists at the excellent OU conference last year ).

This will when different bits of the solution will be presented as a coherent whole - transport, electricity, heating, etc.

It is very important that as many policy makers as possible are also involved - both in the later conference and the on going email discussions.

it seems to me that we at least can present original coherent, evidence and calculation based thinking, unfettered and unbiased in the main by hidden vested interests and agendas .

So Feb 24th is for a mutual sharing of ideas, with the intention to try and come to some sort of agreement for the “Practical Low Carbon Energy Futures,” - we may not be able to at this event but that could be available at the next conference provisionally April 7th 2007.

I hope you can join us in this very modest aim.

If nothing else it will be good fun, and nice to meet everybody, and there are some damn fine restaurants in Bath.

Assistants:

We need the following additional volunteers:

· Rapporteurs - take down bullet points from the workshops, report back via posters and handouts

· Back office - type up and print out on the day

· General guides / ushers, welcoming and assistants

· Liaison with IT

· Liaison with FM

· Secretariat to receive all talks and chivvy authors

· Manage Google archive - it is very messy at present - needs someone to keep it organised and weed out repetition

· someone to compile and send a press release / statement / letter to the editor etc

· creche

Future Group development:

We need to split the group in to about 5 sub groups:

Perhaps

· demand

· supply

· tech

· policy

· economics

· solar

· wind

· conservation

· hydrogen

etc to limit the amount of emails and provide focus.