Especially for the Farming Community - Biographies

Dr Elaine Booth, Non Food Crops Specialist, SAC

Elaine is the Non Food Crops and Oilseeds Specialist at the Scottish Agricultural College. She leads activity in these areas with regard to consultancy to farmers, industry and government, and also applied research and development for a wide range of funders.

Her work with SAC began in 1988 with agronomic and quality aspects of oilseed rape and has developed to study many non-food crops, including energy, speciality oil and fibre types. The potential of bioenergy crops has been a particular interest, beginning with a study on the opportunities for biodiesel in Scotland in 1991. Subsequent work has considered agronomic, technical and economic feasibility of a range of projects with biodiesel, bioethanol, biogas and biomass in the UK and elsewhere. The environmental implications of bioenergy is a further area of activity.

Outwith SAC, Elaine is an active partner in Ednie Farms, a family farming business farm near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. She has direct experience as a renewable project developer, having gained planning permission for a wind turbine on the farm to supply electricity to the national grid. Development of biomass energy opportunities offered by forestry on the farm is also being actively considered.

Ian Cowe, Biomass Development Officer, Forestry Commission Scotland, Grampian Conservancy

Ian’s role is to promote and support the use of woodfuel in the Grampian Region. Working with, and funded by, Aberdeenshire Council, Scottish Enterprise and Forestry Commission Scotland are funding partners in his post.

Ian has extensive experience of supporting biomass installations through Forestry Commission grant schemes such as the Scottish Biomass Support Scheme, Scottish Biomass Heat Scheme, Wood Energy Business Scheme and the Scotland Rural Development Programme. Specialising in woodfuel production and supply, Ian was previously working to improve techniques of wood chip production, drying, and methods of yielding woodfuel from forest harvesting residues. He has a wider background in operational forest management, forest design planning, and forest mensuration.

Ian is available to provide free independent advice on the use and production of woodfuel, and the government support measures available to domestic and business owners for the installation of biomass technology.

Further details can be found at www.usewoodfuel.co.uk.

Mark Jennison, Development Director Scotland, Energy4All and Robert Schiller, Senior Consultant, Laurence Gould Partnership

Mark initially qualified as a marine scientist with a degree in Oceanography in 1987 and a Masters degree in Marine Resource Management in 1991. He started his career on a dredger and on various marine survey and diving boats before progressing shore-side to work in the field of marine, coastal and island management, mainly working on the sustainability of island environments and their communities. This led to the development of a special passion for renewable energy technology, in particular how it can benefit the economic development of small remote communities. Between 2003 and 2007 Mark moved with his wife and family to live and work on the Isle of Tiree, acting as the island’s Development Manager which included progressing the island’s own community owned and operated wind farm. After finishing his contract, he moved back to Perthshire to act as Scottish Development Director for Energy4All Ltd., a not for profit social enterprise and a nationally known success story. E4A develops locally-based renewable energy projects by raising finance through FSA approved public share offers, principally but not exclusively using the Co-operative model of ownership. As a not-for-profit organisation Energy4All’s aim is to encourage and facilitate genuine local ownership of renewable energy projects and is the most successful and well established community renewables development organisation in the UK.

Stewart Johnston, Principal Agricultural Officer (PAO), SGRPID, Grampian Area

Currently, I am acting as manager of the Scottish Government Rural Payments & Inspections Directorate Grampian Area Offices in Thainstone and Elgin. This post holds responsibility for 70 staff and managing the Department’s agricultural subsidy/ grants/ regulatory duties for the north-east, which produces one-third of Scotland’s agricultural output. I am responsible for efficient spend of the area’s running costs (£2m) and payment of subsidy/ grants of (c£200m/ annum). Main roles have included overseeing the successful implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy’s support schemes, leading the introduction of the Scottish Rural Development Programme/ the Scottish Environment and Rural Services initiative and representing the Department on local stakeholder groups.

Prior to moving to Thainstone, I worked for the Department in Dumfries, Hamilton, Thurso and Lairg.

I am involved in my family’s mixed arable/ livestock farming business in Fintray, Aberdeen. I graduated with a 2.1 MA (Hons) in Economics/ Agricultural Economics from the University of Aberdeen in 1996.

Rod McGovern, Consultant, Environment and Design, SAC Consulting

Rod is an engineer who has worked for SAC Consulting over the past 25 years in rural Aberdeenshire. He started as a mechanisation advisor based in the Turriff Advisory Office where he provided advice on engineering matters in a wide variety of areas. He has been involved in energy usage on farms, and in buildings, for most of his career and most recently has specialised in renewable energy options. SAC was providing advice on wind turbines 20 years ago when the economics were not so good. During this time Rod was involved in collecting wind data from which SAC produced a useful guide. As the number of wind turbines in the North East increases Rod is helping schemes through the planning process. He has also been involved with biogas plants, biomass drying schemes and has appraised a number of farm scale hydro schemes. He works with specialists in agronomy, building design, conservation, hydrology, surveying to provide a full consultancy service for rural applications of renewable energy technology.

Paul Phare, Development Manager, Energy4All

Paul's degree was in manufacturing systems engineering from Bristol University. His final year dissertation studied the feasibility of domestic wind systems. Paul joined the renewable sector in 2003 with Vestas Celtic Ltd and later that same year took the opportunity to work with communities in the development of renewable energy projects. Paul has worked with many communities in Scotland across a range of technologies and scales but particularly with biomass and wind.