Vision to Action - Biographies

David Anderson, Senior Vice Chairman, Institution of Civil Engineers, Glasgow and West of Scotland

David Anderson is Senior Vice Chairman of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Glasgow and West of Scotland and is incoming Chair for Session 2009/2010. David is a past Chairman of the ICE's Energy Board from 2001 to 2005 having served on both the ICE Energy Board (1996 - 2000) and ICE Environment & Sustainability Board (1998 - 2001). David won the ICE President's Medal in 2005 for his work in the media and evidence to the HoC Select Committee on Energy. David also served on the Scottish Executive's Steering Group for Biodiversity from 2001 to 2005. David is a graduate of both Aberdeen and Glasgow universities and has spent his entire working life in the energy sector; the first 10 years with Taylor Woodrow and James Williamson & Partners and the last 28 years with ScottishPower where his final position was Business Improvement Director with its Energy Wholesale business. David is now Chief Executive of the Industry and Power Association. David is married with two children and his primary interest is trekking abroad and he recently celebrated his 60th birthday at Everest Base Camp.

Tom Barbour, Director, Thermal Image UK

Tom originally trained as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand, and in his early career worked in finance and internal audit roles with Prudential in the UK and SMEs in New Zealand. On returning the UK Tom worked as internal auditor and then Corporate Responsibility Manager with ScottishPower. A developing interest in the environment and in particular opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of buildings led Tom to undertake training and gain experience in the field of building thermography. In February 2008 Thermal Image UK was established, and now has clients including housing associations and industrial and commercial property managers across the UK.

Tom lives near Glasgow and is married with three young daughters.

Dr John Bingham, Manager Low Carbon Technologies, TUV NEL Ltd

Following a career in engine and thermal systems development, John has now assumed responsibility for TUV NEL’s low carbon technology business covering renewable energy systems and sustainable transport applications. He has been instrumental in establishing the Energy Technology Centre in East Kilbride and in expanding activities at the Myres Hill wind turbine test site.

Dr Keith Blackwood, Senior Manager, RWE Power International

Graduating with a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Strathclyde, Keith’s early career was in the optoelectronics industry, based in the UK and the US. In 2002 he assisted in the development of novel optical wind sensing devices for the renewables market. After four years in this area he joined RWE npower as European Business Development Manager for RWE Power International, responsible for developing RWE’s third party business in Europe.

Michael Brown, Director, Delta Energy & Environment

Michael Brown is a Director of Delta Energy & Environment, the Edinburgh-based research and consulting firm specialising in international markets for decentralised energy (DE) and low carbon energy utility strategies (www.delta-ee.com). Delta provides its clients with:

• Deep understanding of the market trends and prospects for products and services in the DE sector.
• A series of subscription-based research services relating to these sectors, including micro-CHP, energy storage, international CHP markets and electric vehicles.
• Commercial due diligence for emerging products in these sectors.
• Sectoral foresight studies on low carbon DE products and solutions.

Delta’s main client groups are:

• Energy utilities in Europe and North America
• Energy & environmental policymakers
• DE product manufacturers and developers
• Investment banks and clean tech funds

Adam Bruce, Chairman, BWEA and Global Head of Corporate Affairs, Mainstream Renewable Power

Adam joined the international energy company, Mainstream Renewable Power, in November 2008, after a period with Scottish & Southern Energy as Head of Sustainable Development.

He joined SSE after the acquisition of Airtricity where he was UK Chief Executive, responsible for the teams that developed Europe’s largest onshore and offshore wind farms.

Adam was elected Chairman of the BWEA, the UK’s leading renewable energy trade association in June 2007.

Prior to joining Airtricity Adam was Director of Public Policy at UK law firm McGrigors, working in Edinburgh, London and Brussels. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the SCDI, a director of the Westminster Forum and a Fellow of the RSA.

Adam read history at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was President of the Union, and law at Edinburgh University. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife and family.

John Cherrie, Business Development Director, Thermal Generation Division, Mott MacDonald

John is business development director for the Thermal Power Division of Mott MacDonald’s Energy Unit and is responsible for business development and strategy associated with promoting all the divisions services to the wider Energy Sector. John has worked in the power sector on major projects as Project Director and Project Manager with a considerable amount of time associated with construction and EPC contracts. John is a Director of the Industrial and Power association which is an organisation aimed at promoting cooperation in the energy sector in Scotland. Prior to joining Mott MacDonald John worked as a Turbine Engineer with GEC Alstom on Coal, Nuclear and CCGT power plants. He holds a BSc degree from Heriot Watt University and is a Fellow of the IMechE.

David Clarke - Chief Executive Officer, Energy Technologies Institute

David Clarke joined the Energy Technologies Institute as Chief Executive Officer in January 2008 from his previous role as Head of Technology Strategy at Rolls-Royce plc.

He has been involved in collaborative research and development of advanced technologies for over 20 years, leading a range of research groups including Rolls-Royce’s Advanced Materials development activities and its corporate Strategic Research Centre. With the latter group he led the evaluation and development of new technology opportunities in fields as diverse as fuel cells, electrical propulsion technologies and advanced computational diagnostics.

He has also been a member of EPSRC Council and is a member of the North West Science Council.

David graduated from the University of Surrey with a BSc in Materials Technology and a PhD in Composite Materials. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Metals and Mining, a Fellow of the Energy Institute and a Chartered Engineer.

Dr J Mike Farley BSc, CPhys, FEI, FInstNDT, Director of Technology Policy Liaison, Doosan Babcock Energy Limited

Dr Farley has worked with Doosan Babcock and its predecessors since 1974, initially within the Research & Development Department and later in the Technology Centre, becoming Director of Technology in 1998 and Director of Technology Policy Liaison in 2002.

Dr Farley represents the company on the Advanced Power Generation Technology Forum and is a member of the Government’s Advisory Committee on Carbon Abatement Technology. Both these groups are involved in the preparation of the UK government’s Carbon Abatement Technologies Strategy for Fossil Fuel Power Generation and agenda for Research, Development and Demonstration. Dr Farley is also a member of the Energy Research Partnership and a strong advocate of a strategic approach to government programmes for clean coal technology.

Through membership of the Coal Forum and Chairmanship of the TUC Clean Coal Group, he has promoted Clean Coal and Carbon Capture and Storage strongly, in both UK and global contexts. He is a Vice President of EPPSA - the European Power Plant Suppliers’ Association - and a member of the Advisory Committee of the European Technology Platform for Zero-Emissions Fossil Fuel Power Plant.

In Scotland, he is Chairman of the IPA (Industrial and Power Association in Scotland) and a member of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board.

Dr Farley is a graduate and PhD of Durham University, Department of Applied Physics and Electronics.

Duarte Figueira, Head, Office for Renewable Energy Deployment, DECC

Duarte Figueira is presently Head of the Renewables Deployment Team in the Renewable Energy and Innovation Directorate (REID) in DECC. He is responsible for driving forward the deployment of renewables in line with Government policy. He has also been appointed as Head of the Office for Renewable Energy Deployment (ORED) which be established under the Renewable Energy Strategy (RES) to address barriers to deployment, including supply chain, planning and other barriers. Key projects at the moment include the work on the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) leading up to decision by the SOS on offshore wind development and on planning aspects of the RES.

Prior to that he was Director of Infrastructure Projects in UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), responsible for promoting UK industry overseas in priority infrastructure sectors, including power. He has also held BERR posts in the areas of export licensing, non-proliferation policy, business support and competition policy. Before working in Government he had a varied career working for the National Economic Development Office (NEDO), in the labour movement, local government and publishing. He holds an MBA from Warwick University and an MSc in Politics and Administration from Birkbeck College, London University. He relaxes by reading, taking Open University courses and playing tennis and the guitar.

Tom Howes, Renewable Energy Policy Unit, European Commission

Tom Howes studied economics and has worked on a range of resource management and environmental policies in Australia, the UK, the IEA and the European Commission. In his current post in the European Commission he helped negotiate and now follows up the new renewable energy Directive. In particular he works on the co-operation mechanisms contained in the Directive, on the future of subsidy regimes and micro and distributed generation.

Jamie Hume, Deputy Director Renewable Energy, Scottish Government

As Deputy Director Renewable Energy in the Scottish Government, Jamie Hume leads the 30-strong Renewables Division on policy development for on-shore and off-shore renewables, the Saltire Prize, and energy consents and deployment. He previously ran the Enterprise & Industry Division, handling business regulation, support for manufacturing, and the Scottish National Economic Forum.

Keith MacLean, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Scottish and Southern Energy and Board Member, SRF

Since completing graduate and postgraduate studies in Chemistry at Heriot-Watt and Hamburg Universities, Keith joined SSE in 1994 following a career in Germany and Scotland working in Research & Development and Business Management.

At SSE he has worked in a number of areas of the core energy business and was also responsible for starting-up and running its telecoms business from 1997 to 2004. Since 2004 he has been responsible for policy and public affairs. He also has the company lead in sustainability policy - ensuring that SSE carries out its internal and external activities in a sustainable manner, taking a balanced view on the economic, environmental and social elements of its work.

Outside SSE, he is a member of the Executive of the Micropower Council as well as Director on the Board of the Scottish Renewables Forum (SRF). Keith is also Chairman of the Board at the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy (UKBCSE).

In addition to this trade association activity he is a government advisor on reneawable energy policy and was appointed to the Renewables Advisory Board in December 2007.

Donald McNicol, Chief Engineer, Atkins Energy

Donald has thirty years’ experience in the power generation and oil & gas industries and is a Chief Engineer at Atkins Energy with responsibility for providing technological and business development in the field of conventional generation. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers with skills in the integrity and risk management of engineering components and structures. He has undertaken due diligence exercises in the UK, USA, Italy and Africa of brownfield, greenfield and existing coal, gas and hydro stations. He has experience both as a consultant and with an operator of power plants. giving him an understanding of plant related issues from both design and operational perspectives. He has been involved in a number of UK gas storage projects, for Hatfield Moors and Humbly Grove he was the FEED stage Project Manager for ScottishPower and for British Gas E&P he was the Technical Manager at Rough Storage.

His current interest is in supercritical coal-fired power stations and in the technical and economic challenges of CO2 capture for such plants.

Professor Paul Mitchell, Institute of Energy Studies, University of Aberdeen

Professor Paul Mitchell has nearly 30 years experience in conducting research, development and demonstration in renewable energies, particularly focusing on biomass and bioenergy.

He has worked closely with government departments and agencies, research institutes, international organisations and industry as programme and project manager developing biomass and bioenergy as an economically viable and sustainable source of energy. He is the author of over 200 scientific papers, editor of a book and 16 conference proceedings.

Professor Mitchell is based in the University of Aberdeen, College of Physical Sciences where he is Director of the Institute of Energy Technologies. The Institute brings together all the research in the University directed at energy related issues. Prime strengths are in renewables (biomass, biofuels, wave, fuel cells), petroleum geology, storage of nuclear waste, economics & policy, supply system modelling, carbon sequestration, design of energy efficient buildings.

Professor Mitchell is a founder Director of the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) and a Director of the Energy Technology Partnership. He is also Chief Editor of the academic journal Biomass and Bioenergy published by Elsevier.