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The heat is on! - Speaker biographies
Jonathan is the Chief Policy Adviser, Renewable Energy, Climate Change and Non-food Crops at the NFU. As a senior adviser to the NFU, Jonathan’s broad range of policy duties draw upon his technical expertise on energy and climate change policy, the global carbon cycle, renewable energy and, in particular, bioenergy. He advises the NFU President and management on the interaction between energy and agricultural policy, including Climate Change Levy sector agreements, and continues to do occasional government consultancy work for BERR (formerly Department for Trade and Industry).
Dr. Scurlock previously worked for the community forests in North East England and Merseyside, where as renewable energy project manager he facilitated biomass energy and other renewables projects, working closely with regional and local government as well as private sector partners. Prior to that he was a government scientist with the US Department of Energy at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, working on biofuels and climate change.
Jonathan is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Open University's Energy and Environment Research Unit. The author of more than 50 research papers and book chapters, he was educated at Oxford and London Universities, and spent 10 years in the academic sector, specialising in biomass energy, the carbon cycle and plant physiology. He has worked in more than 30 countries, particularly on the African continent.
With a Degree in Chemical Engineering, Richard spent 26 years working for British Sugar, the last 12 years as General Manager of the Brigg Factory in North Lincolnshire. During his career he developed a particular interest in energy-related issues leading an initiative to reduce company energy demand by 25%. This also involved new combustion technologies such as fluidised beds.
He has been involved with the East of England biomass sector since 1995, generating electricity from poultry litter. By starting initially at Eye and then moving to the £70M Fibrothetford project as construction started, he was instrumental in the creation of what was then the largest European biomass power station.
With another interest in Environmental Management, Richard advised SMEs on environmental issues and resource efficiency before joining Renewables East in January 2005, focussing initially on biomass and then biofuels. He is now responsible for covering the whole Bioenergy sector. This includes the RE project 'Recovering resource value as renewable energy.
richardparker@renewableseast.org.uk
James Beal became Managing Director of Renewables East - the agency for renewable energy in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire - in May 2004.
James' previous role of Sustainable Development Manager with Yorkshire Forward and interim CEO of Future Energy Company, included bringing forward low carbon solutions within the regional economy, representing the region's energy interest at a national and international level, and raising awareness of sustainable development and carbon related issues.
Prior to this, James worked as Sustainable Development Analyst, Planning Strategy Team (2001 – 2002) and Environment Assessment Officer (1999-2001) for Warwickshire County Council. He is also director of Kirklees Energy Centre, an independent energy efficiency advice centre for Calderdale and Kirklees, West Yorkshire.
James was born in Comberton, a large village situated 5 miles west of Cambridge. He graduated from University of Durham in 1995 with a BSc(hons) Environmental Management. After completing a Masters of Research Built Environment at the University of Leeds in 1996, he spent two years researching sustainable building at the Building Research Centre, University of Salford.
jamesbeal@renewableseast.org.uk
Anna is the Water Policy Adviser for the NFU, working in Head Office at Stoneleigh in the Environment Team. She has a background in Geology and Hydrogeology and spent over 6 years working for an Environmental Consultancy as a hydrogeologist undertaking a variety of work including site investigations, groundwater risk assessments and groundwater resources assessments.
During the past 3 years she was involved in the groundwater aspects of the Water Framework Directive, working on the UKTAG Groundwater Task Team and on Initial Characterisation and methods for classification for the Environment Agency. She now has responsibility for water policy at the NFU covering water resources, quality, flooding and water efficiency. She is involved in a number of UK Stakeholder Groups including the Agricultural Water Resources Liaison Group, Catchment Sensitive Farming, Water Framework Directive, Flood Risk Management, Agricultural and Wetlands Technical Advisory group as well as the CIWEM Water Resources panel, the Forum for Water and the EU Working Group on Floods.
Jerry is a Principal Research Fellow in Irrigation and Water Resources at the Centre for Water Science, Cranfield University. His main areas of interest are in agricultural water resources management and planning, water auditing, irrigation efficiency and climate change impacts. He has been involved in numerous research and training initiatives across Eastern England over the last 15 years working with a range of organisations including Natural England, EA, EEDA, BPC, HDC, and many individual agri-businesses. Since 1997 he has been the Honorary Secretary of the UK Irrigation Association (UKIA).
Ian has been with Forest Research since 1997. He is based at Alice Holt, Surrey and spent the first 8 years of his career working almost exclusively on short rotation coppice of poplar and willow, investigating relationships between site conditions and yield. Over the last 2 years he have been involved in other research and tecnology transfer projects and has helped set up the Biomass Energy Centre. The BEC was launched in April 2006 following recommendations made to government by the Biomass Task Force lead by Sir Ben Gill. The BEC provides independent advice and guidance on all biomass fuel sources and conversion technologies, not just woodfuel. BEC reaches its audience via a website www.biomassenergycentre.org.uk , a dedicated 'helpline' and by attending events ans shows (both small and large) across the UK.
Richard represents HGCA (Home-Grown Cereals Authority), a levy board organisation whose function is to improve the production and marketing of UK cereals and oilseeds. Richard’s role within HGCA is to promote industrial uses of crops such as biofuels, bioplastics and biolubricants. Prior to HGCA, Richard worked as an R&D scientist in industry, on various aspects of crop improvement.
Andrew Pitt is the coordinator of Waterwise East, a new initiative that will advance the water efficiency agenda in the East of England focusing on development and the built environment. Andrew spent the last five years managing the Hampshire Water Partnership and prior to that was involved in medical research.
Bruce Tofield focuses on innovation and community engagement within CRed, the Community Carbon Reduction Programme based at UEA. He is CRed spokesman on biofuels and oversees CRed's and UEA's activities within the EU-supported Civitas SMILE programme on sustainable cities. UEA is a local partner in SMILE along with Norwich and Norfolk County Council and several local businesses. CRed has enabled the creation of a local supply chain for biodiesel sourced from used vegetable which is now being supplied to a growing number of customers by CPS Fuels Ltd. Local bus fleet operators including Anglian Buses and the Norfolk Constabulary are now using biodiesel blends as part of SMILE.
Before joining CRed, supported by Business Link, he created learning networks to share excellence among mainly small businesses in Norfolk and the Eastern Region. As a scientist, he created and ran innovation projects from which came the lithium batteries that power portable electronic devices and low cost sensors for ozone, carbon monoxide and many other gases. The SMILE project is now using some of these sensors to monitor oxides of nitrogen emitted by diesel-powered vehicles in Norwich.
He has been Director of The Technology Centre, Johnson Matthey plc, Head of Materials Physics and Metallurgy Division, Harwell, and a member of the Technical Staff, Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, New Jersey. His degree was in chemistry at Oxford.
Tel: 01603-592583, E: b.tofield@uea.ac.uk; Web: www.cred-uk.org
Ben Dyson joined Remade in early 2005 to oversee end market development projects for compost products manufactured from recycled organic waste. Qualified in rural resource management, Ben has over 10 years experience in landscape construction, and amenity horticulture. Between 2001 and 2005 he successfully set up and ran his own landscape construction and maintenance business.
Ben has a particular interest in the sustainable management of soils, and through his role at Remade is working on projects to promote increased use of compost in agriculture, topsoil manufacture and sports turf improvement. He is also actively assisting composting businesses in the east of England to realise greater value from the production and sale of quality assured compost products.
Ben is currently leading the organics programme for the EEDA funded Remade East project and is Chair for the Remade Network UK special interest group for organics.
David Sillett gained an Agriculture Degree at Reading University before running and developing the small family farm in East Suffolk. He grew the business to include intensive and extensive cattle rearing, and agricultural contracting, also briefly lecturing part time at Otley College. 1999 saw a major change in the farming business, centred around the conversion of traditional buildings on the farm into high quality self catering holiday cottages, which are now the main focus of the business – freeing David up to take work off the farm. Following a year working for the Forum of Private Business, he joined FRCA (which became Rural Development Service) in 2000 to work on the delivery of England Rural Development Programme – Project Based Schemes until the programme closed in 2006. David joined EEDA when delivery of Rural Development Programme socio-economic funding was transferred to the Regional Development Agencies in October 2006, working as a Rural Development Manager to facilitate the delivery of funding to improve the competitiveness of farming and forestry businesses and to improve the quality of life in rural areas.
Christine is one of the nine Catchment Sensitive Farming Officers within East Anglia. Since the project started in 2006, she has been working in the headwaters of the Little Ouse and the River Black Bourn, Suffolk. Prior to this, she worked as a Water Resources Officer at the Environment Agency and as a hydrologist for a consultancy. She also holds an MSc in Catchment Dynamics & Management.
Derek Holliday - CLA