Onshore Wind Conference 2021 Speakers

David Acres

Head of Policy, EDF Renewables UK and Ireland

David Acres has over 20 years’ experience of energy, climate and environmental policy in the electricity sector, spanning renewable, nuclear and fossil technologies. At EDF Renewables, David is responsible for managing policy and regulation for onshore & offshore wind, solar, storage and hydrogen projects.

The company has a development pipeline comprising more than 5GW across Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland. In Scotland there is just under 500 MW in operation across eight onshore wind farms and based on our existing pipeline we are looking to triple this. We have another 500 MW of onshore projects which are already consented, another 500 MW in development and planning and we are continuously adding further new projects to this pipeline.

Currently we are building the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm in the Firth of Forth with our JV Partners ESB. In North Lanarkshire work is underway building the 30 MW West Benhar onshore wind farm.

David is chair of the RenewableUK onshore wind forum and vice-chair of the Energy UK Renewables Committee. He is a member of the Energy Expert Panel of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

David Boyland

Commercial Policy Manager, SSEN Transmission

David joined SSEN Transmission as a Commercial Policy Manager in October 2019. He has over 10 years’ experience working within the energy sector, from residential supply, quality assurance to whole system network commercial policy. As part of the Whole System team, David is primarily focussed on representing SSEN Transmission and their stakeholders in industry reform. His role concentrates on supporting the growth of network development in the north of Scotland, to support the fast speed of change in the way that the electricity is being generated and consumed. With a passion for decarbonisation and ensuring that UK households and businesses are supplied by clean green electricity; David’s primary objective is to ensure that the voice of stakeholders in the north of Scotland is heard, ensuring that policy decisions enable strategic infrastructure development to support renewable generation and achieve the UKs legally binding strategic commitment to reach Net Zero.

Simon Brooks

Strategic Planning Manager, NatureScot

Simon has worked in a variety of roles for the Government’s nature agency NatureScot (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage) over the past 30 years. His long involvement with Scotland’s planning system has covered operational delivery, policy development and research, with a focus on protected areas and landscape issues. Current responsibilities include supporting the Scottish Government’s planning reforms, including its work on securing positive effects for biodiversity through development. Simon has followed the development of the wind energy sector with interest ever since completing a Master’s thesis on the Environmental Impact Assessment of wind farms in the early stages of the industry’s growth.

Geum Chrystal

Senior Project Manager, Natural Power

Geum works as a Senior Project Manager within Natural Power’s Planning & Environment team. Geum is a qualified solicitor, who worked in the Rural Land and Business team at a leading Scottish law firm. She has a thorough understanding of property law matters, and her legal background is of great benefit during the Public Local Inquiry process. Geum is responsible for numerous renewable energy projects across Scotland, taking them from the early planning stages through to Public Local Inquiries. Most recently, she was part of the team that was able to secure consent for the planning application of Fred Olsen Renewables’ Crystal IV Wind Farm in the Lammermuir Hills.

Joe Dunn

Head of Grid and Regulation, ScottishPower Renewables

Joe has over 30 years’ experience in the electricity industry working with transmission and distribution networks and renewables. His focus for the last 20 years has been in the world of Regulation and he has a passion for all things renewables, if only everyone could face in the same direction!

Derek Hastings

Head of Onshore Projects, SSE Renewables

Derek Hastings is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, with extensive experience in Project Development, Project Management, Engineering and General Management.

In January 2020, he moved over from SSE Enterprise to take on the leadership of all Onshore Renewable Projects in SSE Renewables. This wide-ranging role encompasses Wind projects – new and re-powering, Hydro and Pump Storage, and solar projects at scale. He covers the UK and overseas onshore areas, overseeing project development and delivery activities, including the current build projects at Gordonbush Windfarm Extension and the Viking Wind Energy Project in Shetland.

Over the years, Derek has worked in a wide variety of power sectors, including Wind, Hydro, Coal, CCGT, Biomass Conversion, Energy from Waste and CCS.

Claire Mack

Chief Executive, Scottish Renewables

Claire has been Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, the representative voice of Scotland’s renewable energy industry, since October 2017. She is responsible for leading the organisation’s work to grow Scotland’s renewables sector and sustain its position at the forefront of the global clean energy industry.

Claire is a member of the First Minister’s Energy Advisory Board and the Renewable Energy Strategic Leadership Group, co-chaired by Scotland’s Energy Minister.

Before joining Scottish Renewables, Claire was Director of Policy and Place at the Scottish Council for Development and Industry. She has previously worked in various roles at Ofcom in Scotland, focusing on economic regulation of telecoms, radio spectrum and the mail market while also looking at developing digital participation of individuals and businesses.

Prior to this Claire worked in retail and the construction industry as well as on regulation of regional broadcasting in the Borders and North East of England.

Lesley McNeil

Head of Onshore Wind Policy and Development, Scottish Government

Lesley McNeil is Head of Onshore Wind Policy and Development for the Scottish Government, with responsibility for the policy considerations around onshore wind development. She has worked in Directorate for Energy and Climate Change for a number of years, with an interest in the barriers to the deployment of wind projects and how these can be resolved. With an academic background in archaeology and history, she is disappointed to be seldom asked to discuss the Neolithic period, cold war diplomacy or, rum-based cocktails.

Charlotte Ramsay

Director - Energy Systems Management and Security, Ofgem

Charlotte has more than 10 years' experience working in the energy sector. In her previous roles she led the creation of National Grids separate Electricity System Operator and spent several years at Ofgem, developing the 'cap and floor' regime for interconnector investment and leading work on integrated transmission planning and regulation.

Jeremy Sainsbury OBE FRICS

Director, Natural Power

Jeremy has been at the forefront of policy at a Scottish and UK level for over 25 years and has been involved with planning, grid and energy policy at ministerial level for 20+ years from which his detailed knowledge of policy is derived. He understands how the renewable energy sector has grown and has been an important part of this growth. Jeremy, an OBE for his services to renewable energy and communities, has been a director of Natural Power since 1999 in which time it has grown from seven to 420 employees, and he has led the company on policy and both onshore and offshore consenting; overseeing 1,000MW of wind projects with a 96% track record.

Andy Sloan

Head of Consent Strategy, SSE Renewables

Andy Sloan is Head of Consent Strategy at SSE Renewables. His wide-ranging role encompasses renewable projects onshore and offshore including re-powering, as well as hydro and pump storage at scale in the UK and Ireland whilst also providing expert advice on land and consenting issues for divestment and acquisitions both in the UK and globally. Andy is a Chartered Surveyor and Town Planner and a member of both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as well as the Royal Town Planning Institute

Marcus Trinick

QC

Marcus qualified as a solicitor in 1983, having studied economic and social history at Queen’s University Belfast. He has always specialised in planning and environmental law, and as a public inquiry advocate. He has appeared at over 600 public inquiries. Since 1988 he has devoted most of his career to renewable energy and has appeared at roughly 110 wind farm inquiries. He has advised on well over 350 onshore wind farms and over 20 offshore wind farms. He has also worked on port and other major infrastructure development, pioneering the use of development envelopes to achieve flexible consents.

Sub-specialisms include noise (Marcus was a member of the ETSU wind turbine Noise Working Group and wrote part of its still current and Government recommended guidance), environmental impact assessment, policy development and planning for nature-based solutions. Marcus was a Director of Renewables UK for over 15 years and was also a Director of Scottish Renewables. He was a founder member of the UK Environmental Law Association.

Marcus was a partner in Eversheds LLP until retirement in 2016, and now operates his own practice with a 100% focus on onshore wind, mainly in Scotland but also in Northern Ireland, Wales and occasionally England.

Marcus was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2010.

Morag Watson

Director of Policy, Scottish Renewables

Morag is Scottish Renewables’ Director of Policy. Her work involves overseeing Scottish Renewables’ policy function and key projects within Scotland’s leading renewables trade body, working on behalf of 260+ organisations to grow Scotland’s renewable energy sector and sustain its position at the forefront of the global clean energy industry.

Morag has worked in policy for over 15 year and was previously a Senior Policy Officer with WWF Scotland, specialising in climate change, sustainable development and behaviour change.

Craig Whelton

Partner, Burges Salmon

Craig Whelton is a partner in Burges Salmon’s planning and compulsory purchase team, based in the Firm’s Edinburgh office. Craig specialises in the consenting of major infrastructure projects including on and offshore wind, as well as largescale mixed use development. An inquiry advocate, Craig has been very closely involved in the Court of Session “tilted balance” litigations.

Lee Wilkinson

Senior Consultant, BVG Associates

Lee has extensive experience in the energy industry across a range of generation types including wind, solar, hydrogen, batteries, CHP and district heating.

He has provided expert engineering and consultancy services to a wide variety of clients in the UK and across the globe.