EU energy conference comes to Edinburgh

An EU-backed conference on the future of energy in Europe is to be held in Edinburgh next month.

Using regions around the North Sea as a test-bed, the conference’s Scottish organisers have been working with partners from Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark to explore how we make better use of our energy systems – electricity, heat and transport – to serve homes, business and public buildings.

The two-day event – the first of its kind – has already attracted the interest of experts and delegates from across the globe. Speakers confirmed for the conference include:

• Cris Stark, Head of Electricity, Scottish Government 
• Dr Ben Kroposki, Director of Energy Systems Integration, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (USA)
• Iván Pineda, Director of Public Affairs, European Wind Energy Association
• Catrinus Jepma, Chair of ENSEA Scientific Advisory Group, University of Groningen and Professor of Economics at the Open University (Heerlen, Netherlands)
• Professor Henrik Lund, Professor in Energy Planning, Aalborg University, Denmark
• Nick Winser CBE, Chairman, Energy Systems Catapult

A spokesman for organisers Scottish Renewables said: “Adapting our energy systems and networks to become smarter and greener could solve many of the problems we currently face as our lives become more dependent on harder-to-source energy.

“For example, allowing communities to produce their own electricity and biofuel, then use it to power their homes and cars, reduces the burden on both the electricity grid and takes tankers off the road network.

“Household batteries which store energy from rooftop solar panels and then use it to power an electric car similarly reduces the pressure on our national electricity grid and puts the consumer in charge of their own energy supply. 

“And spare electricity produced by a wind turbine can be used to create hydrogen gas, which can be stored and later used to power hydrogen buses.