What Role do Energy Networks Play in Energy Transition?

This Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk will explore what role energy networks play in energy transition.

It is well known that the decarbonisation of heat and transport together with the shift of generation (primarily wind farms and solar) away from load centres, will add significant electricity demand and will increase the requirements on electrical transmission systems. This will be managed through expansion of the existing infrastructure and flexible management of generation, demand and energy storage. In most countries the creation of additional infrastructure has a long lead time, due to the complexity of integration and the lengthy consenting processes. For the UK it takes approximately ten years from first identifying the need for the infrastructure until it is completed if a Development Consent Order (DCO) is required. We believe that there are opportunities for avoiding and deferring new infrastructure (through changes to the system design principles), to deliver infrastructure in time (through least regrets decisions combined with a robust system for agreeing anticipatory investment) and to move away from traditional solutions through better early assessment of possible solutions.

Speakers

Freddie van der Linde, Director of HV Electrical Transmission and Distribution, Jacobs

Freddie leads Jacobs’ Europe energy networks team. He has international experience in transmission and distribution system design, substation design, regulatory advice, earthing, protection, construction methods, project management and high-voltage engineering, specifically surge arresters and insulators. He is also actively participating in projects to accelerate the transition to zero carbon, including decarbonisation strategies; and projects to enable the energy transition that address power system issues such as inertia, frequency and reactive power and energy, power system flexibility and private networks.

Sultana Begum, Associate Director, Energy, Jacobs

Sultana has worked in the energy industry for over ten years, with experience in areas of carbon capture and storage, HVDC – offshore and onshore transmission, distributed energy (solar and battery storage), energy regulation and policy spanning UK, EU and the USA. Sultana brings a strong track record in building and maintaining strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders within organisations, regulators and energy trading partners. She is passionate about driving change for clients and future generations towards a decarbonised energy future.

Paul Yates, Director of Operations and Head of Sales (Energy), Jacobs

Paul heads up Jacobs’ sales for the Energy business in Europe. He is a Chartered Environmentalist, and has 25 years’ experience as a regulator and consultant. Paul’s professional technical experience is around environmental permitting and consenting of schemes across a wide range of industrial sectors, including waste and waste to energy, advanced thermal treatment, heavy industry, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and power generation. He is also an experienced auditor, leading audits for private sector clients and international finance institutions (IFIs) in the UK and overseas. Paul is passionate about helping clients develop and deliver their low- and zero-carbon schemes, and leveraging synergies within the wider decarbonisation of the economy.

Ian Fletcher, Development Consent Orders Lead, UK and Europe

Ian is a chartered town planner with a strategic role in infrastructure projects that are consented through Development Consent Orders (DCOs). He has been working with major infrastructure projects continuously since 2008, and has had key roles on the consented Thames Tideway Tunnel and Southampton to London Pipeline DCOs, both of which won major planning awards. Ian has also been on the board of the National Infrastructure Planning Association (NIPA) since 2010.  Ian is currently involved in a number of energy and water DCOs. Having been involved in this area since the beginning, Ian has a deep interest in and an extensive level of knowledge about the strategic context in which infrastructure proposals emerge.