Alan Bissett
Chairman

Alan Bissett is the lead Partner in Carson McDowell's Energy Department and has particular expertise in project development and finance, power purchase agreements, renewables, energy trading and dispute resolution. Carson McDowell's Energy Department comprises specialist lawyers with expertise in all areas of the electricity and gas industries. Since privatisation of the electricity industry in 1992, Carson McDowell have been involved in virtually every aspect of the development of the energy sector in Northern Ireland.

Dermot Byrne
Investing in all-island electricity infrastructure

Dermot Byrne was appointed Chief Executive of EirGrid in July 2005. Dermot has extensive senior management experience in the electricity industry in Ireland and abroad. From 1993 to 1997 he was Manager, Power System Operation in ESB National Grid. In the late 1990s he worked in senior roles within ESB customer services and power generation areas. In 2000 he was appointed as the first Head of ESB Networks, where he oversaw the major ramp-up in investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure. In his role as Chief Executive of EirGrid, Dermot has developed EirGrid into a group structure with responsibilities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, comprising EirGrid TSO, System Operator Northern Ireland (SONI), and the Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO).

Tony Doherty
EU briefing: The Third Energy Package

Tony Doherty is a national expert working on internal energy market issues for DG TREN in the European Commission. In addition to working on the Third Energy Package, he has been responsible for the development of retail energy markets across Member States and has established the Citizens' Energy Forum in London. Prior to this, he worked on the implementation of the Single Electricity Market. He has also been responsible for energy policy and legislation in relation to the gas sector for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and been Economic Advisor on wholesale electricity trading arrangements for OFGEM in Great Britain.

Anne Donaghy
Exploring the role of geothermal energy

Anne Donaghy took up the role of Chief Executive of Ballymena Borough Council in early 2009 which includes responsibility for corporate relations and providing strategic direction for all Council activities. Her role also involves developing corporate policy and ensuring Council strategies, policies and programmes are delivered on time and on budget. The Council is currently taking forward a project to develop a geothermal-led district heating system for Ballymena, in partnership with geothermal energy company GT Energy. Anne trained as an environmental health officer at the University of Ulster and has held positions in Armagh City and District Council and Antrim Borough Council.

Michael Doran
Exploring the role of geothermal energy

Michael Doran is the Director of Action Renewables. Previously Michael worked for Rural Generation where he was the Business Development Director. Michael is a Chartered Surveyor, having graduated from the University of Salford in 1978. He has been on the Northern Ireland Council of the RICS in several capacities, and is the Past Chairman of the International Environment Faculty of the RICS. He was the Irish representative on AEBIOM, the European Biomass Association from 2002 to 2006 and was on the Energy Crops Committee of DG Agriculture until 2005. Michael is also the secretary of the renewables division for the Green New Deal.

Kirsty Hamilton
Creating the policy conditions for increased investment in renewable energy

Kirsty Hamilton currently leads the Renewable Energy Finance Project, as an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, working with financiers on the policy conditions for investment. She has 18 years experience at the UN climate change negotiations as an Observer (NGO and business), and various advisory board positions including UNEP’s Finance Initiative; and in 2009 was invited to World Economic Forum’s Global Action Council on Sustainable Energy. In 2005-2007 she was an IPCC Expert Reviewer.

Seamus Hegarty
Overcoming the challenges to increasing wind generation in Northern Ireland

Seamus Hegarty joined Energia in 2005 from NIE where he had over 20 years experience in planning, construction and commissioning of electrical infrastructure. He is currently responsible for securing off-take supply contracts from renewable generators on the island of Ireland and delivering Viridian’s Northern Ireland wind generation portfolio. Prior to his appointment as Renewables Development Manager, he held the senior positions of Network Operations Manager, NIE Infrastructure and Six Sigma Black Belt, Business Improvement, NIE.

Paddy Larkin
The Islandmagee gas storage project

Paddy Larkin joined Northern Ireland Energy Holdings in 2007 as an Executive Director, and Managing Director for the Moyle Interconnector. The business is set up as a company limited by guarantee – or mutual – which means there are no shareholders and therefore no dividends. The company operates for the benefit of Northern Ireland consumers and also includes the Scotland to Northern Ireland gas transmission pipeline and the gas transmission pipeline feeding Belfast. Paddy was formerly Chief Executive of Premier Power where he was involved in the buy out of the long term contracts and construction of the combined cycle gas turbine. He studied mechanical engineering at Queen’s University Belfast.

Reg McCabe
Key energy issues for business in the all-island context

Reg McCabe is Chief Executive of the IBEC-CBI Joint Business Council (JBC), having formerly been Projects Director with special responsibility for infrastructure investment and R&D/innovation. He has also acted as Director of IBEC’s Transport & Logistics Council and its PPP Council. He has lectured and written extensively on PPP and on transport policy issues and has a particular interest in issues relating to infrastructure. The JBC recognizes energy as a leading policy area for business and has recently updated its All Island Energy Policy Statement on the key energy issues for business.

Brian McHugh
Developments in the all-island gas market

Brian McHugh has been Director of Gas for the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation since 2007 having previously worked in the organisation since 2002. He is currently responsible for the regulation of the gas industry for Northern Ireland and oversees the Common Arrangements for Gas project (CAG). He has previously worked in the financial industry for Deutsche Bank and ILI Fund Managers.

Prab Mistry
Assessing the potential for bioenergy development in Northern Ireland

Prab Mistry is a Principal Consultant with the AEA Group that provides energy and environmental consultancy to public and private sector organisations globally. Prab has undertaken a wide range of consultancy assignments in the UK on bioenergy - for Defra he has undertaken several projects on the policy and implementation measures to maximise the biogas resource from agricultural, food processing and municipal wastes. He was the main author of the report Assessment of the Potential for Bioenergy Development in Northern Ireland.

Iain Osborne
The Strategic Energy Framework: Overcoming the challenges of implementation

Iain Osborne took up his position as Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation (NIAUR) in June 2006. He joined NIAUR from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, where he worked on gas markets since 2004. Prior to that he was Director of Consumer Markets at Ofgem, the GB energy regulator. He has also worked for the Department of Trade and Industry and McKinsey & Company.

Andrew Ryan
Planning and environmental issues in major energy infrastructure projects

Andrew Ryan is an Associate in the Environment and Planning Team at leading law firm Carson McDowell. He advises on all aspects of environment and planning law, including renewable energy developments, waste regulation, brownfield redevelopment, and enforcement/appeals. He previously worked in regulatory and enforcement roles for the Environment Agency in England.

Dr Michele Stanley
Energy projects workshop: Exploring the potential for marine biofuels

Dr Michele Stanley leads the Interreg IVA funded project ‘BioMara: Sustainable Fuels from Marine Biomass’ at the Scottish Association of Marine Sciences. This project involves six partners from Western Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland with an overall budget of €6 million. This four year project hopes to demonstrate the feasibility and viability of producing mari-fuels from marine biomass derived from both macroalgal (seaweeds) and microalgal (single celled plants) sources as an alternative to agri-fuels production from terrestrial land plants. Michele has over 16 years research experience working on applied phycological projects.

David Strahan
Delivering the difference for natural gas customers

David Strahan is a Chartered Accountant and joined Phoenix Natural Gas Ltd in 2003, after working for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He was appointed to the Board of Phoenix Supply Ltd in December 2006 and has ultimate responsibility for all gas supply operations. In addition, he is also a director of Phoenix Energy Ltd, a recently established Southern Irish company that was formed to supply natural gas in the Republic of Ireland. David also sits on a number of governmental advisory bodies.

Noel Williams
Energy projects workshop: Chair

Noel Williams is the Head of the Energy Saving Trust (EST) in Northern Ireland. His remit is to maximise the effectiveness of EST's programmes and oversee its long-term strategy in Northern Ireland whilst addressing the damaging effects of climate change, reducing Northern Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions and tackling fuel poverty. EST(NI) maintains relationships with key Northern Ireland partners such as government departments, NIE, Phoenix Natural Gas, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the oil industry and local councils.

John Woods
Taking a joined up approach to economic and environmental challenges: The Green New Deal for Northern Ireland

John Woods is the Northern Ireland Director of Friends of the Earth, where climate change is a particular focus of his work. He has an MSc in Social and Public Policy and has worked in the voluntary sector specialising in sustainable development for the last 15 years subsequent to a number of years in business. Friends of the Earth is one of the organisations leading the Green New Deal initiative for Northern Ireland, which is advocating a joined up approach to the ‘triple crunch’ of recession, rising energy prices and climate change.