Garrett Blaney
Addressing regulatory issues in the all-island market

Garrett Blaney has been a Commissioner at the Commission for Energy Regulation since February 2010. Garrett’s lead responsibilities within the Commission relate to the regulation of gas and electricity safety, gas networks/LNG and gas markets including the Common Arrangements for Gas (CAG) project, fuel disclosure and the Public Service Obligation levy. In addition he has responsibility for gas and electricity security of supply issues and for conventional electricity generation. Garrett was previously Strategic Development Director for Viridian Power and Energy and before that worked for ESB.

Alan Bissett
Discussion panel: Maximising the benefits from a smart grid

Alan Bissett is Head of Arthur Cox Northern Ireland’s Projects and Energy Group, the leading all-island law firm. Alan has 15 years' plus experience in the energy sector and has particular expertise in project development and finance, power purchase agreements, renewables, energy trading and dispute resolution. Since privatization of the electricity industry in 1992, Alan has been involved in virtually every aspect of the development of the energy sector in Northern Ireland.

Anthony Campion
Evolution of smart governance

Anthony Campion is the smart metering lead at Gemserv. He has been working in the industry for over 15 years and was originally part of the team that brought about metering competition to the GB market. Most recently Anthony has been contributing to the scope of services that will form part of the Data Comms Co. and with extensive experience of retail processes, he is helping to define the new industry arrangements

Paddy Larkin
Discussion panel: Maximising the benefits from a smart grid

Paddy Larkin was appointed Chief Executive of Mutual Energy from 1st January 2010. Since 2007 as an executive director and managing director for the Moyle Interconnector, he successfully integrated Moyle within the all island single electricity market and contributed to the ongoing development of the group with the acquisition of the Belfast gas transmission pipeline. Previously Paddy was Chief Executive Officer of Premier Power Ltd, the BG Group subsidiary which operates Ballylumford Power Station. Before that he held a number of operational and business positions in Premier Power, over a 14 year period, having joined from NIE in 1992.

Julie Leeburn
Incentive regimes for renewables and an update on changes to ROCs

Julie Leeburn is an Associate in Arthur Cox Northern Ireland's Projects and Energy Group and offers a significant level of experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and energy related matters to clients in both the private and public sectors. She has particular expertise in the regulatory law issues raised in the energy sector.

Bruno Leray
Exploring the potential for gas storage in Northern Ireland

Bruno Leray is Deputy Vice-President Business Development and International in Storengy, the storage company of GDF SUEZ. From 1980 to 1994 he worked for Gaz de France, where he was involved in technical and managerial activities in the field of infrastructures including LNG, transmission networks and underground gas storage. From 1994 to 1999, he was managing director of an exploration & production and storage subsidiary of Gaz de France in Germany. From 1999 to 2007, he managed large infrastructures operational divisions in the Major Infrastructures Division of GDF SUEZ.

Ian Luney
Discussion panel: Maximising the benefits from a smart grid

Ian Luney joined AES as Commercial Manager in 2009 after serving 20 years with the Viridian Group. He has established a dedicated Commercial Team within AES Kilroot and is responsible for securing maximum value from PPA and Ancillary Service contracts, for preparing AES Kilroot for participation in the SEM and for managing stakeholder relationships with regulators, counter-parties and other market participants. During the past 20 years he has held numerous positions within Viridian including the core Transmission & Distribution business. For the past 10 years he was part of the senior management team within Viridian’s Power Procurement Business (PPB), responsible for managing a portfolio of PPAs covering coal, distillate, gas and renewable technologies (in excess of 1500MW).

Shane Lynch
Discussion panel: Maximising the benefits from a smart grid

Shane Lynch took up his position as Director of Electricity at the Utility Regulator in September 2009. He has worked in the electricity industry for 27 years. This included various engineering positions with Northern Ireland Electricity from 1983 until 1992. He then worked for the AES Corporation as Managing Director for both Belfast West and Kilroot power plants and as Development Director for Ireland. He has a BSc. with honours in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University, Belfast and a MSc. with distinction in Finance and Investment from the University of Ulster.

Martin McAdam
The role of marine energy in meeting renewable energy targets

Martin McAdam joined Aquamarine Power as its Chief Executive Officer in August 2008. Martin has spent over eight years in the renewable industry. Prior to joining Aquamarine Power, Martin was the founder and CEO of wind power developer and operator Airtricity’s North American operations, which were purchased in 2007 by Eon for £0.75 billion. Before joining Airtricity, Martin held a number of technical and management roles in the utility sector.

Robin McCormick
Discussion panel: Maximising the benefits from a smart grid

Robin McCormick is the General Manager and a Director of SONI Ltd. SONI has a licence to operate the Northern Ireland transmission system and is also licenced as market operator. Both of these roles now require close cooperation with EirGrid. In March 2009 SONI Ltd became part of the EirGrid Group. Prior to taking responsibility for SONI Ltd Robin held a number of senior positions in NIE including Transmission Planning Manager and Regional Customer Services Manager.

Padraig McManus
Investing in Ireland’s electricity future

Padraig McManus was appointed Chief Executive and Member of the Board of ESB in July 2002 and had his contract extended for a further three year period in 2009. He joined ESB in 1973 and spent fifteen years on the company’s international businesses, later becoming Managing Director of ESB International and Commercial Director of ESB. He is a Board Member of the Irish Management Institute and Vice Chairperson of Business in the Community Ireland, recently he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of The Conference Board.

Patrick McWilliams
The ISLES project: Assessing the viability of accelerating offshore renewable energy development

Patrick McWilliams is manager of the ISLES Project (Irish-Scottish Links on Energy Study). Funded by the EU's INTERREG IVA Programme, ISLES is a collaboration between the governments of Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland that is assessing the viability of accelerating offshore renewable energy development, in the face of significant technological challenges, across a cross-border region. A graduate of Queen’s University Belfast, Dr McWilliams has extensive experience of managing research projects and EU programmes, mainly in the humanities and social sciences.

Iain Osborne
Meeting the regulatory challenges in Northern Ireland’s energy future

Iain Osborne has been Chief Executive since June 2006 of the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation (NIAUR) which regulates energy and water in Northern Ireland. He joined NIAUR from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, where he worked on gas markets since 2004. He has also worked for Ofgem, the GB energy regulator, the UK’s Department of Trade and Industry, pan- European telecommunications and internet companies, and the consultancy McKinsey & Company. He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute and lives in Belfast.

Mark Prentice
Taking a common sense approach to energy competition in Northern Ireland

Mark Prentice is Managing Director for firmus energy, which is developing the natural gas network in 12 towns and cities across Northern Ireland. Mark is also responsible for firmus energy’s expansion into the competitive gas supply market in Greater Belfast and the development of firmus’ retail electricity business. Prior to firmus, Mark worked for 12 years in sales, marketing and brand development for The Boots Company and Thorntons PLC.

Clyde Shanks
Key planning issues for delivering energy projects

Clyde Shanks is a Director of planning and urban design consultancy, Turley Associates. He specialises in managing complex development projects through the planning process, with a proven track record of engaging successfully with Planning Service at Strategic Projects team and Divisional office level. Clyde has considerable experience of managing EIA developments and is advising on renewable energy projects across Northern Ireland. His focus is on submission of high quality environmental information, collaborative engagement with all consultees and stakeholders, and securing quicker, positive decisions.

Jamie Speirs
Building a roadmap for heat: 2050 scenarios and heat delivery in the UK

Jamie Speirs is a researcher at Imperial College London in the Imperial Centre for Energy Policy and Technology (ICEPT). He currently works within the Technology and Policy Assessment (TPA) team for the UK Energy Research Centre. Jamie’s research work includes global oil depletion, materials scarcity, heat markets in scenario modelling and innovation and has worked on various research reports and journal articles. He has also contributed to work for the SUPERGEN consortium on thin-film photo-voltaics and European Commission 6th framework programme with the Measuring Eco-Innovation consortium. Recent work includes the UKERC Global Oil Depletion report, and “Building a roadmap for heat”, a report examining heat and 2050 energy scenarios.

David Sterling
Investing in the Northern Ireland energy sector as a driver of the local economy

David Sterling was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Investment (DETI) in October 2009, having joined DETI in 2008 to lead the Department’s Policy Group. He was previously Deputy Secretary in the Department for Regional Development where he had responsibility for the Department’s resources and management services. He also led the team that was given responsibility for the reform of water and sewerage services. David joined the Northern Ireland Civil Service in 1978 and has worked in the Policy Authority, the Northern Ireland Office and the Department of Finance and Personnel..

David Thorne was appointed Gemserv’s Chief Executive in 2010 . He has over 20 years experience in the utility industry working for regulators (Ofwat and the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER)) and subsequently for the regulated company, Centrica. The combination of his experience working for the regulator and subsequently for the “regulated” during the introduction and extension of competition has provided David with a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics within the gas and electricity sector during periods of major change.

Michael Walsh
Discussion panel: Maximising the benefits from a smart grid

Michael Walsh joined the IWEA as CEO in November 2007. The IWEA is the national association for the Irish wind industry. Prior to joining the IWEA Michael was manager of market development at EirGrid where he played a key role in the successful development of the Single Electricity Market. He was previously Manager of Ancillary Services at EirGrid and has been involved in several international assignments with ESBI. Michael was Chairman of the Irish branch of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (now the IET) in 2003. Michael has a BE, an MBA and a PhD in engineering from UCD.

Noel Williams is Head of the Energy Saving Trust in Northern Ireland. His remit is to maximise the effectiveness of Energy Saving Trust’s UK-wide programmes in Northern Ireland and oversee its long-term strategy. He encourages domestic consumers to install energy saving measures and reduce carbon emissions to alleviate the damaging effects of climate change. The Energy Saving Trust acts as a bridge between Government, suppliers and consumers. The Energy Saving Trust advice centre provides free, impartial and independent advice on energy efficiency, renewables and sustainable transport. Noel also chairs the Northern Ireland Fuel Poverty Advisory Group, is a member of Mutual Energy and maintains relationships with key stakeholders such as Government Departments, Councils, Housing Associations, Suppliers, the Utility Regulator, the NI Housing Executive, Phoenix Natural Gas, NIE Energy, Firmus Energy, Airtricity, ESBIE, Energia and numerous other stakeholders.