Inspiring Policy
With a focus on shaping a sustainable gas future, this year’s conference saw dozens of gas professionals gather to hear the latest updates on policy within the industry.
The event, held at No 11 Cavendish Square in London, began with a welcome from IGEM President David Tomkin where he shared housekeeping rules and gave an opening address.
He said: “Our commitment to sustainability remains crucial. The role of gas will evolve with the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gases, adapting to the demands for a cleaner and more efficient energy.”
It was then time to kick off the first session of the day which looked at whole system operation. The session delved into the integration of gas, hydrogen and biomethane into the National System Operator, the regulation of a transforming whole energy system, and provided an in-depth look at hydrogen.
Speakers included Julian Leslie, Director of Strategic Energy Planning and Chief Engineer, National Grid ESO, Fenella Nance, Director at Beyond2050, Tommy Isaac, Associate Director – Energy and Natural Resources at KPMG and Adam Bell, Director of Policy at Stonehaven.
This session was followed by an in-depth Q&A with the session’s speakers before lunch.
Following lunch, the second session then began which looked at system transformation.
This session explained how the evidence for hydrogen transformation to support policy decisions is built. We also saw practical examples of system transformation demonstrated at DNV Spadeadam Research and Testing, and the LTS Futures project.
Speakers in this portion were Dr Danielle Stewart, Project Director, Project Union, Hydrogen at National Gas Transmission, Lorna Millington, Future Networks Manager at Cadent Gas Limited, Adam Madgett, Principal Hydrogen Consultant at DNV and Nancy Thomson, Project Director, LTS Futures at SGN.
The room then broke for some light refreshments before kicking off the final session of the day.
Distributed demand was the theme of this session was packed with valuable information. It explored examples of industrial decarbonisation, shared updates on the progress of decarbonisation of social housing and the role of flexible power generation.
The final round of speakers included Gerald Mason, Senior Vice President at Tate & Lyle Sugars, Shaun Bennett, Director of Property at Derby Homes and Louise McDonnell, Project Development Manager at RWE Generation UK.
To summarise the day, delegates heard from James Earl, Director of Gas at ENA.
He said: “One key takeaway from today is that the gas industry is making significant strides in responding to the challenge of net zero. We should be proud of our sector for addressing one of the biggest challenges of our time.”
We’d like to say a big thank you all of our speakers, attendees and especially to our network sponsors: Cadent, National Gas, Northern Gas Networks, SGN and Wales & West Utilities.