All Energy Industry Council
Thursday 27 June
East Coast College, Lowestoft Campus
In attendance:
Andrew Harston - Associated British Ports
Andy Paine - Vattenfall
Belinda Ikazoboh - Shell
Bill Cattanach - Oil and Gas Authority
Chris Starkie - New Anglia LEP
Graham Hacon - 3sun
Jim Crawford - New Anglia LEP
Johnathan Reynolds - Nautilus Assocates/ New Anglia LEP
Mark Goodall (Chair) - Aker Solutions
Martin Dronfield - James Fisher Marine Services
Maxine Narburgh - Greater South East Energy Hub
Michael Gray - Suffolk County Council
Nikos Savvas - West Suffolk College
Patrick Phelan - Energy Business Catalyst
Paul Wood - East Suffolk Council
Richard Goffin - Peel Ports
Simon Gray - East of England Energy Group
Stuart Rimmer - East Coast College
Stuart Smith - People with Energy
Victoria Sinclair - Scottish Power Renewables (dialled-in)
Vince Muspratt - Norfolk County Council
Attendees:
James Allen - New Anglia LEP
Julian Munson - New Anglia LEP
Madeleine Coupe - New Anglia LEP
Philippa Warren - East of England Energy Group
1.
Welcome from the Chair
Actions
Mark Goodall (MG) welcomed everyone to the first full All Energy Industry Council and thanked Stuart
Rimmer (SR) for hosting the meeting at East Coast College (Lowestoft).
Apologies were received from Konstantinos Chalvatzis, Sheila Oxtoby and Shan Lloyd.
2.
Developing the All Energy Industry Council
A) Presentation:
CS provided a presentation on the background to the Energy Council, outlining the LEP’s
commitment to growing the sector and the opportunities presented by the Local Industrial Strategy.
The LEP believes there is a need for an enhanced model which brings together and coordinates the
collective efforts of all partners, presenting a clear and identifiable energy cluster which speaks with
one voice to regional and national stakeholders.
B) Governance and Structure:
The Council discussed the proposed purpose, principles and role of the Energy Council with the
intention of agreeing a Terms of Reference.
Martin Dronfield (JC) asked if the problem we are trying to solve is the lack of regional
collaboration. Jim Crawford (JC) would like to see a reflection in the Terms of Reference of the
ambition of seeing a positive impact on the region and its communities through increased jobs and
prosperity.
Members discussed the need for coherent key messages about the sector which all partners can
use to present a joined-up message. There was a view that the ‘All Energy’ proposition is a strong
and distinctive one.
Graham Hacon (GH) had a preference for ‘Profile and Promotion’ over ‘International Trade’ which
others agreed. Belinda Ikazoboh (BI) would like to see the Council connect and align with national
initiatives.
There was agreement that the Terms of Reference provide a high-level overview of the objectives,
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a sub-level with more detail and KPIs are necessary to provide tangible achievements.
Exec
ACTION: Council Members to provide any additional feedback on the ToR. Executive Team to refine
ToR considering feedback.
C) Expectations:
Council members talked through their top 3 expectations of the Council’s first year achievements:
After collating the responses, ranked in order of popularity, main themes emerging were:
Regional collaboration - Members felt that by working together and sharing information, with
transparency and collaboration, the Council will be stronger. Collectively we can identify and realise
the growth opportunities by taking ownership of the sector and being thought leaders. An important
part of working together is to avoid duplication of activity and identify gaps and common challenges.
Joined-up message and ‘single voice’ - by agreeing a shared narrative about regional strengths
and capabilities, we can proactively promote the region’s energy sector to:
-
Government to win more investment
-
Potential investors to attract more inward investment
-
Communities, with a clear narrative on how the sector makes tangible benefits to local people
Skills - Council members articulated a clear priority for working to see the development of a skilled
workforce, driving forward the interventions of the Sector Skills Plan, and looking at transferability.
Supply chain - For the region to benefit from major projects, it is vital that the supply chain is
supported to be competitive, and for SMEs to work together to bid for contracts - the Council
should have a role in supporting this activity.
Other points that were raised included fostering innovation and connecting to other sectors and
industries. Engagement with academia (not just regional institutions) and the local energy agenda were
also felt important.
Exec
ACTION: Executive team to translate these points into a delivery plan/ objectives for the Council
3.
Local Industrial Strategy
CS talked though progress on the Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) with clean energy/ growth as a ‘golden
thread’. CS posed the following questions to the Council:
•
What types of interventions are needed across the five foundations (business environment,
ideas, infrastructure, people and place) to deliver productivity gains and cement our place as
the most important clean energy region?
•
What expertise can our region provide in the transition to a clean growth economy?
•
Are there cross-over opportunities with agri-food and ICT / Digital and other sectors?
Council members felt that the region was well places to provide expertise in the transition to a clean
economy. BC mentioned that SNS is perfectly placed to help deliver this transition given its role in gas
extraction and offshore wind generation. Johnathan Reynolds (JR) mentioned a report being
undertaken by the UEA as part of the LIS into emissions - the biggest opportunity areas (agri-food and
energy) are also the biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses. MG commented that we should also
explore other opportunities such as solar, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage. Looking
holistically at supply, demand and distribution is important and thought should be given to battery
storage.
ACTION: Council members should provide any additional feedback on the questions
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4.
A.O.B
JR ORE Catapult will shortly be recruiting a regional post, part-funded by the LEP
MD met the Taiwanese Energy Minister at Offshore Europe
Date of next meeting TBC - a annual schedule of meetings to be sent out shortly
