Speakers and presenters
North Coast Energy Forum ~ Friday, 25 November 2016 – Coffs Harbour
Speakers
We are excited about the calibre and breadth of speakers presenting at this year’s forum. The program features:
- Adam Marshall – NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Renewable Energy
- Dr Mark Diesendorf – distinguished renewable energy academic and author
- Giles Parkinson – North Coast journalist and publisher of RenewEconomy
- Nicky Ison – Australia’s leading community energy expert
Nicky Ison – Australia’s leading community energy expert
Nicky Ison is a Founding Director of the Community Power Agency, a Senior Research Consultant at the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, Sydney and Coordinator of the Coalition for Community Energy. She is an expert in the field of energy policy and community renewable energy and has worked with and visited over 50 community energy groups in Australia, Europe and the US. Nicky has a detailed understanding of the working of Australia’s energy system. Relevant projects include co-authoring the Homegrown Power Plan, lead authorship of the National Electricity Market Report Card and the National Community Energy Strategy, developing energy price projections and contributing to the Decentralised Energy Roadmap. She is the former Convenor of the Solar Citizens Steering Committee. In 2014, Nicky was recognised on the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence List.
Concurrent Session Presenters
This year – the program includes four breakout sessions (of which every participant can attend two).
- Batteries for Business
- Low Carbon Communities
- Local Energy Systems
- Low Carbon Councils
Each of these session will have multiple presenters to give you indepth information, case studies and practical knowledge. Full details of all the presenters will be with you soon. Here are two of our presenters:
Tosh Szatow – Presenting in Local Energy Systems
Tosh is Director and co-founder of Energy for the People, and The People’s Solar, two social enterprises focused on enabling the rapid transition to a clean, distributed energy market that works in the interests of people and communities. Since 2012, collectively they have managed energy projects over $15m in value, worked with ground breaking community energy projects in Tyalgum (NSW) and Newstead (VIC), and raised over $250,000 for community solar projects. Tosh has a particular interest in the role of cheap energy storage in our future market, how the energy market transition can be managed efficiently and fairly.
Barbara Albert – Presenting in Low Carbon Councils
Barbara is the director of Sustainable Business Consulting and co-founder of 100% Renewables. She works with businesses and councils on carbon reduction, energy management, and mapping out the path to 100% renewable energy. She is a preferred supplier for the NSW and Federal Governments and a trusted advisor to many local Government jurisdictions. She is the author of the book ‘Energy Unlimited – Four Steps to 100% Renewable Energy’, which will come out in December this year.
Our next newsletter will reveal the full forum program. We look forward to seeing you there.
Mark Byrne
Convenor, for the organising committee, North Coast Energy Forum