EARC Conference 2022 – Winds of change: Governing offshore wind developments in the East of England
Venue: Signature Room
Offshore wind is a central element of the UK government’s energy strategy. The 2020 Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution sets the objective of increasing offshore wind capacity from 8 gigawatts (GW) to 40GW by 2030.The South North Sea (SNS), which borders East Anglia and Suffolk, has a large number of existing and planned offshore wind projects (22GW) and is therefore a crucial area for offshore wind development and the achievement of national objectives. These projects have attracted national and international companies and investors.
The rapid, large-scale development of offshore wind in the SNS presents opportunities in terms of energy security, industrial development, job creation and coastal regeneration for the whole region.
At the same time, offshore wind projects have also attracted controversies and been challenged by local communities, triggering local opposition focussed on disruption, wildlife destruction and landscape impacts. This session aims to explore the challenges and opportunities of offshore wind development across the Eastern Arc from a multidisciplinary perspective.
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Dr Jenny Fairbrass is an Associate Professor and a Head of Group in Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia (UEA). She previously worked at the University of Bradford and the UEA’s Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment.
Before that Jenny had taught/lectured and was a senior manager in the tertiary education sector after training as a chartered accountant. Jenny took her PhD in Government from the University of Essex in 2002. Jenny is an interdisciplinary researcher: primarily a political scientist who also draws on management and environmental studies to investigate EU public policy and policymaking as regards the environment, energy, water, climate change, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Since 2001,
Jenny has published widely in a number of highly ranked international journals (e.g. Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of European Public Policy, Journal of Common Market Studies) and edited or contributed to a significant number of edited volumes concerning EU environmental, energy and/or the Green Economy Jenny is a member of the UEA’s Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) and Tyndall Centres. Since 2006, Jenny has jointly led a number of externally funded research networks focused EU Sustainability, Environmental Policy, and Energy Policy.
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Ian is Business Development Manager at the clean energy business hub, OrbisEnergy in Lowestoft. He has 20 years’ experience in the regions energy sector during which time he has worked in both the public and private sectors in economic development, skills and competence, oil & gas, offshore wind, project management and business development. Ian chairs the GENERATE Delivery Group and sits on the Norfolk & Suffolk All Energy Industry Council and New Anglia Innovation Board.
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Fiona Gilmore is Founder of Suffolk Energy Action Solutions (SEAS), a community group established in July 2019 in coastal Suffolk to challenge current plans for offshore wind infrastructure and to promote better integrated solutions using the North Sea Corridor and Brownfield sites closer to where the power is needed.Fiona and her husband Gary live in coastal Suffolk and Fiona has had various homes in Aldeburgh and neighbouring villages for over 30 years.Fiona is a researcher, author, activist and was an entrepreneur. She was previously a strategy consultant to a number of governments in emerging markets, sub-Sahara Africa and the Middle East, advising on growth and positioning strategies in diverse sectors including tourism, infrastructure and alternative fuels and renewable energy.Fiona was educated at Cambridge University (Modern Languages MA Russian/French 1974).