Energy Research Partnership

This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch.

Background

The Energy Research Partnership (ERP) is a government advisory body, launched in January 2006, made up of industry and government officials.

Its original members included several high-level, pro-nuclear figures.

It has five aims:

• Identifying approaches and technologies to accelerate carbon reduction and maintain security of supply, at an affordable price, and establishing strategic objectives and priorities for energy research in the UK that helps bring these to commercial reality;

• Achieving a step change in the rate of energy innovation in the UK by considering how the UK supports energy research and development and the options for enhancing coherency, effectiveness and value of future programmes;

• Addressing the high level skills shortages in the energy sector and communicating the exciting and challenging opportunities that the energy sector offers;

• Bringing together top energy industry executives, Whitehall officials and senior academics in a Treasury-inspired initiative designed to give strategic direction to UK energy research, development, demonstration and deployment; and

• Working towards the main objectives of the Government's Energy White Paper, including a reduction of CO2 emissions by 60% by about 2050, the maintenance of reliable power supplies, the promotion of competitive markets and ensuring that every home is adequately and affordably heated.

Original members

Original members included:

• Sir David King, the Government's Chief Scientist (co-chair)
• Dr Paul Golby, Chief Executive of Eon UK (co-chair)
• Sue Ion, Group Director of Technology, BNFL
• Geoffrey Norris, Senior Policy Advisor, 10 Downing Street
• Nick Otter, Director of Technology and External Affairs, Alstom Power Ltd

Current members

Current members are:

• Professor David MacKay, Chief Scientific Advisor, Department of Energy and Climate Change (co-chair)
• Dr Keith MacLean, Policy & Research Director, SSE (co-chair)
• Julian Allwood, University of Cambridge
• Peter Banc, Entrepreneur in Residence, Octopus Investments
• David Clarke, Chief Executive, Energy Technologies Institute
• Tom Delay, Chief Executive, The Carbon Trust
• Jill Duggan, Director of Policy, Doosan Power Systems,
• Peter Emery, Production Director, Drax Power Ltd,
• David Eyton, Group Head of Technology, BP
• Martin Grant, Chief Executive Officer - Energy, Atkins
• Dame Sue Ion, Royal Academy of Engineering
• Professor Neville Jackson, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, Ricardo plc
• Paul Lewis, MD Operations, Scottish Enterprise
• Professor John Loughead, Executive Director, UKERC
• Dr Ron Loveland, Energy Advisor to the Welsh Government
• John MacArthur, VP CO2 Policy, Shell International Petroleum Company Ltd
• Duncan McLaren, Adviser, Friends of the Earth
• Professor John Miles, Director, Arup
• Rob Saunders, Head of Energy, Technology Strategy Board,
• Professor Rod Smith, Chief Scientific Officer, Department for Transport
• Stephen Trotter, Managing Director, Power Systems, ABB Ltd
• Sara Vaughan, Director of Strategy & Regulation, E.ON UK
• Mark Wagner, Chair, Isentropic
• Alison Wall, Associate Director, EPSRC
• Jeremy Watson, Chief Scientific Adviser, Dept. for Communities& Local Government
• Nick Winser, Executive Director UK, National Grid

Nuclear fisson

In September 2010, the ERP published a report on nuclear fission which concluded that “a long-term strategy was needed for the development of nuclear power in the UK, combined with a detailed R&D roadmap”. It said this “should happen as a matter of urgency”.

House of Lords ‘mystified’ by ERP

On July 5, 2005, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee said it was"mystified by the announcement that the Government intend to establish a 'UK Energy Research Partnership'. We already have the UKERC, Research Councils, the Carbon Trust, Regional Development Agencies. We believe that it would be more fruitful to strengthen the role of the UKERC, and that no case has yet been made for adding another layer of bureaucracy to the administration of energy research".

Website

www.energyresearchpartnership.org.uk