About this Event
Day 3 of the Brazen Summit focuses on energy and the climate, bringing together industry, technologists, community energy groups and planners to examine what it will take for the West of England to run on clean power. The morning combines strategic, regional and personal perspectives on one of the defining challenges of the next two decades.
The Switched On panel asks what Bristol has achieved as a green city, where ambition has outpaced delivery, and what the region's long-term spatial plan needs to get right for the West of England to be clean-powered by 2046. Speakers are Andrew Garrad CBE, Janine Michael of the Centre for Sustainable Energy, Professor Phil Taylor of the University of Bath, Ann Cousins of Arup and Hannah Spungin. Attendees will leave with a clearer picture of the regional energy roadmap and the decisions that will shape it.
A second panel looks at the technology behind community-owned energy. With new government funding for community power on the way, Katherine Rooney of the South West Net Zero Hub, Stephen Le Fanu of the West of England Combined Authority, Ruth Delaney of Retrofit West and David Witherspoon of National Grid explore how battery storage, flexibility, data and AI forecasting, and local energy trading can make community projects more bankable and bring bills down for the people who host them, and what the region needs to have in place when the money arrives.
The morning closes with an on-stage interview with Satish Kumar, peace walker, ecologist and founder of Schumacher College, on why the ecological crisis is at root a crisis of values.
Throughout the morning, attendees can connect with energy professionals, community energy groups, investors and public sector leaders working on the region's transition, and meet potential partners for projects already in development.
Who should attend: energy and sustainability professionals, community energy groups, policymakers, investors and business leaders with net zero commitments.
The Summit runs each weekday morning from Monday 9 to Friday 13 November as part of Brazen, Bristol's festival of technology, creativity and culture. Sessions begin at 09:30. If you'd like to book a week pass follow this link https://techspark.co/brazen/passes/
Agenda
🕑: 09:30 AM - 09:55 AM
Opening keynote
Info: Speaker to be announced.
🕑: 10:05 AM - 10:55 AM
Panel: Switched On: Can the West of England Power Itself by 2046?
Host: Andrew Garrad
Info: Bristol has called itself a green city for years. What would it take to make it a clean-powered one by 2046? This panel brings together industry, delivery, technology and national energy planning to explore the West of England's energy future over the next 20 years: what Bristol has achieved, what technology has truly enabled, and where ambition has outpaced delivery. With the region's 30-year spatial plan still in development, the conversation looks at what the plan needs to get right to turn ambition into reality. Speakers: Andrew Garrad CBE, Janine Michael (Centre for Sustainable Energy), Professor Phil Taylor (University of Bath), Ann Cousins (Arup) and Hannah Spungin (Ameresco).
🕑: 11:05 AM - 11:55 AM
Smart, Local, Community-Owned: The Tech Behind the Next Energy Revolution
Host: Katherine Rooney
Info: Government has promised a community power revolution, starting with funding from Great British Energy and the prospect of communities owning a stake in renewable projects. But generating clean power locally is only half the challenge: grid connection delays, projects that cannot sell power locally, and turning generation into lower bills remain stubborn problems. This panel brings together community energy pioneers, delivery partners and technology and grid experts to explore how battery storage, flexibility, data and AI forecasting, and local energy trading could make community projects stronger, and what the West of England needs to be ready when the money arrives. Speakers: Katherine Rooney (South West Net Zero Hub), Stephen Le Fanu (West of England Combined Authority), Ruth Delaney (Retrofit West) and David Witherspoon (National Grid).
🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Keynote interview: The Man Who Walked 8,000 Miles for Peace
Host: Satish Kumar
Info: How values will solve the ecological crisis. Satish Kumar once walked to the capitals of the world's nuclear powers, Moscow, Paris, London and Washington D.C., motivated by a desire for peace. For six decades he has argued that the ecological crisis is, at root, a crisis of values rather than technology. In this on-stage interview he explores why simplicity, reverence for nature and genuine human connection are essential to a sustainable future, and what leaders, founders and technologists can learn from a life built around Earth, Soul and Society.
Event venue & nearby stays
St Nicholas Church, Saint Nicholas Street, Bristol, United Kingdom
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