Energy efficiency and low carbon heat lie at the heart of the Scottish Government’s draft Energy Strategy, and also play important roles at All-Energy, the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon exhibition and conference.

Both have their own zones in the major exhibition – nearly 90 exhibiting companies have opted to be on the energy efficiency trail around the exhibition and so easy for visitors to find whether or not they are in the Energy Efficiency Zone; and nearly 50 exhibiting companies are on the heat trail, with 64 involved in some way with biomass.

All-Energy, being held 10-11 May at Glasgow’s Scottish Event Campus (SEC – formerly SECC) is free to attend for all with relevant business/professional interest in the topics coming under the conference spotlight, on show in the exhibition; and eager to network at the Giant Networking Evening & Civic Reception, held courtesy of the Rt Hon Lord Provost of Glasgow.

The timing of this year’s event is particularly significant as it lies within the consultation period for the Energy Strategy. Undoubtedly energy efficiency and heat will be topics addressed by Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, in the opening plenary conference session. Then too energy efficiency will be featured within a dedicated Energy Efficiency and Retrofit conference session on 10 May, and in a full day of presentations on 11 May in the Business Energy Efficiency Quick Fire Seminar Theatre on the exhibition showfloor. Heat receives similar attention with three 90-minute conference sessions on Thursday 11 May.

All-Energy’s event director, Jonathan Heastie of organisers, Reed Exhibitions, said: “It’s an event that buzzes with enthusiasm from exhibitors eager to do business and visitors just as eager to learn and to engage with exhibitors and conference speakers. We have a superb exhibitor list with a broad range of highly relevant exhibits; and a stellar conference line-up.

“This is an important time for Scotland’s energy plans. The draft Energy Strategy sets out Scotland’s vision of achieving almost complete decarbonisation of the energy system; and setting a new 2030 ‘all-energy’ target for the equivalent of 50% of Scotland’s heat, transport and electricity consumption to be supplied from renewable sources.”

The Energy Efficiency and Retrofit conference session on 10 May chaired by Prof Karen Turner, director of the Centre for Energy Policy at Strathclyde University features ‘Scotland’s energy efficiency programme’; ‘Key findings from Energy Saving Trust/Scottish Enterprise market research into energy efficiency in Scotland’; Arup’s view of ‘Towards the delivery of a national residential energy efficiency programme’; and ‘A paradigm shift: the multiple benefits of energy efficiency’. 

This last topic is considered in more depth the next day in the Quick Fire theatre when some 20 presentations ranging from funding for energy efficiency, and the ‘Countdown to MEES’, to case histories – primarily from SMEs who have improved their energy efficiency and saved money; and a range of other presentations embracing particular technologies or services are given.

The heat element of the conference features 23 speakers in three sessions. The first is a scene setting one in which chairman Dr Keith MacLean, managing director, Providence Policy will be providing ‘The hitch-hiker’s guide to the galaxy’; to be followed by presentations on ‘Future direction for low carbon heat’; ‘Scottish Government: How heat figures in the draft Energy Strategy document’; and then ‘Delivering the Scottish Government’s aims’.  ‘Gas network innovation and the future of heat’ then come under the spotlight as does ‘Ofgem update on the RHI’.

Session two is a packed one on ‘District heating and smart metering’ chaired by Morten Duedahl, business development manager, Danish Board of District Heating (DBDH)l and featuring speakers from Austria, Denmark, Korea and the UK. The third session ‘There’s more to low carbon heating than district heating’ looks at geothermal; the use of ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling; and ‘Building micro power stations’. The full conference programme is on the website at www.all-energy.co.uk

All-Energy, which brings together some 7,000 individuals from home and overseas, is organised by Reed Exhibitions. Shepherd and Wedderburn is the Headline Sponsor, and the two-day event is held in association with the Renewable Energy Association (REA); Highlands and Islands Enterprise; Scottish Enterprise; Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) and host city Glasgow. The Society for Underwater Technology is the show’s learned society patron. A further 40 organisations including government departments, professional bodies and trade associations act as supporters of the two-day annual event.

Further information on all aspects of All-Energy and free online registration are at www.all-energy.co.uk.