Rosie Pearson, Chairman, Community Planning Alliance

What can we expect from your contribution at Utility Week's Clean Power Conference 2026? 

I will be able to present the viewpoint of communities at the receiving end of Clean Power projects and to suggest different ways of approaching things. As the final speaker, I will be able to sum up some of what has been said during the day. 

What are you most looking forward to hearing about at the conference?

All of it!  It's great to hear from the key people involved in Clean Power what the issues and opportunities are.

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry at the moment, in your opinion?

• Lack of coordination in the grid upgrade.
• Lack of buy-in from communities.
• Bad decisions due to refusal to adhere to Treasury Green Book

Why is Utility Week's Clean Power Conference 2026 important to the industry and to you?

Open and public debate about issues faced is really important, and it's essential to hear from a range of voices.

Ed Birkett, New Projects Director, Low Carbon

What can we expect from your contribution at Utility Week's Clean Power Conference 2026?

I hope to provide a developer’s perspective on the risks and opportunities of the Connections Reform process.

What are you most looking forward to hearing about at the conference?

Steps being taken to speed up the delivery of projects, whether that be grid connections, reforms to the planning system, or anything else!

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry at the moment, in your opinion?

Connections Reform has undoubtedly presented challenges for the industry, noting the ongoing delays to Gate 2 Offers. We now need to quickly move into delivery mode, which will mean tackling challenges like delivering more grid connections each year, and quickly confirming the locations of new substations to enable projects to progress into the planning system.

Why is Utility Week's Clean Power Conference 2026 important to the industry and to you?

I hope this will be a good opportunity to discuss the concrete measures that different parts of the industry are working on to speed up the development and deployment of energy projects.

Bill Rees, MD, Enso Energy

What can we expect from your contribution at Utility Week's Clean Power Conference 2026? 

I’ll bring the perspective of a developer trying to build projects in the real world today.

The UK has huge ambition around clean power, but delivering that ambition depends on whether the practical systems work — particularly grid connections, networks, NESO and the DNOs….I’m hoping to focus on what it actually takes to turn a strong pipeline of solar and storage projects into infrastructure on the ground, and how developers and network operators can work more closely together to make that happen.
 
What are you most looking forward to hearing about at the conference?

I’m particularly interested in hearing how network operators see the next phase of connections reform unfolding. For developers, the biggest uncertainty today isn’t a lack of projects or investment appetite — it’s how quickly the grid access regime can evolve to prioritise projects that are actually ready to build. So I’m looking forward to hearing how networks, NESO and policymakers see the system evolving to support the UK’s clean power ambitions.

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry at the moment, in your opinion?

The biggest challenge is moving from ambition to delivery at scale. The UK has a strong pipeline of renewable projects and historically has had plenty of investor interest, but grid connection reform has become a millstone around the neck of the industry and has become the biggest constraint and risk to investor appetite. Whilst reform is important, the uncertainty that has created in mature well developed projects is concerning investors. We need to quickly demonstrate progress in connections reform, bring more urgency into the networks and create a better playing field for developers to take projects into construction. 

Why is Utility Week's Clean Power Conference 2026 important to the industry and to you?

The energy transition now requires much closer coordination between developers, network operators, regulators and government. Conferences like this are important because they bring those groups together to discuss how the system needs to evolve to deliver clean power at scale. From my perspective, it’s also an opportunity to make sure the voice of developers — the people actually building projects on the ground — is part of the conversation.
 

Simon Harrison, Former Clean Power Commissioner and Fellow, Mott MacDonald

What can we expect from your contribution at Utility Week's Clean Power Conference 2026? 

Clean Power 2030 represents a step change in ambition of pace and scale of delivery, yet is really just the forerunner for what has to come after 2030 if we are to achieve our ambitions for decarbonisation, resilience and energy affordability.   At the same time much of the rest of the world is on a similar journey, for example there are very ambitious plans to interconnect a range of South East Asian countries to facilitate decarbonisation and reduce fossil-fuel dependency.  I hope I can provide a useful perspective on the issues involved, especially for constrained global supply chains and skilled people.

What are you most looking forward to hearing about at the conference?

Clean Power 2030 and what will follow is a moonshot requiring leadership, focus and a holistic approach.    I’m looking forward to hearing about what will join things up, get rid of barriers and open the way to innovation in all areas.

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry at the moment, in your opinion?

I think the challenges in our industry are all about how we manage a massive shift in the industry model in a way that creates better, cheaper outcomes for consumers as opposed to adding expensive further complexity to something that is already too complex.

Why is Utility Week's Clean Power Conference 2026 important to the industry and to you?

It’s great to have a holistic gathering where the cross cutting issues can be explored, and greater understanding gained.