A TRACER event for Wales was held online on 1 December 2021, jointly organised by TRACER partners EPRC and Welsh Government, together with Cardiff University. The event was planned under TRACER Work Package 4, which promotes the dissemination of information on the support and funding opportunities available for energy transition. In total, 50 people attended the event, including 13 speakers.
Here is the Agenda
The Wales event was introduced by Welsh Government’s Deputy Director for Energy, Ed Sherriff. The event included a full agenda, with the following sessions:
- Dr Liliana Fonseca of EPRC discussed stakeholder priorities for energy transition: TRACER stakeholder engagement in Wales
- An overview of the challenges and priorities for Wales in energy transition provided by Professor Richard Cowell of Cardiff University
- Lessons from successful energy R&I projects and initiatives in Wales: speakers represented Marine Energy Wales (Jessica Hooper) and the ERDF-funded SPECIFIC project (Professor David Worsley)
- International trends in energy transition providing an insight into key EU-level trends and initiatives, presented by Nicolas de la Vega of EUREC
- Regional, local and community priorities for energy transition, including: Welsh Government’s work supporting the Welsh regions in their energy strategy planning (Welsh Government Energy Planning, Jennifer Pride, Welsh Government); an insight into the work of Bridgend County Borough Council (a former coal area) through the Bridgend Local Area Energy Plan (Dr Michael Jenkins); and the skills needed for energy transition from a further education college in a former coal region – Future Skills for Energy Transition (Sharon James, Cardiff and Vale College)
- Funding and support opportunities for energy transition, including: academic sector energy R&I activities (Nick Cook, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council funding landscape, see also: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/); broader opportunities for Support for RD&I in Wales (Gwion Williams, Welsh Government, see also: https://businesswales.gov.wales/expertisewales/support-and-funding-businesses); participation in Horizon Europe (Baudewijn Morgan, Welsh Government’s Horizon Europe Unit); and an intervention on repayable funding from the Development Bank of Wales (Robert Hunter, DBW).
The morning’s conclusions were drawn together by Professors Kevin Morgan (Cardiff University) and John Bachtler (EPRC). They identified the main themes which ran through the discussions, which included the need for alignment and coordination of policies and practices and the crucial issue that transition must be seen to be just and fair, if behavioural change is to be effected. Underwriting both themes is the importance of skills, especially the role of further education colleges creating seamless pathways with universities and work based learning.
For further information please contact: rona.michie@strath.ac.uk