Global battery giant Tesla – famed for their striking electric cars – will headline a major free energy conference for businesses in Cumbria next week.
Martin Cotterell, who is Senior Technical Applications Manager for the American company will be one of an impressive roster of international and regional presenters who will explore the future of energy storage, generation and distribution in Cumbria.
He will be joined by speakers form Electricity North West, James Cropper plc and Renew Wales at the ‘Transforming Energy in Cumbria’ conference, which takes place at Kendal Town Hall on Friday, September 22, and is part of the twelfth annual Cumbria Green Build Festival.
Mr Cotterell will focus on Tesla’s new ‘Powerwall’ device, which is able to store and then discharge energy again later in quantities large enough to use in both homes and businesses. Tesla say the innovation could bring greater flexibility to both householders and businesses who generate renewable energy, and for consumers to “buy” electricity when it is at its cheapest.
Phil Davies, chief executive of CAfS, said the conference aimed to give companies and insight in to new developments and opportunities and to encourage entrepreneurialism.
He said: "Quite often Cumbria finds itself at the back of the queue in terms of energy innovation. This conference gives our businesses and communities an opportunity to be entrepreneurial.
Other speakers include Mark Cropper, of James Cropper plc, who will focus on energy, business and community; Cara Blockley, of Electricity North West, on the future of energy distribution, Gill Fenna of Lancaster-based Quantum Strategy and Technology, on developing community energy projects in Cumbria and Chris Blake, of Renew Wales, who will talk about selling locally generated energy back to local consumers. The presentations will be followed by a Q&A session.
The event is free thanks to funding provided by Electricity North West and South Lakeland District Council, although booking is essential. It forms a major part of the 2017 Cumbria Green Build Festival, a week-long programme of events around Cumbria that focus on profiling energy efficiency and low carbon solutions.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here