Energy Future

I attended a conference from 9-2 today on the future of the energy market in Northern Ireland. I took notes furiously the whole time because I’m writing up the event for the Belfast Telegraph. It’s a good opportunity for me to get a byline but I’m annoyed that the payment is only 60 pounds. What a joke.

I’ve sat down twice with Dr. Patrick Keatley, the organiser of the event, to get up to speed on the utility market in N.I. That was maybe 3.5 hours. Plus lots of research. Plus the time at the conference, plus several hours to write the 500 word piece. Rip off. However, this is all knowledge I’m eager to gain anyway as I may find a way into a job in the industry, hopefully within an organisation that is disrupting the status quo.

I had a tee time at 3:15 pm which I canceled because I thought my deadline was tomorrow. After 5 pm I learned my deadline is Monday. Whatever.

The gist of the conference is that regulators badly lag advances in the energy market (consumer generation from solar, wind, electric cars; use of storage; management of peak load, etc). The result is over reliance on a highly centralised, dirty utility system. Most of our power in NI comes from coal plants--these have been put out of business in GB because of an emissions levy.

But let’s go back to the Autumn Fair at Botanic Gardens, shall we? Since my theme this week is joy, I have to say I was enthralled by the dozens of children chasing bubbles in the park.

There was much squealing with delight as children reached up to pop the bubbles. Such a simple thing but it brought so much happiness to the assembled crowd.
9-20