Neil has been working on the interaction of thermal power plant and the aquatic environment since 1981. A mathematician by training, he initially specialised in the modelling of cooling water discharges at coastal power plant. Neil’s career within National Power, Innogy and RWE Generation UK subsequently broadened into more general environmental, policy and regulatory risk management. Most recently, he has been instrumental in developing innovative cross-sector water resource based opportunities. He has advised on new plant siting and configuration options, led teams responsible for the permitting of the aquatic aspects of major power plant developments in the UK as well as personally preparing aquatic and BAT technical cases for permit and abstraction licence applications. Neil was lead developer for EnvRAP, a proprietary environmental business risk management system, and project leader for many of its applications on power plant in UK, Europe, Pakistan and the USA. He has advised in technical studies, due diligence and joint venture developments for power plant around the world.

As Principal Policy Advisor and Corporate Environment Expert, Neil has represented RWE Generation UK, JEP (the Joint Environment Programme of Major UK Power Producers), Energy UK and Eurelectric in a great variety of stakeholder forums and regulatory and policy interactions. He has developed sector and company positions and consultation responses on abstraction, aquatic aspects of permitting and aquatic environmental protection matters.

Neil has been involved with the Water Framework Directive since its earliest beginnings, having been the power sector representative in the DTi ACBE industry group on Water Resources and Climate Change supporting UK’s negotiation of the Directive itself, represented general industry on the Thames River Basin District Liaison Panel, and JEP on DEFRA’s Collaborative Research Project (CRP) on Water Framework Directive economics. He was a co-author for the CIS Technical Guidance on Mixing Zones and contributed to Eurelectric’s and RWE group’s positions on the WFD Fitness Check 2019/2020.

Neil represented Eurelectric in the European Commission’s investigation of use of water resources in industry, part of its Blueprint activity, and on the CIS group on ‘Water Accounts’.

Neil represented the Association of Electricity Producers in DEFRA’s National Water Stakeholder and WFD Article 16 Advisory Groups and subsequently EnergyUK in its Abstraction Reform Advisory group (ARAG).

Most recently Neil has represented Energy UK in Water Resource East’s Technical Delivery Group and RWE Generation UK in Water Resource South East’s multisector group. He has been in active participant in many EA-led stakeholder groups including the EnergyUK-EA ‘Eel Task Force’ and the EA’s advisory group supporting the transition of abstraction licencing from the Water Resource Act into the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

Neil is a Visiting Researcher at University of Southampton and since 2013 he has regularly delivered workshops on ‘Water Framework Directive’ and ‘Thermal Power Plant Use of the Aquatic Environment’ for the Southampton Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Infrastructure.

Neil has been a Trustee and Council Member for General Industry for the Foundation for Water Research.

In 2021, Neil founded AquaInform as an independent consultancy to help organisations identify their responsible use of water and the aquatic environment – a common goal for users, regulators and stakeholders alike. He aims to support project, policy, regulatory, and stakeholder process development in navigating the contemporary arena including the drive to carbon net zero, biodiversity net gain, and Responsible Investment. This contributes to providing affordable, resilient and efficient infrastructure in a sustainable way.

AquaInform – helping today’s organisations meet the challenges of tomorrow’s aquatic arena.