Dan Plesch, a senior research fellow at the institute, said: "We need to look at the advantages and practicalities of getting away from nuclear and oil dependency in the light of the recent terrorist attacks.
"It's looking at energy requirements through a national security lens. Our leaders have locked us into a two-to-five-year conflict – what happens if Saudi Arabia goes the way of Iran? We'll be up a creek without a paddle."
Plesch was confident that the findings of the conference will affect government thinking. "I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a shift in government policy," he said.
Plesch has invited services engineer BDSP to make a presentation at the conference. Ian Duncombe, a director at BSDP, said: "We are carrying out research to examine the potential for renewables and intermediate power such as combined heat and power plants. They could improve the resilience of our energy network by breaking it down into smaller units rather than relying on centralised power stations.
"Combined heat and power plants run on gas, which is more in our control because it comes from the North Sea and it is very readily available."
CHP’s run on gas, which is in our control as it comes from the North Sea
Ian Duncombe, director, BDSP
He added that fuel cells, which turn hydrogen into electricity, had the more potential than other renewable as wind generators are very difficult to put into existing buildings and the payback period for solar energy is long.
Incentives could be given to install localised power sources. Duncombe said: "Combined heat and power plants are already being pushed and encouraged by government."
Businesses get 100% capital allowances in the first year if they install approved energy saving measures and plants are exempt from the climate change levy.
In Germany, generators of renewable energy get paid more for supplying surplus power to the national grid than they pay for the energy they use.
