The future of roofs is Biosolar!

If you are a proponent of or involved with the fantastic synergy of greenroofs and photovoltaics, then you simply cannot miss the 1st European Biosolar Roof Conference in London next week!  Even better because it’s more comprehensive, the Conference will highlight combining greenroof and solar technologies for biodiversity, renewable energy, and resilient cities.

Supported by the Mayor of London and CIRIA, the one-day event will be held at the London Living Room at City Hall, London, on Monday, September 28, 2015 from 12:00 pm – 5:30 pm.  The cost is only £50, including lunch.

The timing is particularly perfect after all of the media hype over the “new French greenroof law” which is actually still under consideration.

Organizers say the 1st European Biosolar Roof Conference brings together leading speakers to show how combining solar and green roof technologies benefit everyone from inhabitants to investors because they:

• Decarbonise the grid, and create energy resilience by decentralising renewable energy production;
• Provide urban havens for pollinators, now that many cities are more biodiverse than the agrichemical countryside;
• Help cities withstand the impacts of climate change, cooling the city, managing storm water and improving air quality.

Speakers include:

London’s Deputy Mayor for Environment & Energy Matthew Pencharz
COO of the Renewable Energy Association Stuart Pocock
President of the EU Federation of Green Roof Associations Dusty Gedge
Head of Global FM Technical at Standard Chartered Bank Darren Sear
Architect Justin Bere
Gill Perkins of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust
And many others, chaired by sustainable futurist Jim McClelland.

Download the Conference Brochure, and all info and booking can be found online at: www.biosolarroof.eu.

For immediate questions, please contact:

Blanche Cameron
Biosolar Roof Conference 2015
Tel: +44 (0)7731 304 966
becameron@hotmail.co.uk
Twitter: @blanchecameron @biosolarroof

If you haven’t already, you can read more about it from the July 21, 2015 Sky Gardens blog post “London Green and Solar Roof Conference 28th September 2015 (and the French Solar Green Roof Law that Is Not Yet a Law)” by Dusty Gedge President, European Federation of Green Roofs and Walls Associations and Livingroofs.org.  He sits on the EU’s working group for the green Infrastructure and ecosystem services policy.  His work in Europe over the last few years working on a Pan-European green roof course and he is currently advising on a project on green roofs, pollinators, and solar power – Biosolar Roofs.

“Intelligent planning and design should work towards combining green roof and solar technologies – it should not aim towards an ‘either or’ situation. This brings into focus the general thrust of…the Biosolar Roof Project.

The ‘Bio’ element of the Biosolar Roof Project focuses on the provision of biodiversity on green roofs through the use of solar panels.  Solar panels on green roofs can in fact, through good design, provide a more diverse native floral community, which in turn benefits biodiversity, especially pollinators.  This fits neatly into the European Green Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services Strategy that aims to address Europe’s declining biodiversity.” ~ Dusty Gedge on Greenroofs.com, 2015

Dusty and his colleague Nathalie Baumann spoke on the Biosolar Roofs subject at our 3rd  Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2015.  Filmed in UK and Switzerland, the presentation celebrates the work of the EU-funded project called Up on the Roof; watch their Biosolar Trailer below:

The London Conference condenses the Biosolar Roof Project’s array of information and stories from across Europe where biosolar roofs are being installed, including in London.  The conference will be of interest to policy makers, building owners, facility managers, architects, landscape architects, ecologists and sustainability professionals – and more.

This is going to be an awesome conference!  We really wish we could have fit it into our travel schedule, but unfortunately we can’t go – this time…Enjoy!

~ Linda V.