In 2012, Regen appointed a poet in residence – Matt Harvey to work with the Regen team, members and networks.
As a result of the residency, Matt wrote a number of poems which were illustrated and published in The Element in the Room – Poems inspired by renewable energy.
There are no copies of that first edition left now, (all 1500 copes have found happy homes) …….BUT the impact of this residency endures!
Most recently Chris Pritchett at Partner at the legal firm Foot Anstey referenced Matt’s influence on the sustainable energy sector when he introduced a poem he penned for Regen’s member’s forum (If you’re not already a member, you should be!)
Here is that poem! (Thanks Chris and Matt!)
Chris Pritchett’s poem on the state of the sustainable energy sector
The Emissions reduction plan has been much reduced, it would seem
to supporting international action on climate, said the Queen,
So we’re at a crossroads, in a bit of vacuum
And our new government has some worrying new friends, I presume
Who unlike a wind farm, aren’t the biggest of fans
of climate change science And the impact of man
But here we’re an industry of pride and innovation;
With a speed of technology outstripping the nation’s
Political quagmire, and when so much is a stake
The brains will get on with it, whatever it takes
But the opportunity’s here, the prospects are golden
To be Smart and look forward, not sit around beholden to
Endless debate about “it’s this” or “it’s that”
It’s warming up, quite frankly, and that’s where we’re at
But in this job I’ve the privilege of communing
with inspiring people
And the ideas are booming
like the sound of a cannon
The starting report as the Energy revolution gains worldwide support
Decentralised, digitised, flexible markets
Peer to peer trading by electron based start-ups
And witness the speed of the battery deployment;
Grid balancing, energy security, generating employment
So many smart people doing very smart things
Cleaning the air and making us kings
of our own energy kingdom
In our streets and our homes
So much divides us, but we all charge our phones
So law makers, law shakers, disrupters and visionaries
Trendsetters, go-getters, inventers and missionaries
It’s happening now, in our cities and communities
A shared energy vision, driving progress and unities
Let’s encourage the brains and the innovative types
Get the regulatory framework revised and done right
Let’s be smart to about costs, and fair to all folk
When a couple of quid on a bill is a joke
Because the tide is shifting and I think that we oughta
Know that fivers get wet if your home’s underwater
So, my indulgency here is coming to an end;
and I look forward not backwards For my means to an end
With the climate deniers and temperature raises
Please be all green, like the snooker table BEIS is.
