Energy Unplugged by Aurora

EP.116 Frank Jotzo, Professor, The Australian National University

In this episode, our Research Lead in Aurora’s Australian office James Ha is delighted to be joined by Frank Jotzo, Professor at the Australian National University and our Managing Director for Australia and California, Hugo Batten. Frank is a professor of environmental economics at the ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy, the inaugural director at the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy, and Head of Energy at the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions. He has been a lead author of the IPCC’s 5th and 6th Assessment Reports, and is the co-editor-in-chief of the journal Climate Policy. He has advised both the Australian and Indonesian Governments, and contributed to the Garnaut Climate Change Review.Main topics include:•Australia’s NetZero commitments and whether they are squaring with the goals of the Paris Agreement•Decarbonising the Australian economy and views on carbon pricing•Energy policy and the role of economic modellingSupport the show

EP.115 Jimmy Glotfelty, Commissioner on the Public Utility Commission of Texas

In this episode, our Founder and CEO, John Feddersen is delighted to welcome Jimmy Glotfelty, Commissioner on the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). With a distinguished career in public service in the electricity sector, Jimmy has been appointed as Commissioner on the PUCT in August 2021. Previously, he had several public senior roles including Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, Energy Policy Director to Texas Governor George W. Bush and Legislative Director to Congressman Sam Johnson. He has also served as Founder and Executive Vice President of Clean Line Energy.Jimmy and John discuss:•The PUCT’s role in the US energy system•The impact of the Russian war in Europe and effects seen in the US•The Government’s role in enabling the electrification of the vehicle fleetSupport the show

EP.114 Global Project Finance Series in partnership with SMBC Group PART II - Australia

This episode is second in a series on global project finance, organized in partnership with SMBC Group. With a number of 4 episodes covering Europe, Australia, Asia and the US, this series is hosted by Aurora, with guests from SMBC Group, various law firms and Aurora.In this episode, we have our Managing Director in APAC & California, Hugo Batten talking to Jeremy Hasnip, Head of Energy Transition at SMBC, Elizabeth Charlesworth, Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills and Rowan von Spreckelsen, Principal at Aurora. Main topics include:•An overview of the project finance space in Australia•The largest areas for debate and negotiation at the moment •The impact of a higher-inflation and higher cost environment on typical project finance terms•The financing of newer technologies and the largest impediments to debt funding of storageSupport the show

EP.113 Australia’s National Electricity Market Reform: Benn Barr, CEO, AEMC

In this episode, our Managing Director for Australia and California, Hugo Batten is joined by Benn Barr, the Chief Executive of the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) and James Ha, Aurora’s Project Lead in our Sydney team.AEMC is the rule maker in the Australian energy markets and decides on any proposed rule changes in Australia’s electricity and gas markets. Prior to joining the AEMC, Benn was Deputy Director General in the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy. Main topics include:•The current priorities for the AEMC including the role of rule makers and the impact of the current crisis •The role of market modelling when it comes to challenges around market re-design•The pros and cons of capacity marketsSupport the show

EP.112 Trends in energy markets: Fraser Thompson, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Sun Cable

This week on Energy Unplugged, Fraser Thompson, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer of Sun Cable joins our Managing Director for Australia and California, Hugo Batten and Weijie Mak, Aurora’s Head of Consulting across Asia-Pacific for our podcast episode. Fraser is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer for SunCable. He also founded AlphaBeta, an economic strategy consultancy headquartered in Singapore which has now been acquired by Access Partnership. Prior to this he spent 9 years at McKinsey, in particular, at McKinsey’s Global Institute. The main topics discussed include:•Key fundamentals of the Sun Cable project•Long-term trends in energy markets•Fraser’s career and the value of doing a PhDSupport the show

EP.111 Locational marginal pricing with Aurora’s leadership from all over the world

This week on Energy Unplugged, we explore the debates surrounding the technical and topical issue of Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP). Drawing once again on the knowledge of some of Aurora’s global leadership: Dan Monzani, Managing Director of UK and Ireland, is joined by Hanns Koenig, Head of Consulting for Central and Eastern Europe, Hugo Batten - MD for Asia-Pacific and California and Oliver Kerr – Head of USA.The main questions the team sought out to answer are as follows:• What is LMP?• What is the context surrounding the economic/ market design for LMP?• What are the pros and cons of LMP?Support the show

EP.110 Jeff Dimery, Managing Director & CEO of Alinta Energy

Jeff Dimery, Managing Director & CEO of Alinta Energy joins our Managing Director for Australia and California, Hugo Batten, in our latest #EnergyUnplugged podcast episode.Jeff has had a long and distinguished career in Australian energy. He has held senior roles at AGL (another Australian “gentailer”) and is now the Managing Director and CEO of Alinta Energy, one of the major vertically integrated utilities in the Australian market.Hugo and Jeff discuss the following topics:•Unprecedented times caused by the current crisis facing the Australian energy market•The role of utility in decarbonising energy markets•Market design, focusing on capacity marketsSupport the show

EP.109 Green hydrogen, offshore wind and market design: Dan McGrail, Chief Executive at RenewableUK

In this week’s episode of Energy Unplugged, our Managing Director for UK and Ireland, Dan Monzani is delighted to be joined by Dan McGrail, Chief Executive at RenewableUK.Dan joined RenewableUK as Chief Executive in May 2021. Previously, during his time as a senior leader at Siemens for close to two decades, Dan played a critical role in the innovation and manufacture of key energy technologies including wind turbine blades and efficient thermal engines. As well as being the CEO of Siemens Engines until last year, Dan was also the Chair of the Association for Decentralised Energy from 2016 to 2019.The main topics include:•How broadly should green hydrogen be defined•What is needed to hit the government’s new offshore wind targets•The disruptions in the global supply chain •The current debates around market designSupport the show

EP.108 Power Market Design: Lion Hirth, Energy Policy Prof. Hertie School & Robert Gross, Dir. UKERC

This week, we have a special Energy Unplugged podcast episode on the topic of the current energy price crisis and the implications for market design. The Head of our Berlin office, Hanns Koenig is joined by two very distinguished guests: Lion Hirth – Professor of Energy Policy at the Hertie School in Berlin and Robert Gross – Director at UKERC (The UK Energy Research Centre) and also a Professor of Energy Policy at Imperial College London. Lion is one of the leading thinkers on power market design in Europe and Rob is an authority in power market design in Great Britain. Main topics include:•What is going on in the European power markets at the moment•Why are power prices so high and what are the implications for market design•Splitting markets for renewables and conventional generation•Gas price caps for the power sector and the windfall taxSupport the show

EP.107 Rob Wheals, CEO & Managing Director of APA

In this episode, our Managing Director in Australia and California, Hugo Batten is delighted to be joined by Rob Wheals, CEO and Managing Director of APA. APA is an energy infrastructure business with gas pipeline, electricity, solar and wind assets and the 30th largest publicly listed Australian company on the Australian Stock Exchange. Prior to APA, Rob had a varied career across tech, consulting, telco and energy. Rob and Hugo discuss:•The long-run impact of the current price/security of supply crises in Europe and Australia•The major steps needed to deliver a more orderly transition•Hydrogen and the timeline of cost competitivenessSupport the show