Energy Unplugged by Aurora

EP.98 Alice Delahunty, President of Electricity Transmission at National Grid

In this episode, our Research Director, Richard Howard is joined by Alice Delahunty, President of Electricity Transmission at National Grid. Alice is the first President of National Grid’s Electricity Transmission business, where she is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the electricity transmission network for England and Wales. Prior to joining National Grid, Alice had a variety of roles at E.ON, culminating in Head of Offshore UK Wind Operations. The focus of the conversation is on grid networks, a critical enabler of the low carbon transition. Alice and Richard discuss:•The scale of network investment required as we add renewables to the system and move towards a zero-carbon electricity system•The challenges of delivering this critical infrastructure•The impact on consumers, affordability, and billsSupport the show

EP.97 Flemming Sørensen, Vice President, Europe at LevelTen Energy

In this episode, our Thekla von Bülow, Principal for Commissioned Projects at Aurora is joined by Flemming Sørensen, Vice President for Europe at LevelTen Energy, in a discussion about long-term green power purchase agreements (PPAs). LevelTen Energy is the leading provider of renewable transaction infrastructure, delivering the cloud-based software, centralized supply, automated analytics, and expertise required to accelerate clean energy transactions. Flemming leads LevelTen’s expansion efforts from the company’s European headquarters in Madrid. His previous roles have included wholesale market trading and management of risk portfolios for corporate consumers at Energi Danmark, energy procurement and implementation of an RE100 strategy for NovoNordisk, and most recently originating offshore wind PPAs from Orsted.Thekla and Flemming discuss:•Which are the hot and emerging PPA markets in Europe•PPA trends including virtual PPAs•The current PPA market situation including very high prices and how is this affecting the willingness to close PPAsSupport the show

EP.96 Brad Hopkins, General Manager, Commercial and Financial Markets, AEMO Services

This week on Energy Unplugged, our Managing Director in Australia and California, Hugo Batten is joined by Brad Hopkins, General Manager of Commercial and Financial Markets at AEMO Services. With a variety of roles in the energy transition, most recently as a partner at KPMG and also at Macquarie, Brad is leading a lot of the work on the New South Wales Roadmap which aims to overhaul its energy markets and replace the coal capacity that is departing over the next decade. Brad and Hugo discuss:•The purpose and history of the New South Wales Roadmap and the role of AEMO Services in delivering and running the program•The major challenges to deliver the ambitious goals for 2030 with focus on transmission and supply chain concerns•The role of market modellingSupport the show

EP.95 As Tempelman, CEO of Eneco

In this episode, our CEO, John Feddersen is joined by As Tempelman, the CEO of Eneco and Jesse Hettema, our Research Lead for Dutch & Belgium power markets. Eneco is an electric utility in The Netherlands which specialises in retail, district heating, renewables and thermal generation. Eneco has committed to full climate neutrality by 2035 for all three scopes of emissions.Main topics include:* The current trends and the status of the energy transition in the Dutch market* The impact of the Russian war in Ukraine on the trajectory of decarbonisation globally* The role of big oil & gas companies in the energy transitionSupport the show

EP.94 Sam Stranks, Leader of StranksLab at Cambridge University

In this episode, our CEO, John Feddersen speaks to Sam Stranks, Leader of StranksLab at Cambridge University’s Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology. Sam is at the forefront of research into the next generation of solar technology and his research focuses on the optical and electronic properties of emerging semiconductors including halide perovskites, carbon allotropes and organic semiconductors for low-cost electronics applications such as photovoltaics and lighting.John and Sam discuss:•Solar technology research and the trajectory for costs and efficiency •The ability of the private sector to engage Academia in order to commercialize new technologies•The role of solar in achieving Net Zero emissions globally•What has enabled Cambridge to be such a successful technical university over such a long period of timeSupport the show

EP.93 Guillermo Bautista Alderete, Director, Market Analysis and Forecasting at California ISO

This week on Energy Unplugged, our Managing Director in Australia and California, Hugo Batten speaks to Guillermo Bautista Alderete, Director of Market Analysis and Forecasting at California’s system operator (CAISO). Hugo and Guillermo are also joined by Rowan von Spreckelsen, Aurora’s Head of Research in Australia and California. Guillermo has had a distinguished 15 years career at CAISO, having come out of academia at the University of Waterloo in Canada where he received a Ph. D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Main topics include:•The role of the system operator over the next 5 to 10 years in the policy and market design space•The mechanisms that CAISO has introduced to help with the integration of renewables•The impact of new technologies such as offshore wind and hydrogen on the California market •Batteries economics and saturation of ancillary marketsSupport the show

EP.92 Kwasi Kwarteng, UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

This week on Energy Unplugged, we discuss energy security and the current energy crisis at just few hours since the UK Government has published its much anticipated energy security strategy. Our Managing Director for UK and Ireland, Dan Monzani, is delighted to welcome to the podcast the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - Kwasi Kwarteng.The British Energy Security Strategy comes at a very challenging time for the global energy policy and sets out how Great Britain will accelerate homegrown power for greater energy independence.Main topics include:• Security of gas supply and UK’s access to the physical supply of gas for the next winter• The Government’s new commitments on hydrogen and its potential in decarbonisation• The longer term announcements on electricity security including technology announcements such as an increased target of 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030• Market reform options in the UK and the bigger market interventions suggested in Europe, such as the Spanish Government’s proposal to cap wholesale prices charged by gas generatorsSupport the show

EP.91 Jon Wellinghoff, Former FERC Chairman and current Chief Regulatory Officer at Voltus

This week on the podcast, our USA Country Lead, Oliver Kerr is joined by Jon Wellinghoff, Former Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and current Chief Regulatory Officer at Voltus, the world’s leading platform for Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). With a distinguished career in the US energy sector, Jon was the longest serving Chairman of FERC during the Obama administration after he was appointed first as a commissioner by George W Bush in 2006. Jon and Oliver discuss:•The role of FERC and the Federal Government more broadly in the energy transition•The potential of demand-side response which remains a relatively small part of energy mix in US and the reason why haven’t we seen more progress •Whether it is possible to reach Net Zero with renewables, efficiency and demand-side response, or do we also need supply-side investment in other low carbon generation like nuclear, CCS, hydrogen, long-duration storageSupport the show

EP.90 Malcolm Turnbull, the 29th Prime Minister of Australia

In this episode, we are honoured to welcome the 29th Prime Minister of Australia - Malcolm Turnbull, in a conversation with our CEO, John Feddersen. Malcolm was the Prime Minister of Australia between 2015-2018, role in which he focussed heavily on decarbonisation. He announced and drove forward the Snowy Hydro 2.0 pumped hydro project, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Prior to entering politics he had successful careers as a lawyer, investment banker and journalist. Malcolm and John discuss:•The importance of long duration storage and why isn’t the market delivering large volumes right now•The technological competition for long duration storage technologies•The impact of Russia-Ukraine war on the energy transition globally •Whether energy sector policy is more difficult in Australia than elsewhere and whySupport the show

EP.89 David Giordano, Global Head of Renewable Power at BlackRock

In this episode, our CEO John Feddersen is joined by a veteran of the renewable energy industry - David Giordano, Global Head of Renewable Power at BlackRock. David has joined the BlackRock team upon its formation in 2011 and has played a key role in the development of BlackRock’s renewables platform. With more than 20 years of investment experience, David serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the American Council on Renewable Energy and is a Board member of the American Wind Energy Association. John and David discuss:•The changes in the process of deploying capital into renewable in the past 20 years•ESG investing and where are we in measuring and evaluating ESG performance of companies and investment funds•Developing renewables in regulated and non-regulated markets •The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the power industryNext week we welcome Malcolm Turnbull, Former Prime Minister of Australia. Stay tuned!Support the show