Aurora Energy Research Podcast

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 markets Support the show

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 PhD Support the show

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

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 markets Support the show

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 design Support the show

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 tax Support the show

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 competitiveness Support the show

In this episode, Hanns Koenig, our Head of Commissioned Projects for Central Europe, is joined by one of the leading voices of the Polish energy sector - Monika Morawiecka, Senior Advisor at The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). RAP is a think-tank advising predominantly governments in creating better energy sector regulation. Prior to RAP, Monika had a distinguished career in the energy sector, with more than 15 years at Poland's largest utility PGE. Her roles at PGE included Head of Strategy at PGE Group and CEO of PGE's Offshore Wind division, PGE Baltica. Hanns and Monika discuss: •The current state of the Polish energy market •The energy crisis and the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on the energy transition in Poland •The role offshore wind can play in the Polish energy mix Support the show

This week on Energy Unplugged we’re doing a deep dive on capacity markets with some of Aurora's leadership from around the world. Our Founder and CEO, John Feddersen is joined by Dan Monzani – MD for GB and Ireland, Hugo Batten - MD for Asia-Pacific and California and Oliver Kerr – Head of USA.  The main questions we’re trying to answer are: 1) What are capacity markets?; 2) Why are they used?; and 3) When do they work? As in Europe capacity markets have largely won the debate, the focus is on markets outside Europe.  Main topics include:  •The core elements of capacity markets, procurement targets, timings & frequency of auctions •Political context and in what ways does it matter •Key strengths of the capacity markets Support the show

This week on Energy Unplugged, Hugo Batten and Oliver Kerr are joined by Jacob Mays, Assistant Professor at Cornell University’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Prior to this role, Jacob studied at Harvard, Winconsin-Madison, and Northwestern. He’s been a management consultant, worked at FERC, and writes energy papers across a diverse range of topics. Listen to this ep to hear them discuss:  - The role of energy modelling  - Market design, in particular Jacob’s view on the wholesale-only vs capacity market plus wholesale debate  - The role of academics in the energy transition Enjoy! Support the show

This week on Energy Unplugged, our MD for Australia and California Hugo Batten is joined by Founder and CEO of Edify Energy, John Cole. Edify has originated, financed and delivered 950 MW of utility scale solar PV and battery storage projects, with a strong pipeline of renewable, storage and green hydrogen projects to follow. John was recently included in The Australian newspaper’s Top 100 Green Power Players list. In this episode, Hugo and John discuss: •The current crisis, impact of the federal election, and redesign of the Australian market •Edify and the Riverina asset •John’s career, having co-founded 2 very successful renewables businesses in both UK and Australia Enjoy! Support the show

This episode is first 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 Ana Barillas, our Head of Iberia talking to Caroline Lytton, Managing Director, Head of Power & Renewables Global Structured Finance EMEA at SMBC, John Dewar, Partner at Milbank London and Casimir Lorenz, Principal at Aurora.  Caroline has started working in project finance in 2003, she has always been focused on infrastructure having 12 years’ experience in oil and gas. 3 years ago she was asked to head up the SMBC power and renewables business.  John has lots of experience in the sector, and with Milbank, which has one of the largest renewable practices in the world. He became a partner in the late 90’s and has worked on a series of IPP projects in the UK and Europe. At Milbank John works on renewable energy proj

This is a replay of an older episode with Nora Mead Brownell, Former Commissioner FERC, Former Chair PG&E and Founding Partner of ESPY Energy Solutions. Nora will be one of the keynote speakers at the Aurora Spring Forum 2022 on 14 July. If you want to hear more from Nora and many other industry leaders, join our Spring Forum 2022 on 14 July in Oxford, UK.  The topic is: Delivering the energy transition in a fractured world: Navigating price volatility, geopolitical risk, and supply chain disruption. Spaces are limited and are filling up quickly so book your ticket now! For more details check auroraer.com/events/spring-forum/ Our CEO John Feddersen discusses the energy transition in the US with his special guest Nora Mead Brownell, Co-Founder of ESPY Energy Solutions. Nora is a former commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) where she was nominated by President George W. Bush, and among many other previous roles she has also served as the Chair of the Board of Pacific Gas & E

This is a replay of an older episode with Greg Jackson, Founder and CEO of Octopus Energy. Greg will be one of the keynote speakers at the Aurora Spring Forum 2022 on 14 July.  If you want to hear more from Greg and many other industry leaders, join our Spring Forum 2022 on 14 July in Oxford, UK. The topic is: Delivering the energy transition in a fractured world: Navigating price volatility, geopolitical risk, and supply chain disruption. Spaces are limited and are filling up quickly so book your ticket now! For more details check auroraer.com/events/spring-forum/ In this episode our CEO John Feddersen speaks to Greg Jackson, the Founder and CEO of Octopus Energy, one of the UK’s largest energy supplier businesses, and award-winning for its status as a provider of 100% sustainable energy. Octopus Energy Group recently announced the acquisition of its sister company, Octopus Renewables, bringing the retail and the generation side of energy together under one roof. Greg is one of the most successful entrepre

In this episode, our CEO John Feddersen is joined by Mark Collette, Managing Director of EnergyAustralia and Hugo Batten, Managing Director in Australia and California at Aurora. EnergyAustralia is one of Australia’s major vertical integrated energy gentailers. Mark has been with EnergyAustralia since 2003 and commenced as Managing Director in July 2021. He served as Chief Customer Officer from May 2019 until June 2021 and prior to leading EnergyAustralia’s retail business, Mark led the Energy business between 2015 and 2019. Former roles have included executive responsibility for policy, sustainability, strategy and other matters. Mark was appointed Chair of the Australian Energy Council (AEC) in December 2021.  Main topics include: •The energy industry in Australia over the last decade •EnergyAustralia’s strategy for a Net Zero electricity system  •Battery storage and the role for flexible assets in Australia •The long term review of Australia’s power market design, capacity payments and the introduction

This week is a very special one for Energy Unplugged as we celebrate 100 episodes and 2 years since we launched the podcast. In this 100 episode, our Head of Commissioned Projects in Central Europe, Hanns Koenig is joined by Antje Kanngiesser, CEO of Alpiq.  Alpiq is a leading Swiss energy services provider and electricity producer in Europe. Antje’s professional background include Vice President of Group Markets & Services and Member of the Executive Board for BKW AG, various roles at Alpiq Group and Energie Ouest Suisse as well as Lawyer at S&K and GGSC, Berlin.  Antje and Hanns discuss: •The role of Switzerland in the European energy transition •Alpiq’s strategy and activity across Europe •The impact of the current energy crisis in Europe on utilities Support the show

In this episode, our CEO, John Feddersen is joined by Paul Ezekiel, Founder, Chair and Chief Investment Officer of Amp Energy.  Amp is primarily a renewable energy developer and operator with a focus across solar, wind and storage and with over 7GW of assets built or contracted since 2009. Amp is also a technology company and the Amp X platform contributes to accelerating the energy transition through a portfolio of disruptive technologies. Before Amp, Paul had a long history in the energy transition, being involved in clean energy for around two decades.  Paul and John discuss: •Amp’s strategy and battery investing  •Investment in green hydrogen and at what point lithium-ion stops being the most cost effective storage solution •The best market design for enabling batteries to provide all of their benefits Support the show

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 bills Support the show

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 t

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 modelling Support the show