Energy Unplugged by Aurora

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 projects but also in the hydrogen space and the in EV and battery space.  Casimir leads the renewable energy practice of Aurora’s consulting team for continental Europe and he has been active in the energy space for the last 10 years. Before joining Aurora 4 years ago he did a PhD in Energy Economics followed by a post-doc at the German Institute for Economic Research focussing on policy consulting.  The main topics include: •The level of activity right now in the project finance space  •The impact of a higher-inflation and higher cost environment on typical project finance terms •Merchant risk and the biggest uncertainty in power markets at the moment •Managing the policy and regulatory risk in the power sector from a project finance perspective Support the show

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 & Electric (PG&E). Topics covered include: • Women in the energy sector, and ESPY Energy Solutions as a women-owned business • The balance between state and federal responsibility in the US power sector • Upcoming US elections, and how the energy sector will look Support the show

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 entrepreneurs in the UK with a long career leading multiple software ventures among other businesses, and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge. John and Greg discuss: • The importance of policy in the current UK energy supply market • Understanding the customer experience and meeting customer’s needs • Weathering the debris of the Texas storms and cost-pass-through tariffs • The role of prices in power generation and investment Support the show

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 of a congestion management model If you want to hear more from Mark Collette 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 https://auroraer.com/events/spring-forum/ Support the show

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 this affecting the willingness to close PPAs Support the show

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

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 transition Support the show