Aurora Energy Research Podcast

2024, Oxford Graduate Modelling Programme Explained by Aurora Energy ResearchSupport the show

2024, Oxford Graduate Analyst Programme Explained by Aurora Energy ResearchSupport the show

Marise Westbroek, Project Leader at Aurora, joins two of Aurora's Graduate Analysts, Anne Geschke and Luciano Serconek Fuso, in this special careers podcast episode 'Berlin Graduate Analyst Programme Explained'.Listen to find out more about our Analysts’ first-hand experience with the application process and onboarding, their typical day at work, and any advice they might have for those considering applying to Aurora's Berlin Graduate Analyst Programme.To find out more, apply or join our grad mailing list please visit auroraer.com/grads!Support the show

2023, Austin Graduate Analyst Programme Explained by Aurora Energy ResearchSupport the show

In this Energy Unplugged episode, we discuss what's next for the Future System Operator (FSO) and other hot topics in the UK ahead of the winter season. We’re pleased to be joined by Fintan Slye, Director of the Electricity System Operator (ESO) and Chair of the Board, in conversation with our Managing Director for UK & Ireland, Dan Monzani.Fintan joined the ESO in 2018, following from his position as the CEO of the EirGrid Group, the electricity system and market operator in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Prior to leading the EirGrid Group, he worked for McKinsey & Company and the ESB Group. He is both a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Ireland and, the Energy Institute, holding a Masters in Engineering Science and an MBA from University College Dublin.Main topics include:• The future of the FSO and how it will be affected by the new Energy Bill• Security of supply and flexibility demand in regard to winter peaks• Connections and accelerating network delivery• Dealing with increasing imbalanc

On this week’s Energy Unplugged episode, the discussion revolves around Japan’s energy markets. We welcome Naoaki “Nick” Eguchi, Partner at Baker McKenzie and and Co-head of the firm's Renewable and Clean Energy Group in Tokyo, in conversation with our Head of Advisory in Japan, Hayato Ono, and our Managing Director in APAC and California, Hugo Batten.Nick focuses his practice on project finance and renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and hydroelectric) and has worked on a lot of the major transactions that have occurred in Japan, as well as authoring a lot of academic articles, most recently as a co-author of the “Offshore Wind Finance Guide Book”.Main topics include:• Changes in Japan’s energy market related to market design & policy, generation mix and various players• Technologies and investment cases, including batteries, offshore wind and hydrogen• Market dynamics and successful business modelsSupport the show

In this Energy Unplugged episode we look at the big picture scenarios for the decarbonisation of the global economy. We’re delighted to be joined by Eirik Wærness, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Equinor, and Anise Ganbold, our Head of Research, Global Energy Markets and Hydrogen, in a conversation with our Global Research Director, Richard Howard.Joining Equinor in 2003 under it’s previous name Statoil, Eirik leads the group’s energy market policy and macroeconomics analysis, and in his role, he has been responsible for no less than 12 editions of the group’s Energy Perspectives scenario analysis.Main topics include:• What is required to limit global warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees?• Steps that both the energy system and economy need to take in order to hit this target• How to effectively utilise scenario analysis to tackle the above?Support the show

In this episode, we focus on Net Zero Australia, Net-Zero America, and the differences between the two countries. We’re delighted to be joined today by two guests: Chris Greig, Senior Research Scientist in the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University, and Richard Bolt, Principal at Nous Group and Chair of Hydro Tasmania, in a conversation with Hugo Batten, our Managing Director for APAC & California, Julia Hoos, our Head of USA East, and James Ha, our Research Lead for Australia.Both of our guests have had illustrious careers spanning public and private sectors, but what’s brought them here today is their recent collaboration on an ambitious modelling project called Net Zero Australia, which offers granular insights into what it will take to decarbonise the economy by 2050, and builds on the Net-Zero America report published in 2021.Main topics include:• The main findings of the two reports including the consistent themes that have been seen in the models for both countries•

On this week’s Energy Unplugged episode, we welcome Luis Pita, General Manager, Brazil, Atlas Renewable Energy, in a conversation with our Founder & CEO, John Feddersen, that focuses on the current situation and future plans for the energy market in Brazil.Before joining Atlas Renewable Energy, Luis worked at SunEdison (now Fenice Energy) for four years as GM for Brazil. Prior to that time, Luis accumulated over 20 years experience in executive roles across multiple continents, mainly in logistics, media production and retail. Luis was one of the founders of Brazil’s Solar Energy Association, and has been a Board Member since its inception.Main topics include:• Hydro driven prices and investing in renewables in Brazil• Brazil’s network building – situation and challenges for investors and developers in the context of transmission auctions• Brazil’s shift to the free market: what does it mean for consumers, investors and developers?• The green transition plan in BrazilSupport the show

This episode of Energy Unplugged is fourth in a series on global project finance, organised in partnership with SMBC Group. Covering Europe, Australia, Asia, and the US, this series hosts guests from SMBC Group, various law firms, and Aurora energy experts.Focusing on project finance in the US, we’re delighted to welcome Carl Morales, Managing Director and Group Head for the North American Power Project Finance Group at SMBC Group, Ron Erlichman, Partner and Co-Head of Energy & Infrastructure in the Americas, New York at Linklaters, and our Head of North America, Oliver Kerr, in conversation with our Head of USA East, Julia Hoos.Main topics include the following:· An overall look at the project finance space across the US during the last year· The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), tax equity system, and how they impact the individual attractiveness of the US markets· Risks, including financial, merchant, technological, and policy, that lenders may face· The future of hydrogen technologies in the USSupport th

On this week’s Energy Unplugged episode, we deep dive in the importance of energy networks for investment decisions and the operation of the system to build Net Zero power systems. We’re happy to welcome our colleagues Alexandra Houston, Senior Associate and Ashutosh Padelkar, Research Associate in a conversation with our Managing Director for UK & Ireland, Dan Monzani. Alexandra is a Senior Associate in our GB Advisory team, where she has led a variety of work related to networks including for battery developers, long duration storage, renewables and locational marginal pricing. Ashutosh leads our Renewables service for the GB market and is also responsible for our Subscription Analytics offerings for corporate PPAs in GB and analysis of proposed policy and regulatory changes.Main topics include the following:• How Aurora expects networks and congestion to evolve in GB and what does this evolution mean for investment cases• The role of hydrogen and how it might interact with the various constrains of the

In this episode, we’re delighted to welcome Hitomi Komachi, Partner in Allen & Overy’s Tokyo office in a conversation with our Head of New Markets in APAC, Rowan von Spreckelsen and our Head of Advisory in Japan, Hayato Ono. The focus is on Japan’s recently unveiled green subsidy program, the draft Green Transformation Act published in February and passed into law in May by the Japanese Parliament.Hitomi is an English law qualified lawyer with extensive experience in clean energy projects and the broader energy transition field. Hitomi is an expert in the international legal landscape and government policies impacting key Japanese and international industry players. Main topics include:•An overview of Japan’s Green Transformation Act and its importance•The technologies the act is trying to incentivise and the mechanisms used•Japan’s Green Transformation Act vs. the US’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) •The “Supply Chain Subsidy” aimed for producers of hydrogen and ammoniaSupport the show

This week, on Energy Unplugged, we have a special episode featuring Aurora experts in a discussion about what energy markets are hot in Europe right now and why. Our Research Lead for European Power Markets Ryan Alexander is joined by Anuoluwa Omojola, Flexibility Lead and Rebecca McManus, Renewables Lead in the same team. Main topics include:•The most exciting markets for renewables and battery investment in Europe •The European Commission’s current power market reform •European Commission’s accelerated permitting rules and which markets are most ahead of the game in implementing those•Which markets are most proactive in terms of encouraging co-location and whySupport the show

In this episode we focus on the grid connections reform process and we welcome Julian Leslie, Head of Networks and Chief Engineer at National Grid ESO in a conversation with Emma Woodward, Project Leader at Aurora. Julian has 30 years' experience in electricity system operation, planning and investment in various senior leadership roles. His current role is to prepare Great Britain’s electricity networks for Net Zero. Julian has a degree in Electrical Engineering, is a Chartered Electrical Engineer and a Fellow Member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology.Main topics include:•The current grid connections process and the key steps developers have to follow •The multiple connections reforms going on at the moment, their current status and relation with other existing reforms •The key challenges in the reform processSupport the show

In this Energy Unplugged episode, we discuss the upcoming priorities of the Swedish TSO (transmission system operator), such as the capacity market implementation and solving grid bottlenecks. We’re pleased to be joined by Lowina Lundström, Senior Vice President, Svenska Kraftnät, in a discussion with our Head of Nordics & Baltics, Alexander Esser.Lowina is also Chairman of the Board of Directors at eSett, a company providing balance settlement services to participants of electricity markets in Finland, Norway and Sweden. Prior to that, she had several roles at the Nordic utility Fortum, and at Ellevio, one of Sweden's largest energy companies.Main topics include:•The role of TSOs for the energy transition in Sweden•The needs and bottlenecks of the Swedish power system•Sweden’s future as an electricity exporterSupport the show

This week on Energy Unplugged we welcome Dave Jones, Global Electricity Insights Lead at Ember in a conversation with our Managing Director for Central Europe, Hanns Koenig. Ember is an independent energy think tank that uses data-driven insights to support the energy transition. Before joining Ember in 2020, Dave worked for 13 years at German utility E.ON as an electricity analyst and after that, in 2014, he joined the non-profit Sandbag, where he was working on phasing out coal in Europe.Main topics include: •Driving the agenda for Europe’s coal exit and global trends in the coal phase out •Campaigning for wind parks, grid expansion, efficiency vs. campaigning against coal •Ember’s most recent European Electricity Review and its work on a global renewables goalSupport the show

In this Energy Unplugged episode we focus on Japan’s energy markets. We’re delighted to be joined by Professor Llewelyn Hughes of the Australian National University (ANU) in a conversation with our Managing Director in APAC and California, Hugo Batten and our Head of New Markets in APAC, Rowan von Spreckelsen. Llewelyn is a deep expert in Japan’s energy markets, being currently the Director of the Japan Institute at ANU. He’s had a long and distinguished academic career, spending time at MIT, Tokyo University, and Harvard, he has worked both in government (i.e. as an advisor to Ichirō Ozawa, Liberal Party of Japan) and the private sector (i.e Enron in Japan), as well as providing strategic and regulatory advice to energy companies operating in Japanese energy markets. Main topics include:•The evolution of Japan’s power markets over the last 5 years •The Japanese power market de-regulation and market shifts and the big domestic players’ response to these •The challenges of decarbonisation of the power sector i

This week on Energy Unplugged we welcome Sven Utermöhlen, Chief Executive Officer at RWE Offshore Wind, in a conversation with our Co-Head of Advisory for Central Europe, Casimir Lorenz. RWE is a leading global player in renewables and number two worldwide in offshore wind. Sven joined RWE in 2022 and before he has held various senior executive roles in renewable energy for more than sixteen years, including at innogy SE, and E.ON, where he also led the company’s offshore wind division. He also previously served in management consultancy roles for the Boston Consulting Group. He studied at the Universities of Karlsruhe and Hamburg.Main topics include:•The outlook of the offshore wind supply chain in Europe •The probably of reaching the ambitious offshore wind targets in Europe •The aim of a good market design for renewables and offshore wind in particular •The competition between different markets with regards to their attractivenessSupport the show

This week we have a special episode on Energy Unplugged in which we discuss the Japanese power market with Aurora's leadership team in Tokyo.Our Managing Director in APAC and California, Hugo Batten is joined by Aurora’s Rowan von Spreckelsen – Head of New Markets, APAC; Hayato Ono – Head of Advisory, Japan; Alex Luta and Zelin Chen – Project Leaders, Japan and Sehun Nakama – Associate, Japan.This episode is being released just as we open our office in Tokyo and deliver our first research projects in Japan.Main topics include:• The current generation mix in Japan and expected changes over the next years• Key elements of the energy transition in Japan• The Japanese electricity market design• Insights from Aurora’s Japan power market modelling workSupport the show

In this week’s podcast we welcome Jonathan Brearley, CEO of Ofgem, in conversation with Dan Monzani, our Managing Director for UK & Ireland. Over the next 12 years, the energy system is under pressure for transformation to reach the goal of Net Zero. This episode focuses on the necessity for change within the energy system in order to achieve these targets.Jonathan has wide-ranging energy sector experience, having led Electricity Market Reform as the Director for Energy Markets and Networks at DECC. Prior to this, he was Director of the Office of Climate Change, a cross-government strategy unit focussed on climate change and energy issues, where he led the development of the Climate Change Act. Earlier in his career, Jonathan was a senior adviser in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. In 2020, Jonathan became Ofgem's Chief Executive Officer after two years in the role of Executive Director for Systems and Networks.Main topics include:*The current stability of the retail market in the run to Net Zero*