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[Episode #246] – Meeting Australia’s 2030 Target

Mar 26 2025

This episode is part of a miniseries about Australia’s energy transition.

In late 2024, Chris traveled to Australia and recorded interviews with a wide range of experts who are closely involved in its energy transition. The first of those interviews was featured in Episode #234, and the second in Episode #235.

In this episode, we'll see how the Australian government is working with the grid power sector to plan and execute its transition to renewables—despite a political opposition committed to fossil fuels and nuclear. We'll also explore what's being done to ensure adequate capacity and maintain system reliability during this transformation.

To tell this story, we weave together the perspectives of several guests:

Chris Bowen, Minister for Climate Change and Energy for the Australian Labor Party, explains Australia's decarbonization targets and the government's framework to achieve them.
Matt Kean, Chair of Australia's Climate Change Authority, shares his team’s findings about the best pathways to meet those targets.
Alex Wonhas of AMPYR shares insights from helping grid operator AEMO develop Integrated System Plans that describe how to evolve the system toward those targets while maintaining reliability.
Tristan Edis of Green Energy Markets discusses the technical considerations of orchestrating new grid power resources.

In the subsequent episodes in this miniseries, we’ll be exploring how Australia is using innovation to meet the challenges of the transition. We’ll also take a closer look at how they use DER integration to support the system while helping customers gain more control over their energy bills and even save money.

Guest #1:

Dr. Alex Wonhas is a veteran senior executive and thought leader who has shaped the national and state-based strategic agendas in Australia’s energy sector for more than three decades.

Through roles including Executive General Manager at AEMO, Managing Director at Aurecon, and Executive Director at CSIRO, he has worked extensively with governments and industry in the Energy and Resources sector on issues ranging from strategic investment decisions in a complex and rapidly changing market environment, development and procurement of new large-scale infrastructure, impact of new technologies, to operational and organisational improvement. He is currently the CEO of AMPYR Australia.

Alex has served on a range of energy and resources related advisory committees and boards, including the Energy Corporation of New South Wales, CSIRO Chile, Evergen, CO2CRC, ANLEC, and the Australian Solar Institute. He has a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge.

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwonhas/

Guest #2:

Chris Bowen is Minister for Climate Change and Energy for the Australian Labor Party, representing Prospect, New South Wales in the House of Representatives. He has held a wide range of portfolios including serving as Treasurer, Minister for Human Services, Minister for Immigration, Minister for Financial Services, Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Competition Policy, Minister for Small Business and Minister for Tertiary Education. Chris has been responsible for a range of significant policy reform programs in these portfolios.

He served as Interim Leader of the Labor Party and Acting Leader of the Opposition following the 2013 Federal election and served as Shadow Treasurer.

On Twitter: @bowenchris

On the Australian Government website: https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=DZS

On the Web: https://www.chrisbowen.net/

Guest #3:

The Hon. Matt Kean is the Chair of Australia’s Climate Change Authority. He is also the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at Wollemi Capital.

Matt was most recently the New South Wales (NSW) Government Shadow Minister for Health. He was Deputy Leader of the NSW Liberal party from August 2022 until March 2023. Throughout his 13-year political career, Matt also held ministries of Innovation and Better Regulation, Treasury, Energy and Environment. He was the local New South Wales Government member for Hornsby from 2011 until 2024.

As Treasurer and Energy Minister of NSW, Matt championed climate action that is in the best interests of households and businesses. In 2020, he delivered the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap: A 20-year plan for NSW’s energy infrastructure. The roadmap spurs private investment in renewable energy while reducing emissions and power bills for the people of NSW.

On Twitter: @Matt_KeanMP

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kean-mp/

On the Web: https://www.climatechangeauthority.gov.au/

Guest #4:

Tristan Edis has worked on commercial and policy initiatives for the energy transition for 24 years.

Currently he is the Director of Analysis and Advisory at Green Energy Markets. He undertakes research to support clients making investment, trading and policy decisions related to energy and carbon abatement markets.

Tristan has written extensively on how to improve the energy system and markets to deliver reliable and affordable energy while also addressing climate change.

Previously, he has worked in the Clean Energy Council for the Australian Government, Ernst & Young, and the Grattan Institute think tank. He was also the editor of a clean energy news website called Climate Spectator.

On Twitter: @TristanEdis

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristan-edis-7b107998/

On the Web: https://www.greenmarkets.com.au/

Tristan’s research papers in IEEFA

Tristan’s articles in AFR

Tristan’s articles in The Guardian

Tristan’s articles in Watt Clarity

Tristan’s articles in Renew Economy

Tristan’s articles in Inside Story

Tristan’s articles in The Australian

Geek rating: 6

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[Episode #241] – Evolving the UK Energy System Part 2

Jan 15 2025

Mini Episode

This episode is the second in a miniseries about how the UK is transforming its energy system. If you missed Part One, featuring Adam Berman discussing the UK’s decarbonization progress, you can find it here.

In this conversation, Luke Ames Blackaby from Ofgem, the UK’s electricity and gas regulator, joins us to discuss how the agency is supporting technology development to meet the UK’s 2030 clean power and 2050 full decarbonization targets.

We explore a wide range of critical topics, including flexible electricity tariffs, cost-effective expansion of the transmission system for renewable energy, and adapting gas networks for hydrogen. Additionally, we cover integrating heat networks, leveraging electrified rail as a flexible demand asset, and using storage to manage variable renewable generation. Finally, we examine how regulations can evolve to accommodate emerging technologies like demand flexibility and optimize existing infrastructure.

Guest:

Luke Ames Blackaby is the Head of Ofgem’s Innovation Hub. The Innovation Hub is responsible for delivering Ofgem’s innovation support services, in the form of a regulatory sandboxes and bespoke advice to innovators, and for managing the delivery of Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). The Hub is also leading on the policy development for network innovation within RIIO-3, the price control setting process for gas distribution, and gas and electricity transmission, licensees for 2026-31.

On the Web: Ofgem Innovation Hub

Geek rating: 7

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[Episode #240] – Evolving the UK Energy System Part 1

Jan 1 2025

Mini Episode

This episode kicks off a new miniseries exploring how the UK is evolving its energy system through world-leading efforts to meet its decarbonization goals. In 2024, it closed its last coal-fired power plant and conducted its most successful Contract for Difference (CfD) auction yet, which attracted a diverse range of renewable energy projects—including more than enough offshore wind bids to make up for the lack of such projects in the 2023 auction.

The UK also launched an astonishingly ambitious effort to develop an economy-wide energy planning process for the entire country, conducted by the newly-established National Energy System Operator (or NESO). NESO produced its first report, providing essential guidance to all participants in the country’s energy system. Additionally, Great British Energy was created, which will make the British government a direct investor in renewable energy projects.

In this episode, we speak with Adam Berman, the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Energy UK, the nation’s energy industry trade group. He advocates for ways to speed up the UK’s journey to net-zero through enabling low-carbon investment in clean power generation. We review all of 2024’s developments in detail, and outline the path forward for the UK’s energy transition.

Guest:

Adam Berman is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Energy UK. He advocates for ways to speed up the UK’s journey to Net-Zero through enabling low-carbon investment in clean power generation. Prior to Energy UK, Adam was European Policy Director at IETA (International Emissions Trading Association), an organisation which advocates for robust and effective carbon pricing. Previous roles included working as an analyst in the energy industry on international climate policy issues, and as a researcher in the UK Parliament.

On the Web: Energy UK

Geek rating: 7

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[Episode #231] – Five Times Faster

Aug 21 2024

Mini Episode

Why have our climate policies failed to significantly reduce carbon emissions? What new strategies could help us decarbonize the global energy system five times faster — as is needed to avoid the worst climate scenarios?

Our guest in this episode believes he has some answers to these questions.

Simon Sharpe has been personally involved in the crafting of climate policy in the UK for over a decade. He designed and led flagship international campaigns for climate policy in 2020-2021, when the UK hosted COP26, and has held key roles in the UK Government, including as head of a private office to a minister of energy and climate change. His diplomatic experience includes postings in China and India. Currently, he is Director of Economics for the Climate Champions Team and a Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute. Simon has published influential academic papers and created groundbreaking international initiatives in climate change risk assessment, economics, policy, and diplomacy.

In his 2023 book, Five Times Faster—Rethinking the Science, Economics, and Diplomacy of Climate Change, Simon lays out why the institutions of science, economics, and climate diplomacy that should be helping us are holding us back. Chapter by chapter, he forensically analyzes why so many of our climate policies have failed to produce the desired results, demonstrating how science is pulling its punches, diplomacy is picking the wrong battles, and economics is fighting for the wrong side. More importantly, he outlines how to develop alternative policies that could actually work.

Guest:

Simon Sharpe is Director of Economics for the Climate Champions Team and a Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute. He designed and led flagship international campaigns of the UK’s Presidency of the UN climate change talks (COP26) in 2020-2021; worked as the head of private office to a minister of energy and climate change in the UK Government; and has served on diplomatic postings in China and India. He has published influential academic papers and created groundbreaking international initiatives in climate change risk assessment, economics, policy and diplomacy.

On the Web: fivetimesfaster.org

Geek rating: 6

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[Episode #84] – Designing Climate Solutions

Dec 12 2018

Mini Episode

If you wanted to design a set of policies that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, right now, where would you start? How would you figure out which sectors of the economy to target in order to have the maximum impact? Which policies would you choose? How would you go about designing them?

And which sectors of the economy would you target in order to reduce emissions the most? Transportation, maybe? Improving the efficiency of our buildings? Would you believe those two sectors rank at the very bottom of the list?

In this episode, we interview one of the authors of a new book by Energy Innovation titled Designing Climate Solutions, which is like a how-to manual for climate policy, identifying the major sectors of the economy that we should target to eliminate as much greenhouse gas as quickly as possible, and the specific policies that can achieve those reductions. We guarantee you will find some surprises in this one!

Geek rating: 5

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[Episode #64] – Ask Eric

Mar 7 2018

Mini Episode

In this episode, energy expert Eric Gimon answers questions submitted by Energy Transition Show subscribers on a wide range of topics, including the non-climate effects of climate change; whether we even need to keep investing in climate research; what the reliable indicators of the global energy transition might be; how much seasonal storage we’ll need; whether science adequately informs energy policy; the outlook for market reforms that value storage; the outlook and potential role for solar thermal plants equipped with storage; and we finish with a deep dive down the rabbit hole of resource adequacy and reserve margins.

Geek rating: 5

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