In this episode of Energy Unplugged, we are delighted to welcome Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta, discussing the Alberta energy and power landscape with our Managing Director for North America, Oliver Kerr.

Danielle Smith, who was sworn in as the 19th Premier of Alberta in 2022, previously served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Highwood and the leader of the Official Opposition. Before returning to politics, she built a successful career in media and business, most recently as President of the Alberta Enterprise Group. Danielle holds degrees in both Economics and English from the University of Calgary.

Main topics include the following:

• Finding the right balance between decarbonisation, consumer affordability, and system reliability
• The roles of markets and government in addressing system reliability challenges
• The future of renewables in Alberta, with a focus on solar and wind energy

Support the Show.

In this episode of Energy Unplugged, we are delighted to welcome Katan Hirachand, Chief Executive & Chief Country Officer of Société Générale India. Katan will be discussing project finance in India with our Managing Director responsible for our activities in the region, Dan Monzani.

Katan oversees Société Générale’s Global Banking and Investor Solutions activities in India. With over two decades of global experience, he has held positions such as Co-head of Advisory and Project Finance for EMEA, and was responsible for the largest-ever project financing in Africa at USD 15.5 billion. Before joining Société Générale, Katan worked in commercial roles with BG Group in Brazil, Tunisia, Iran, and the UK.

Main topics include the following:

• Why do state lenders have a prominent role in India, and what opportunities exist for private lenders?
• How are projects being influenced by the emergence of commercial and industrial PPAs and the design of round-the-clock renewable electricity auctions?
• What is the potential of the green hydrogen market in India?

Support the Show.

In this episode of Energy Unplugged, we're delighted to welcome Mateo Jaramillo, co-founder and CEO of Form Energy. Mateo joins our Managing Director for North America, Oliver Kerr, and Zachary Edelen, a Senior Associate from our Austin office, to discuss long-duration battery storage.

Before co-founding and directing Form Energy, Mateo served as the Vice President of Products and Programs for Tesla's stationary energy storage program. In this role, he was responsible for defining Tesla Energy's product line and business model definition, as well as overseeing global policy and business development. Prior to working at Tesla, Mateo was the Chief Operating Officer and a founding member of Gaia Power Technologies, a pioneering distributed energy storage company. Currently, he also serves on the Board of Directors for the American Clean Power Association.

Main topics include the following:

• What are iron-air batteries and how do they work?
• The cost, duration, and efficiency of long-duration storage
• Are there any potential major competitors or alternatives to long-duration energy storage?

Support the Show.

In this episode of Energy Unplugged, we are delighted to welcome Andrew Waranch, President & CEO of Spearmint Energy, discussing the battery storage market with our Managing Director for North America, Oliver Kerr.

Andrew brings over 25 years of experience in research, trading, and portfolio management across the electricity power markets. Before founding and leading Spearmint Energy, he worked at several energy trading firms, including Elustria, Elliott Associates, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, and Constellation Energy. He holds a B.S. in Applied Economics and Business Management from the Dyson School of Business at Cornell University.

The main topics include the following:

• US battery market landscape, including its attractiveness and its design
• Risk management and offtake structures
• The role of batteries in the energy transition

Support the Show.

Thinking of applying to our Australian Graduate Program? Listen in! In this episode, we sit down with Daniel Mechtersheimer and Michael Veld, Graduate Analysts in the 2024 cohort, to hear about their first-hand experience at Aurora. You'll hear about everything from the application process to the day-to-day responsibilities and projects.

To learn more visit auroraer.com/grads!

Support the Show.

In this episode of Energy Unplugged, we are delighted to welcome Buddy Rizer, Executive Director for the Department of Economic Development in Loudoun County, Virginia, USA. He discusses data centre demand and its impact on power systems with our Head of USA East, Julia Hoos, and Zachary Edelen, Senior Associate in our Research team.

Buddy is largely credited as the architect of "Data Center Alley"—the world’s largest concentration of data centre load. He leads the agency responsible for encouraging growth and developing relationships with Loudoun’s business community. During his tenure, Buddy and his team have attracted more than $60 billion in new commercial investment and over 50,000 new jobs.

The main topics include the following:

• The future of data centre demand in terms of growth and its absorption by the system
• Increases in power prices and their impact on local data centres
• The feasibility of serving data centre demand with 100% green power, and the extent to which this is already happening

Support the Show.

In this episode of Energy Unplugged, we are delighted to welcome Agnes Maria da Costa, Director at the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL). She joins our Managing Director for Iberia & LATAM, Ana Barillas, to discuss policies for the Brazilian electricity market, including capacity reserve auctions.

Agnes has been a Director at ANEEL since December 2022. Before this role, she spent almost eighteen years at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, where she held positions such as advisor, special advisor, program director, deputy head, and head of the Special Advisory Board on Economic Affairs. Throughout her career, Agnes has played a significant role in shaping energy policy in Brazil.

In this episode, we cover the following main topics:

• What are the electricity market policies where Brazil has been a global leader?
• What is the future of electricity sector regulation in Brazil?
• How do capacity auctions work in Brazil, and why is more flexible and adaptable regulation needed?

Support the Show.

On our 200th episode of Energy Unplugged, which also marks our first India-focused episode, we are delighted to welcome a very special guest: Suman Bery, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. He takes a deep dive into the Indian market with Dan Monzani, Managing Director at Aurora, who oversees our activities in India.

Mr. Bery is an eminent economist, academic, writer, and policy leader who has spent the better part of the last three decades at the World Bank, eventually becoming their Lead Economist. Between 2012 and 2016, he served as Shell’s Chief Economist. In India, he has been a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council and the Reserve Bank of India’s Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy.

NITI Aayog is both India’s Ministry of Planning and its apex public policy think tank, bringing together senior Union Ministers and all the Chief Ministers of the states. Mr. Bery currently serves as NITI Aayog’s Vice Chairman, reporting directly to the Prime Minister, who acts ex officio as its Chair.

Main topics include the following:

• The development of India’s energy infrastructure in the context of the country’s economic growth.
• The Indian Energy Transition and its ambitious target of deploying 50GW of renewables per annum, including the roles of PPAs and green hydrogen.
• The Government’s vision in promoting liquid, open, competitive markets, and the importance of foreign direct investment.

Aurora opened an office in Delhi earlier this year and will be launching its coverage of the Indian power market from July 2024. If you would like to contact the team and find out more about our work, please email contact.delhi@auroraer.com.

Support the Show.