In this episode, Grant McHerron, Ewen Levick and Ben Felton talk with Lena Parker, General Manager Energy Solutions at Ventia, about energy security and its importance for national security.

We start off the discussion by getting an overview of why energy and national security are intertwined, with a focus on moving away from coal to renewables, the responsibilities that Defence has in ensuring the supply of power to its assets and Australia’s citizens, and the challenges it faces being the largest landowner in the nation. We explore the options available, assess the current security situation, the increase in Australia’s energy usage, and the complexities in decision making related to rolling out solutions due to the number of stakeholders involved. Lena also walks us through the work Ventia is doing, primarily building generation and storage assets, decreasing consumption of electricity, and how Ventia is working with Defence to innovate scalable solutions.

The discussion also gives insights into Ventia's projects including their extensive battery services, largely for Telstra exchanges, and the difficulties involved in government policy, resourcing, and funding. We wrap up by reviewing the viability of nuclear energy especially in relation to the time it will take to launch operational facilities.

LINKS:

Ventia: www.ventia.com

Energy security is national security: www.ventia.com/insights/explainer/energy-security-is-national-security

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The ADM Podcast is produced by Southern Skies Media on behalf of Australian Defence Magazine, a Yaffa Media title (www.australiandefence.com.au).

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Hosted by Grant McHerron

Producer: Steve Visscher

Editor: Chris Visscher

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