Energy Insiders - a RenewEconomy Podcast
342 episodes - English - Latest episode: 1 day ago - ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsJoin RenewEconomy founder and editor Giles Parkinson and columnist and energy markets expert David Leitch as they discuss the week's main events - politics, solar and storage.
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Episodes
Managing solar ducks in the middle of Australia
March 27, 2024 09:16 - 1 hour - 86.4 MBCan Alice Springs switch off fossil fuels in the middle of the day? Lyndon Frearson from Ekistica on the options and lessons for the NEM. Plus: Eraring and NVES.
Would you trust your utility to control your solar?
March 20, 2024 04:23 - 54 minutes - 74.6 MBMonash Uni’s Yolande Strengers and Kari Dahlgren on one of the big challenges of the energy transition - trust. Plus, all the news of the week in this nuclear free podcast.
Australia’s biggest smelters flick switch to wind and solar
March 13, 2024 04:04 - 50 minutes - 69.6 MBRio Tinto’s Vik Selvaraja on why Australia’s biggest smelters - and biggest single energy consumers - are choosing wind and solar. Plus: Coalition’s nuclear nonsense.
The push for coal to play off the bench
February 29, 2024 23:34 - 50 minutes - 69.4 MBEnergyAustralia CEO Mark Collette on coal as a reserve asset, the uncertainty of Yallourn, the challenge of green hydrogen, and just managing the transition.
The boom in wind energy
February 22, 2024 03:57 - 53 minutes - 73.3 MBGE global wind boss Steve Swift on landmark supply deal with Andrew Forrest. Plus: Rio Tinto plans Australia’s biggest wind farm to power smelters. And Littleproud’s Barnaby moment.
Podcast special: How to make offshore wind work in Australia
February 20, 2024 03:48 - 1 hour - 92.9 MBWe talk to three industry experts on offshore wind as part of the Locking in the Green Energy Transition podcast series sponsored by Norton Rose Fulbright.
The battery domino effect
February 14, 2024 04:40 - 1 hour - 88 MBDaan Walter from RMI on the phenomenal growth of battery storage. Plus: Victoria blackouts, Eraring, and the rabble against renewables.
Renewable energy barriers and curtailment
February 07, 2024 00:59 - 39 minutes - 54.2 MBDylan McConnell discusses the benefits of the Capacity Investment Scheme, its impact on prices and how the market should pay for spilled energy.
The climate crisis and the energy transition
January 24, 2024 02:43 - 53 minutes - 72.9 MBBerkeley Earth’s Robert Rohde discusses the latest climate science and whether even 2°C is achievable. Plus: All the renewable and storage news from the first few weeks of 2024.
AEMO’s blueprint for wind, solar and storage
December 20, 2023 02:04 - 1 hour - 82.7 MBAEMO’s head of system design Merryn York on the draft 2024 Integrated System Plan. Plus: The big NSW tender, and battery storage everywhere. And a few tips for 2024.
Will Chris Bowen’s capacity scheme actually work?
December 15, 2023 03:57 - 45 minutes - 62.7 MBBaringa’s Anne Bailey talks about the Capacity Investment Mechanism and what’s needed to make it work. Plus: AEMO’s 2024 ISP, the COP28 results, and energy ministers and coal plants.
Victoria’s SEC and its first big battery play
December 08, 2023 01:05 - 46 minutes - 63.5 MBVic SEC boss Chris Miller on the state-owned corporation’s first big battery play, and what’s next. Plus: All the news of the week.
Macquarie marches in to Australian renewables
December 01, 2023 00:28 - 56 minutes - 77.5 MBMacquarie marches in to Australian renewables by RenewEconomy
AI, inverters and a smarter grid
November 28, 2023 23:47 - 47 minutes - 86.9 MBKate Muller from Norton Rose Fulbright talks with Habitat’s Ben Irons and colleague Nick Abrahams on the role AI will play in a grid making switch from spinning machines to inverter-based tech.
Bowen's capacity scheme, and NSW's "free" batteries
November 24, 2023 04:20 - 46 minutes - 64.4 MBBrad Hopkins, from AEMO Services, discusses the successful battery storage tender in NSW that could serve as a blueprint for Chris Bowen's massive 32 GW capacity scheme.
State of confusion
November 17, 2023 03:42 - 32 minutes - 44.1 MBConfusing new wind guidelines in NSW as coal state runs short of spinning machines. Plus: Origin battle intensifies as Tesla throws down energy gauntlet
Wind, solar, batteries and pumps
November 10, 2023 04:13 - 38 minutes - 53.3 MBGenex is succeeding where others feared to tread, with a new big battery, the first pumped hydro project in four decades, and massive wind, solar and storage plans. CEO Craig Francis explains how.
The end of spinning machines
October 31, 2023 02:13 - 50 minutes - 69.2 MBIvor Frischknecht, now head of Sosteneo, talks about the new battery that signals the end of the need for spinning machines, and a clear path to 100 per cent renewables. Plus: All Energy and Joyce.
South Australia's big move into green hydrogen
October 23, 2023 00:50 - 42 minutes - 57.7 MBState energy minister Tom Koutsantonis discusses green hydrogen plan, filling the "gap" on renewables, transmission, storage and prices.
Australia’s methane problem
October 20, 2023 04:13 - 55 minutes - 76.1 MBMethane expert Peter Rayner on Australia’s potent climate problem, and a solution. Plus: Origin’s black hole, Genex deals and big battery bids.
Social licence in the regions
October 13, 2023 02:33 - 59 minutes - 82.3 MBWe talk to three people in regional Australia dealing with renewable and transmission projects about the issue of social licence. Plus: Brookfield’s big win.
What price Marinus?
October 06, 2023 04:10 - 50 minutes - 69.4 MBWe talk to Caroline Wykamp and Prajit Parameswar from Marinus Link. Plus: Spring renewables surge delivers low prices, new records, and a push for more storage.
Net Zero by 2035
September 22, 2023 01:18 - 45 minutes - 63 MBKatherine Woodthorpe, from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, on why Australia should fast-track its net zero ambitions. Plus: The nuclear debate and renewable records.
The end of baseload in world’s biggest standalone grid
September 15, 2023 00:24 - 52 minutes - 71.9 MBJai Thomas, the co-ordinator of energy in Western Australia, on that state’s massive renewable plans, the end of baseload, and the rise of big batteries. Plus: News of the week.
Coal-keeper or Green-keeper?
September 06, 2023 04:52 - 26 minutes - 36.8 MBNSW energy minister Penny Sharpe discusses Eraring closure, fast tracking renewables and consumer equity: Plus, Marinus blow out and Queensland green hydrogen plans.
Locking in the Green Energy Transition
September 05, 2023 00:48 - 43 minutes - 59.6 MBEssential Energy CEO John Cleland says distributed networks can accelerate the switch to renewables. And he discusses cultural change, rooftop solar and EVs.
Out with coal, in with EVs
September 01, 2023 04:12 - 53 minutes - 73.2 MBEnergyAustralia boss Mark Collette on how he will make sure the company’s last coal generator will not get in the way of the renewable transition, and why he went electric.
Are heat batteries the next big thing?
August 25, 2023 03:52 - 46 minutes - 64.4 MBTom Geiser from Rondo Energy puts the case for heat batteries and their role in hard to abate sectors. Plus: Coal giants get a taxpayer funded lifeline.
Wind, solar and social licence
August 16, 2023 05:42 - 55 minutes - 76.9 MBBehavioural scientist John Pickering on the challenges of getting social licence for wind, solar, battery and transmission projects. Plus: What’s big coal up to?
What Australia can learn from Uncle IRA
August 09, 2023 03:13 - 58 minutes - 79.7 MBEnergy commentator David Roberts on Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, partisan politics and some exciting new technologies. Plus: This week’s major news.
Australia's biggest agri-solar and battery project
August 04, 2023 04:50 - 49 minutes - 67.5 MBLuke Osborne from Stride Renewables on the happy marriage of farming, solar and battery storage, and why community outreach works.
The path to net zero for industry
July 28, 2023 01:08 - 55 minutes - 76.2 MBAnna Skarbek from Cimateworks on why renewables will play central role in getting big industry to net zero. First, the grid. Plus: Big battery boom.
Landmark green hydrogen deal with traditional landowners
July 18, 2023 04:22 - 48 minutes - 66.9 MBPollination’s Rob Grant and Balinggarra’s Cissy Gore-Birch on landmark green hydrogen project around Ord River. Plus: To close or not to close coal.
Chris Bowen on climate and renewable targets
July 11, 2023 05:33 - 38 minutes - 53.2 MBFederal climate and energy minister Chris Bowen defends targets as ambitious and achievable, as he prepares to announce Hunter offshore wind zone and roll out capacity mechanism and fuel efficiency standards.
Hottest day, hottest week, hottest month
July 07, 2023 05:52 - 39 minutes - 54.2 MBKimberley Reid from Monash Uni talks about the temperature records being smashed this past week. Plus: Project delays and a new hydrogen strategy.
BlackRock’s big play, and 12-hour batteries
June 30, 2023 04:39 - 48 minutes - 67.1 MBBlackRock’s Charlie Reid on the fund manager’s big plans for Australia, and Allegro’s Thomas Nann on the innovative 12-hour flow battery that Origin is trialling.
Australia’s rise as an electro-state
June 23, 2023 02:51 - 53 minutes - 73.7 MBAlan Finkel on Australia’s potential to emerge as an “electro-state” with its wind and solar resources, and his Powering Up book. Plus: More big battery deals.
From brown coal to big batteries
June 16, 2023 03:13 - 37 minutes - 51.9 MBWe talk to Daniel Burrows from Eku Energy on new Hazelwood battery, the first at a coal generator, and the first to be wholly privately funded. Plus: AGL’s incrementalism and Queensland’s deep storage plunge.
Australia’s grid needs a 1.5°C target
June 09, 2023 03:21 - 53 minutes - 73.8 MBStephanie Bashir from Nexa Advisory on why setting a firm target of 1.5°C for the electricity grid would help solve regulatory and other blockages to new renewables. Plus: News of the week.
Can NSW quit coal?
June 01, 2023 04:50 - 51 minutes - 71.3 MBJames Hay and Andrew Kingsmill from EnergyCo discuss the infrastructure roadmap towards 100% renewables. Plus: Sun Cable, Callide and more news.
How to connect wind, solar and batteries
May 26, 2023 03:41 - 46 minutes - 64.3 MBClean Energy Council’s Christiaan Zuur on the work being done to cut delays and costs for grid connections. Plus: NSW releases roadmap to coal-free grid.
Are we too focused on big energy?
May 19, 2023 04:34 - 43 minutes - 59.6 MBTransmission links are front and centre of the energy debate, but Enphase co-founder Raghu Belur says more focus should be on what is consumed and produced at home.
EVs and big batteries on the march
May 12, 2023 04:06 - 53 minutes - 72.9 MBWilliam Todts, the head of Transport and Environment, on the accelerating EV transition in Europe. Plus: Australia to have a new biggest battery.
Batteries and pumped hydro fight over coal succession plan
May 02, 2023 05:35 - 46 minutes - 64.1 MBBrad Hopkins from AEMO Services discusses the stunning results of the first NSW generation and storage tender, and what it means for the market.
In love with wind, solar and batteries
April 27, 2023 03:20 - 50 minutes - 69 MBLouis de Sambucy, the head of Neoen in Australia, on why wind, solar and battery projects are getting bigger and more complex.
Sims to lead Superpower info war
April 21, 2023 03:05 - 46 minutes - 64 MBFormer competition czar Rod Sims emerges as chair of Superpower Institute, promoting Australia’s low cost green energy opportunity, and fighting the info war. Plus: Big battery boom.
Wind and solar deal killer blow to fossil fuels
April 13, 2023 23:59 - 45 minutes - 62.8 MBDave Jones from Ember Climate on new study that shows fossil fuel generation will finally peak this year. Plus: Macquarie makes its mark on battery market.
Smarter grid means a cleaner grid
April 06, 2023 01:40 - 51 minutes - 70.8 MBEnergy Efficiency Council's Rob Murray-Leach on landmark report on new ways of thinking about the grid. Meanwhile, new NSW energy minister worries about lights going out.
How big will offshore wind be?
March 27, 2023 03:55 - 47 minutes - 64.6 MBCorio CEO Jonathan Cole on big turbines and even bigger offshore wind plans. Plus. Matt Kean and busted coal.
Moving wind and solar through time and space
March 23, 2023 02:54 - 56 minutes - 77.5 MBPowerlink’s Paul Simshauser on how the Sunshine state will transform into a renewables powerhouse for the grid. Plus: Safeguards and the IPCC.