Energy Unplugged by Aurora

In this episode, our CEO John Feddersen speaks with Harry Boyd-Carpenter – Director, Head of Energy EMEA at EBRD; and Peter Baum – Project Leader in our Berlin office.  Harry leads the landing and investment team at EBRD where he focuses on deploying capital investments in regions where investment is more challenging (including eastern Europe and northern Africa). Peter focuses on our activities i...

This podcast episode is a special one celebrating International Women’s Day on 8th March and discussing hydrogen. We're featuring two female leaders in the energy industry as our Head of Iberia, Ana Barillas is joined by Ana Quelhas, recently appointed as Managing Director for Hydrogen at EDP Group.  Prior to the new role, Ana Quelhas was the Head of Corporate Energy Planning at EDP and previous t...

In this Energy Unplugged episode, Aurora’s Head of Commissioned Projects for Western Europe, Felix Chow-Kambitsch is joined by Mark Futyan, Anesco’s Chief Executive Officer.  Anesco is an energy services company specialising in solar PV, storage and energy efficiency, and playing a key role in the transition to Net Zero. With an impressive career within the energy industry, Mark joined Anesco in F...

In this episode, Aurora’s Managing Director in Australia, Hugo Batten, speaks with Tony Wood, the Head of the Energy Program at Grattan Institute and one of Australia’s most prolific energy writers and thinkers.  Tony has had a lengthy career in energy - working for organisations such as Origin Energy, The Clinton Foundation and Incitec Pivot. He also writes in the Australian Financial Review and...

In this episode, our Nordics Lead Alexander Esser is joined by Andreas Regnell, Senior Vice President and Head of Strategic Development at Vattenfall.  Andreas has been with Vattenfall for more than 10 years and previously Managing Partner of Nordic Region at BCG, and Analyst and Account Manager at Citibank. He holds a degree in Economics. Alexander and Andreas discuss: •The role of state-owned en...

In this episode, our US Country Lead Oliver Kerr is joined by LevelTen Energy’s Chief Operating Officer - Jason Tundermann and Vice President for Europe - Flemming Sørensen, as they take a deeper look at PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements).  LevelTen is the world’s largest renewable energy procurement platform. Jason has a successful career history in senior level business development roles within th...

This week on Energy Unplugged, our US Country Lead Oliver Kerr is joined by Jay Zoellner, CEO of Kiwi Power, a leading global energy technology company.  Jay has held a number of leadership roles in the power sector – both in public and private energy companies, and is now focusing his efforts on growing Kiwi Power’s business internationally. Oliver and Jay discuss:  •Kiwi Power’s mission and Jay’...

In this episode, Aurora's CEO John Feddersen speaks with Stefan-Jörg Göbel - Senior Vice President Wind & Solar Continental at Statkraft.  Stefan-Jörg is responsible for developing a pan-European renewables portfolio, spanning solar and wind for one of Europe’s leading utilities. Previously, he ran one of Europe’s largest power trading and origination teams and he started his electricity secto...

In this episode, Aurora’s Managing Director in Australia, Hugo Batten speaks with Ian Learmonth, the CEO of Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).  With vast experience in the energy sector across the globe, Ian has spent time at Macquarie Group, NatWest and Social Ventures Australia, prior to joining the CEFC in 2017.  Some of the main topics include:  •CEFC, technologies of focus a...

In this new episode, Aurora’s Research Director Richard Howard is joined by Duncan Clark, Head of UK Region for Ørsted.  Coming from a previous commercial role at The Crown Estate, Duncan joined Ørsted in 2012 as Programme Director for offshore wind, being responsible for delivering massive projects such as Westermost Rough and Hornsea 1 throughout the project execution phase, taking the new role...

In this latest 2020 episode, Aurora's CEO John Feddersen is joined by Will Gardiner, Chief Executive Officer of Drax Group – the UK’s largest renewable power generator.  Will joined Drax as CFO in 2015 and was appointed CEO in January 2018, now playing one of the key roles in the decarbonisation of the British electricity system.  John and Will discuss: * Will’s role and the most important trait o...

In this episode, Aurora’s Managing Director in Germany Manuel Köhler speaks with Marie-Luise Pörtner, Managing Director of BayWa r.e. Wind.  BayWa is one of the largest renewables developers in Europe, with projects all around the world. Marie-Luise has previously held a number of other senior roles within the energy sector including Managing Director of the wind developer Juwi and Energy Sector M...

This week, Aurora’s CEO John Feddersen speaks with Dan Monzani, Director of Energy Security, Networks & Markets at BEIS, about the UK Government’s long-awaited Energy White Paper: Powering our Net Zero Future, published this week.  The Energy White Paper follows Boris Johnson’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, and establishes a strategy to achieve Net Zero across the wider ene...

In this episode, Aurora’s Head of Iberia Ana Barillas is joined by her special guest - Roger Font Garcia, Global Head of Project Finance, Asset and Specialized Lending at Sabadell.  Roger was appointed to the current role in January 2019 after several senior roles within the bank, and under his leadership, Sabadell had embraced the Spanish renewables market with a much higher degree of merchant ex...

In this episode, Aurora’s Research Director Richard Howard discusses hydrogen’s potential in Europe with two of Aurora’s leading hydrogen experts - Alexander Esser, Senior Commercial Manager and Anise Ganbold, Project Leader.  Alexander has recently led a major hydrogen multiclient study on assessing its role in the energy systems of Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands and Anise leads our work o...

In this episode, Aurora’s CEO John Feddersen speaks with Laurie Fitch, Partner in the Strategic Advisory Group at PJT Partners.  Laurie is also a Non-Executive Director of EDP (Energias de Portugal, SA) and prior to joining PJT Partners, she was Co-Head of Morgan Stanley’s Global Industrials Group in Europe.  John and Laurie discuss:  •Laurie’s journey and her roles at PJT Partners and EDP •Invest...

In this week’s episode, Aurora’s Principal Ben Collie talks with David Connolly, CEO of the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA).  IWEA is Ireland's largest renewable energy association and a leader in Ireland’s fight against climate change. Prior to this role, David was an Associate Professor in Energy Planning at Aalborg University in Copenhagen, where his research focussed on the design and ass...

In this episode, Aurora’s Managing Director in Australia, Hugo Batten is joined by Ivan Varughese, Head of Green Investment Group for Asia-Pacific at Macquarie Group.  Ivan has been with Macquarie for more than 14 years as Executive Director and Head of Infrastructure, Utilities and Renewables in Australia & New Zealand, before being appointed to the new role in 2020. Hugo and Ivan discuss:  •...

In this episode, Aurora’s Project Leader Thekla von Bülow discusses artificial intelligence in energy with her special guest Tejpreet Chopra, Founder & CEO of Bharat Light & Power (BLP).  Tejpreet is the former president and CEO of GE India, and has vast global management and finance experience in France, UK, Hong Kong, India and the US. Listen to the episode to find more about:  •BLP and...

A new podcast episode is ready for you! Aurora’s Project Leader Thekla von Bülow is joined by our first Spanish guest on ‘Energy Unplugged’ - Rafael Mateo, Energy CEO of ACCIONA.  ACCIONA is the largest independent renewable developer and operator in the world, and Rafael is a true pioneer of renewable energy, having been in the energy industry for over 35 years.  Thekla and Rafael discuss:  •ACCI...

In this episode, Aurora’s CEO John Feddersen discusses the energy transition in the US with his special guest Nora Mead Brownell, Co-Founder of ESPY Energy Solutions.  Nora is a former commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) where she was nominated by President George W. Bush, and among many other previous roles she has also served as the Chair of the Board of Pacific Gas &...

This week on ‘Energy Unplugged’, Aurora’s CEO John Feddersen speaks with Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF Energy, Britain’s biggest generator of zero-carbon electricity.  Appointed as CEO in November 2017, Simone joined EDF in 2004 and had been head of EDF Group's international division since 2015.  Listen to the episode to find out more about:  •Simone’s professional journey and his clarinet playing skil...

In this episode, Aurora’s Research Director Richard Howard is joined by Thomas Fureder, Managing Director at Barclays Investment Bank, in an interesting discussion about the market potential of hydrogen and its role in meeting Net Zero targets.  Richard and Thomas discuss:  •Hydrogen’s value proposition and investment opportunities  •The need for a clear policy framework  •Replacing grey hydrogen...

This week on ‘Energy Unplugged’, Aurora’s CEO John Feddersen speaks with Audrey Zibelman, currently CEO and Managing Director of the Australian Energy Market Operator - AEMO.  This is Audrey’s first public interview since she announced this week that she will leave AEMO to take up a newly-created leadership role at X - the research and development facility for "moonshot" technologies, a subsidiary...

In this episode, Aurora’s Research Director Richard Howard spoke with Dieter Helm CBE, Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford, about Dieter's recent book 'Net Zero: How We Stop Causing Climate Change'.  Dieter is also Chair of the Natural Capital Committee and has provided extensive advice to the UK and European governments on many issues, including 'The Cost of Energy Review' fo...