Energy Insiders - a RenewEconomy Podcast

How did it come to this? Energy security expert and former deputy chief of the RAAF John Blackburn on how Australia's has done nothing to prepare itself for the current fossil fuel crisis. Plus: EV sales are surging and electric trucks are a thing. Someone tell the transport minister!

Vari (Mhairi) Fraser, who led Goulburn Community Solar Energy Group to build Australia’s first community-owned solar farm with battery storage. She tells the long, grassroots journey from political spark to fundraising, regulatory snags, COVID delays and final construction. Also covers co-op ownership, dividends, local benefits and tips for other communities looking to follow their lead.

Adam Cameron, innovation engineer at SA Power Networks, showcases the Innovation Centre and household flexibility trials. Jeff Munday, Chief Growth Officer at Fluence, explains falling battery costs and industrial uses. They discuss batteries taming data centre demand, peak shaving, replacing diesel backup, rapid response to load swings, grid-forming and how home flexibility can reshape networks.

David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission and a policymaker driving California’s clean energy transition. He discusses California’s path from ~70% to 100% clean electricity, policy tools like procurement mandates, offshore wind and port investments, EV and charger rollout, storage and grid planning, and managing the decline of gas and refineries.

Daniel Bleakley, Co-CEO of New Energy Transport and former chief correspondent for The Driven, explains the electric trucking transformation. He covers real-world range demos and per-kilometre energy figures. He contrasts diesel capex/opex with EV economics and describes depot design, megawatt charging versus swapping, grid connections and scaling plans for corridor line-haul.

Francis Norman, head of the Centre of Decommissioning Australia and expert in shutting down oil and gas infrastructure. He explains what decommissioning involves and the technical challenges of removing offshore platforms. He covers recycling opportunities, subsea cutting innovations, policy and funding drivers, and lessons for designing future offshore projects for easier removal.

Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst and co-founder at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, studies China’s energy transition and air pollution. He discusses China’s record solar and wind build and how clean energy now drives a large share of economic growth. They cover electricity demand drivers, battery and storage surge, new coal capacity dynamics, transmission limits and market reform.

Michael Phelan, CEO of GridBeyond, leads an AI-driven company that optimises batteries, industrial loads and distributed assets. He discusses orchestrating data centres, batteries and industrial processes to unlock gigawatts of hidden flexibility. Short takes cover supermarket thermal inertia, EV chargers, community batteries and how markets and forecasting enable coordinated virtual power plants.

Sam Reynolds, Head of Octopus Australia — a fund manager and developer backing large renewables projects. He talks about plans for a 1.2GW / 4.8GWh Hanworth battery and creating a ring of batteries to serve Sydney. He outlines solar‑battery hybrids, portfolio-scale cost benefits, and how mixed contract strategies support firm, reliable energy.

Malcolm Turnbull, former Australian prime minister and president of the International Hydropower Association, champions pumped hydro as long-duration, sovereign storage. He contrasts batteries with multi-day storage needs. He critiques party politics, warns about geopolitics and submarine risks, and pushes for energy independence and careful tech choices.