Rewired

As we look back at 10 years since ARENA was first established, we’re speaking with one of the most important names in Australia’s clean energy journey, Ross Garnaut. Economist Ross Garnaut has many descriptions attached to his name - emeritus professor at the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University, former economic adviser to Prime Minister Bob Hawke, ambassador to China, author - but there’s one label you may not have heard: “An old dog for a hard road”. Read more: arena.gov.au/blog/ross-garnauts-renewable-energy-road/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hysata CEO Paul Barrett explains how research undertaken by two Australian universities is helping them produce the world’s most efficient hydrogen electrolysers. Early in 2022, Australian technology company Hysata announced they had developed a groundbreaking hydrogen electrolyser. The news made a splash, offering a pathway for emissions free hydrogen to compete with methods of production that rely on fossil fuels. Read more: https://arena.gov.au/blog/rewired-game-changing-electrolysers-with-hysatas-paul-barrettSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Creative ways of storing energy from the wind and sun will be needed to power the next phase of the energy transition. This week on ARENA’s podcast Rewired, we speak to Dr Marnie Shaw from the Australian National University about a new wave of community energy projects. Unlike the small household batteries that are installed behind the meter to soak up rooftop solar power, community batteries can be installed across the distribution network to benefit all households. Read more: arena.gov.au/blog/stockpiling-solar-power-in-suburban-batteries/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The gift of a solar powered car at just eight years of age set 5B’s Nicole Kuepper-Russell on a pathway that is transforming the way the world produces energy. Now the Chief Operating Officer at solar pioneer 5B, Kuepper-Russell joins Rewired to explain how the company's unique approach is making solar faster to deploy and more affordable. With support from ARENA, 5B is deploying robots and automation at their Sydney manufacturing plant. The project aims to bring down the cost of their prefabricated 'Maverick' solar arrays that will soon underpin the world's largest solar farm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian innovators AMSL Aero are taking renewable energy to the skies with their futuristic reimagining of the aircraft. Founders Andrew Moore and Siobhan Lyndon joined us this week to share their vision for air travel and explain how soon we might take off in their emissions free ‘air taxi’. Moore has used his aeronautical engineering background, paired with 15 years experience in the aviation industry, to inform the design of AMSL Aero’s “Vertiia” aircraft. It takes off vertically like a helicopter, using eight electric powered rotors that rotate to horizontal to allow it to fly using a pair of wings. It will come with the option of hydrogen fuel cell or battery electric propulsion, with hydrogen able to travel 1000 kilometres for the same weight as the battery version which can cover about 250 kilometres. Read more - https://arena.gov.au/blog/a-bit-like-the-jetsons-green-hydrogen-takes-flight  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Professor Martin Green started his solar research in the 1970s, the idea of using solar panels to power our homes was out of this world.  NASA was developing solar technology to power spacecraft and satellites, but was far too expensive and inefficient for terrestrial applications. Half a century on, more than three million Australian homes have panels on their rooftops, combining into a force that is transforming the way we use energy. This week Professor Green joined us this week to share his remarkable story and look to the future of energy, now that solar has officially changed the game. Read more - https://arena.gov.au/blog/revolutionising-energy-with-australias-solar-superman See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, SEA Electric’s Bill Gillespie joins us to share exciting developments in the world of zero emissions heavy vehicles. Their trucks are now in operation across some of Australia’s biggest fleets, ferrying deliveries for Woolworths, IKEA, Australia Post and DHL, and also helping local councils to reduce emissions. Founded in Australia and now based in Los Angeles, SEA Electric is expanding into international markets, with a growing presence in the US, Europe and Asia. As well as helping companies to meet their customers’ sustainability expectations, Gillespie explains that the growth of electric trucks offers fleet operators a way to make “extreme” savings on their fuel bills. Subscribe now Subscribe to Rewired now to make sure you don’t miss an episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian solar pioneers have set a new efficiency benchmark with their next generation cells. From humble beginnings in a garage in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, solar startup SunDrive is on a rapid rise. In September, they announced that they had developed the world’s most efficient silicon cell, claiming the record from China’s Longi Solar. The record is made more significant by the fact that SunDrive’s cells are manufactured with copper in the place of silver, a precious metal that is in limited supply. This week co-founder and CEO Vince Allen joined Rewired to discuss their new world record for solar efficiency, and what it could mean for the transition to renewable energy. Subscribe now Subscribe to Rewired now to make sure you don’t miss an episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fresh off the back of launching ARENA's new investment plan, CEO Darren Miller joins us to explain how renewables could soon shake up the heaviest of heavy industries. In our conversation he explains that investment decisions made today will be key to transforming our energy system and achieving net zero emissions. We also explore the bold vision that underpins ARENA's new investment plan. As well as helping to decarbonise emissions-intensive industries, success could see more value captured from Australia’s renewable energy and new opportunities created in jobs-rich manufacturing industries. Read more: arena.gov.au/blog/darren-millers-vision-for-a-prosperous-renewable-future/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Working on solar since the 1990s, Professor Renate Egan has helped to transform the way we consume energy, recently taking up the challenge to “electrify everything”. Professor Egan is living her vision, investing in a small solar system in 2008 that she has since expanded and backed up with battery storage. Renate's electrification journey has seen her switch to an electric vehicle and she aims to replace her gas cooktop and water heater within the next year. In 2013 Renate co-founded Solar Analytics, which provides monitoring information to help solar households understand their energy generation and usage. Read more on ARENAWIRE: arena.gov.au/blog/electrifying-our-lives-with-professor-renate-egan  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cheap, abundant and variable wind and solar is shaking up the electricity market, forcing traders to rethink how energy is bought and sold. The Renewable Energy Hub, an offshoot of global carbon brokers Tradition, is taking up the challenge, creating new renewable-specific ways to trade energy. In the newest episode of Rewired, founder Chris Halliwell joined us to discuss the Hub’s work, explaining that electricity is amongst the most volatile and unpredictable commodities in the world. Read more on ARENAWIRE: https://arena.gov.au/blog/new-trading-toolkit-for-a-transforming-energy-market/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Energy transformer Dr John Lasich has helped to take solar from “witchcraft or alchemy” into the cheapest form of energy generation in history. The RayGen founder joined Rewired to discuss how an idea he developed in his shed has attracted $42 million in capital and will soon be deployed on the site of AGL’s Liddell Power Station. His “solar thermal” technology concentrates sunlight to central solar PV receivers to produce electricity, while employing an innovative approach to capture the heat by-product to provide long term energy storage. Read more - https://arena.gov.au/blog/solar-pioneer-breaks-down-his-game-changing-invention/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Green hydrogen offers a renewable alternative to natural gas, but is it a viable energy source for our homes? With 15 years in the energy industry and a background as a chemical engineer, AGIG’s Head of Strategy and Innovation Kristin Raman is one of the quiet transformers having a big impact on the way we use energy. She joined us to discuss AGIG’s plan to transition its natural gas network to hydrogen and explain why she thinks our homes should be repowered with renewable gasses. Read more - https://arena.gov.au/blog/role-for-renewable-gas-in-our-homesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ARENA’s podcast Rewired is back for its biggest season yet. This season, we will introduce you to some of the people transforming Australia’s energy landscape that you might not have heard from before. From startup founders disrupting traditional business models, to the people investing new technologies that could power our lives in the future, Rewired will give you unprecedented access to the front line in the energy transition. Not just generation We will hear how ARENA funding is helping to trial new ways of producing metals like steel and aluminium using renewable energy. Experts will share progress commercialising technologies like renewable hydrogen and electric vehicles, which are finally achieving long-held potential. And we will explore how Australia’s riches of wind and solar could unlock opportunities to undertake more energy-intensive processes onshore, creating jobs and wealth. This is our most ambitious season to date, with twice as many episodes giving us the chance to showcase more of the ways Australia is unlocking a renewable energy future. Subscribe now ARENA Rewired: Transformers is available wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe now so you get a notification when new episodes are released. You can help us grow the podcast by sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could cheap, plentiful supplies of renewable energy give Australian manufacturers an edge? Around the world, industrial energy users are embracing renewable energy. Global giants IKEA, Lego, Apple and Coca Cola are amongst hundreds of companies blazing a trail, making the RE100 pledge to power their operations entirely with renewables. Closer to home more Australian manufacturers are seeing the benefits of cheap, dependable power - from food producers, to remote mine operators and even companies that produce chemicals in massive volumes. In the final episode of this season of ReWired, we speak to one of the local businesses leading the way, trading their LPG powered boiler with a Danish-made biomass system. We hear from a Queensland business refining liquid fuels from waste products, and some now familiar voices help to put the bioenergy opportunity into context. Stay up to date ARENA Rewired: Solving the Energy Puzzle is available wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe now so you get a notification when new episodes are released. While this is the final episode in this season, we hope to release more episodes soon. You can help us grow the podcast by sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of Australia’s oldest and most prolific methods of generating energy is poised to transform the electricity network - again. In this episode of ReWired we take a deep dive into one of the oldest energy storage technologies - pumped hydro. More than a century on from the establishment of the Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Department, new hydro projects are being developed as part of work to prepare for a future powered by renewables. In this episode, we hear from Hydro Tasmania CEO Steve Davy about the vision for the island state to become a national powerhouse. Chief Scientist Alan Finkel and AEMO CEO Audrey Zibelman share their insights into how pumped hydro will fit into the future energy mix, and ARENA CEO Darren Miller outlines some of the work underway to help this technology become commercial. How could it work? While the technology that underpins pumped hydro is not new, there are only a few working systems around the country. The two biggest projects in the pipeline - Snowy 2.0 and Tasmania’s Battery of the Nation - have a collective capacity of about 4500 MW. According to Snowy Hydro, the 2000 MW Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro facility could power three million homes for more than a week when operating at full capacity.  The large output and long duration makes pumped hydro well suited to complement large-scale renewables, with the capacity to store energy from windy and sunny periods for when generation drops. One challenge is sending electricity from remote sites suited to large-scale pumped hydro facilities to distant population centres where it is needed. Tasmania’s plan to build the “Battery of the Nation” to bolster the National Electricity Market has a particularly big hurdle to overcome - Bass Strait. With the existing BassLink interconnector at capacity, work is underway to advance the plan for a second connection to the mainland. The business case for the proposed “Marinus Link” is well-developed and the second interconnector is on track to enter service as soon as 2027. Stay up to date ARENA Rewired: Solving the Energy Puzzle is available wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe now so you get a notification when new episodes are released. You can help us grow the podcast by sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it possible for wind and solar to supply reliable, dependable electricity day or night, regardless of the weather? One of the biggest criticisms of renewable energy has been the simple fact that the output of wind and solar farms can vary depending on the weather and time of day. When renewables made up a small part of the generation mix, that variability wasn’t a big problem. But as wind and solar do more of the heavy lifting, it is vital that we find ways to store energy for those times when less energy is being generated. In this episode of ReWired: Solving the Energy Puzzle, we look at one of the newest - and most headline grabbing - large-scale storage technologies. Just like the AA cells that historically powered devices like transistor radios, massive battery banks today store energy in electric vehicles and increasingly offer a way to support the electricity grid. Hear Edify Energy CEO John Cole tell us about the 25 MW / 50 MWh battery they have installed alongside their solar farm at Gannawarra in northern Victoria.  Australian Energy Market Operator CEO Audrey Zibelman shares her perspective on the role storage technologies like batteries have a role to play 'firming' the variable output of wind and solar farms, and helping to keep the lights on. We also hear from Climateworks CEO Anna Skarbek, who believes that batteries will be an important part of the future energy portfolio. She shares her belief that flagship projects like the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia provide a glimpse of the future and help to shift the conversation around the energy transition. Stay up to date ARENA Rewired: Solving the Energy Puzzle is available wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe now so you get a notification when new episodes are released. You can help us grow the podcast by sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could the most common element in the universe be the key to a future powered by renewables? In this episode of ReWired, we explore how renewable hydrogen could be poised for its moment in the sun. While the potential of hydrogen has been understood for decades, the emergence of electrolyser technology - powered by affordable and plentiful energy from the wind and sun - is a potential game-changer. The opportunity is massive. Just as Australia's resources have underpinned global industry for generations, hydrogen could allow us to export our riches of wind and solar energy as the world works to decarbonise. Opportunities beyond our borders One country that sees a bright future for hydrogen is Germany. In this episode, Managing Director of the German Energy Agency Kristina Haverkamp tells us that Germany won't be able to produce enough hydrogen to meet their future demand. Describing hydrogen as one of a suite of renewable, synthetic ‘powerfuels’, she believes it will be an important alternative to direct electrification in the pathway to a future powered by renewables. Where do we start Producing hydrogen with an electrolyser costs more than fossil fuel alternatives today, but ARENA is working hard to make the emerging technology commercial. As well as investing $70 million into a new funding round, ARENA is supporting massive ammonia users like explosives manufacturer Dyno Nobel to explore whether it is possible to transition to using a renewable hydrogen feedstock. Incitec Pivot’s Vice President of Strategic Project Development Darren Jarvis told us these projects offer a pathway towards the vision of a hydrogen export industry. We also hear from ATCO’s Head of Innovation Sam Lee Mohan, who tells us about their work to blend renewable hydrogen into existing natural gas pipelines.  Stay up to date Rewired: Solving the Energy Puzzle is available wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe now so you get a notification when new episodes are released. You can help us grow the podcast by sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Electric vehicles are finally breaking into the mainstream, but is Australia’s electricity network ready for them? Australia’s EV journey has started slowly. But with more models available than ever before and fast charging networks under construction, for many they are becoming a viable alternative. In this episode of ReWired, experts share their perspective on why you should consider an EV for your next car. Learn about work underway to make sure the electricity grid can cope with a growing fleet of electricity hungry vehicles, and hear from the people building new charging networks. We even hear how the landscape is transforming in Germany, where the first car was built nearly 135 years ago. Subscribe now ARENA Rewired: Solving the Energy Puzzle is available now. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe now so you get a notification when new episodes are released. You can help us grow the podcast by sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are pleased to bring you the third season of ARENA's podcast, ReWired: Solving the Energy Puzzle. We begin inside a net zero emissions home overflowing with renewable energy technology. Hear what inspired the owners to reimagine the modern Australian home to create and consume energy as efficiently as possible.  We speak to energy leaders about the challenge of integrating the array of behind the meter technologies into a grid designed last century. AEMO CEO Audrey Zibelman and Australia's Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel explain some of the ways these hurdles are being overcome, and share a vision for how the network might work in the future. And ARENA CEO Darren Miller introduces the game-changing distributed energy projects that ARENA is supporting, like Melbourne startup Allume, which is breaking down barriers to solar for apartments and other multi-metered buildings. Your support made the first two seasons a huge success. Help us to grow the show by sharing it with your networks, and joining in the conversation on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.