This week on Energy Unplugged, Hugo Batten, Managing Director of Aurora APAC, and Arthur Yanagisawa, Head of Advisory for Japan at Aurora Energy Research, are joined by Virginie Sandilya, Chief Investment Officer of Shizen International and Head of Project Finance for the Shizen Energy Group. 

Japan knows it needs batteries. The question is whether the market can build them fast enough. 

Investor appetite remains strong, but the industry's biggest challenges are no longer technological. Grid congestion, rising interest rates, revenue uncertainty and increasingly competitive access to transmission are creating new hurdles for developers trying to reach financial close. 

Drawing on experience from both the lending and development sides of the industry, Virginie shares her perspective on what separates successful projects from the rest, why bankability remains a central challenge, and how developers are navigating a rapidly evolving market. 

In many ways, Japan's battery market has reached an inflection point. Investor appetite is there. The technology is proven. The question is whether the market structure can keep up. 

Main topics include: 

This week on Energy Unplugged, Laura Picardo, Aurora Energy Research's Advisory Lead for Mexico, is joined by William Judd, Manager – Origination & Execution, LatAm at Cubico Sustainable Investments. 

After years of limited renewable deployment, Mexico's energy transition is moving again. 

New investment mechanisms, major regulatory reforms, and ambitious deployment targets are creating fresh momentum in one of Latin America's most important power markets. But this isn't simply a return to business as usual. Mexico is attempting to accelerate renewable deployment while integrating battery storage from the outset and building new partnerships between private developers and the state-owned utility, CFE. 

Drawing on Cubico's decade-long experience in the country, William discusses the market's resurgence, the opportunities created by the new mixed-investment model, and the realities of delivering large-scale renewable and storage projects on compressed timelines. 

The conversation also explores what Mexico can learn from markets like Chile and Uruguay, and whether the country can combine political ambition, private capital and strategic planning to deliver its next wave of clean energy growth. 

Main topics include: 

This week on Energy Unplugged, Laura Picardo, Aurora Energy Research's Advisory Lead for Mexico, is joined by William Judd, Manager – Origination & Execution, LatAm at Cubico Sustainable Investments. 

After years of limited renewable deployment, Mexico's energy transition is moving again. 

New investment mechanisms, major regulatory reforms, and ambitious deployment targets are creating fresh momentum in one of Latin America's most important power markets. But this isn't simply a return to business as usual. Mexico is attempting to accelerate renewable deployment while integrating battery storage from the outset and building new partnerships between private developers and the state-owned utility, CFE. 

Drawing on Cubico's decade-long experience in the country, William discusses the market's resurgence, the opportunities created by the new mixed-investment model, and the realities of delivering large-scale renewable and storage projects on compressed timelines. 

The conversation also explores what Mexico can learn from markets like Chile and Uruguay, and whether the country can combine political ambition, private capital and strategic planning to deliver its next wave of clean energy growth. 

Main topics include: 

This week on Energy Unplugged, Caroline Still, Aurora Energy Research's Market Lead for South Africa, is joined by Jan Fourie, CEO of Mulilo. 

Just a few years ago, South Africa's priority was clear: end load shedding. Today, the challenge looks very different. 

As private investment accelerates and the South African Wholesale Electricity Market (SAWEM) begins to take shape, the industry is shifting its focus from simply adding megawatts to building a power system that can deliver reliable, affordable electricity over the long term. 

Drawing on a front-row seat to South Africa's rapidly evolving power sector, Jan discusses why transmission has emerged as the industry's biggest bottleneck, how batteries are changing the economics of renewable energy, and why flexibility could become one of the most valuable commodities in the country's future electricity market. 

The conversation also explores the role of patient capital, the evolution of power procurement, and whether South Africa has the opportunity to do something few countries have managed successfully: build a competitive electricity market while simultaneously transforming its generation fleet. 

Main topics include: 

This week on Energy Unplugged, Lara Panjkov, Aurora Energy Research's Head of Research for APAC, and Zelin Chen, Aurora's Market and Research Lead for China, are joined by Anders Hove, Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. 

For years, the story of China's energy transition was one of scale: more solar, more wind, more batteries, more transmission. 

Now the challenge is changing. 

As renewable generation surges and power demand continues to grow, China's focus is shifting from building clean energy capacity to integrating it. That transition is exposing new questions around market design, system flexibility, provincial decision-making and the role of coal, gas and storage in an increasingly renewable power system. 

Drawing on more than a decade of experience studying China's energy sector, Anders reflects on China's rise from low-cost manufacturer to global clean energy leader and explains why the country's power sector has entered what he describes as its "messy midgame". 

The conversation explores the latest Five-Year Plan, the evolution of renewable support mechanisms, the growing importance of flexibility, and whether China's biggest challenge is no longer building infrastructure, but using it more effectively. 

Main topics include: 

This week on Energy Unplugged, Oliver Kerr, Aurora Energy Research's Managing Director for North America, is joined by Declan Flanagan, CEO of Blue Star Energy Capital. 

For much of the past decade, renewable energy development was shaped by abundant capital, falling technology costs, and ever-growing pipelines. Today, the industry is operating in a very different environment. 

Demand growth is back, driven in part by AI and data centres. Project costs are rising. Capital is more expensive. And developers are being forced to rethink some of the assumptions that defined the industry's last growth cycle. 

Drawing on more than two decades of experience building renewable energy businesses, Declan shares his perspective on where capital is flowing, why the US remains the standout market for renewables, and how project development is evolving as the sector matures. 

The conversation also explores the realities of greenfield development, the growing importance of execution and transmission infrastructure, and why Declan believes higher interest rates and a gradual move away from tax credits could ultimately be healthy for the energy transition. 

Main topics include: 

This week on Energy Unplugged, Marc Hedin, Head of Research for Western Europe & Africa at Aurora Energy Research, is joined by Rachel Fletcher, Director of Regulation & Economics at Octopus Energy, to tackle a question at the heart of Britain’s energy debate: why are electricity bills so high, and what would it take to bring them down? 

As the UK pushes ahead with electrification, Rachel argues that the challenge is no longer just about building more renewable generation. Instead, the conversation explores whether the current market design, network investment strategy, and approach to flexibility are fit for a rapidly changing power system. 

The discussion examines the drivers behind rising bills, the role of flexibility and electric vehicles in lowering system costs, and the policy choices that could shape the next phase of the energy transition. Rachel also shares her views on locational pricing, the future role of gas, and the reforms she believes would make the biggest difference for consumers. 

Main topics include: 

This week on Energy Unplugged, Mark Hedin, Head of Research for Western Europe & Africa at Aurora Energy Research, is joined by Rachel Fletcher, Director of Regulation & Economics at Octopus Energy, to tackle a question at the heart of Britain’s energy debate: why are electricity bills so high, and what would it take to bring them down? 

As the UK pushes ahead with electrification, Rachel argues that the challenge is no longer just about building more renewable generation. Instead, the conversation explores whether the current market design, network investment strategy, and approach to flexibility are fit for a rapidly changing power system. 

The discussion examines the drivers behind rising bills, the role of flexibility and electric vehicles in lowering system costs, and the policy choices that could shape the next phase of the energy transition. Rachel also shares her views on locational pricing, the future role of gas, and the reforms she believes would make the biggest difference for consumers. 

Main topics include: 

For much of the past decade, the challenge was clear: deploy clean technologies at scale. Wind and solar needed to become cheaper. Investment needed to accelerate. Policymakers needed to create the right incentives. While significant work remains, that first phase has delivered enormous progress. 

The next phase may prove more difficult. The challenge is no longer simply building clean generation but adapting the systems around it. As renewable capacity continues to grow, grids are becoming congested, curtailment is rising, market designs are being tested, and new sources of demand are emerging. The energy transition's greatest challenge today may be managing the consequences of its own success. 

Drawing on perspectives from Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, this special episode examines whether power systems, markets and policymakers can keep pace with the technologies driving the transition forward. 

Taken together, these conversations suggest that the energy transition is entering a more complex and consequential phase. The first challenge was deploying clean technologies at scale. The next is integrating them into power systems that were never designed for a high-renewable world. From grid expansion and market reform to flexibility, storage and AI-driven demand, the coming decade will be defined not by whether the transition can grow, but by whether the system around it can keep up. 

You will learn about: 

This week on Energy Unplugged, Oliver Kerr, Aurora Energy Research’s Managing Director for North America, is joined by Arushi Sharma Frank, Founder of Luminary Strategies and one of the leading thinkers shaping the future of power markets in the age of AI. 

As data centre demand surges across the United States, electricity has become a critical constraint on growth. The challenge is no longer simply building more infrastructure - but finding new ways to use the grid more efficiently and connect large loads faster. 

Drawing on her work at the centre of recent market reforms in Texas, Arushi argues that flexibility, not just new transmission and generation, will be essential to unlocking the next phase of AI-led growth. The conversation examines how large electricity users could become active participants in the power system, helping to relieve constraints, improve reliability, and accelerate access to power. 

From regulatory innovation and grid planning to distributed energy resources and flexible computing, Oliver and Arushi discuss how power markets may need to evolve as electricity demand rises to levels not seen in decades. 

You will learn about: 

For more information on what has been discussed in today's episode, please see the below resources:

• Dispatchability, Not Vibes: What PJM Market Monitor Gets Right—and Misses—on Data Centers Flex

https://luminarystrategies.substack.com/p/dispatchability-not-vibes-what-pjm

• The Grid Provides the Floor. The Private Sector Must Firm the Rest.

Data Center "Flex" Needs New Language Fit For Purpose - Dynamic Firming is Speed to Power.

https://luminarystrategies.substack.com/p/the-grid-provides-the-floor-the-private

• PCLR Origin Story Part 1: Speed to Power for Large Loads in ERCOT

EPRI Summer Seminar, the Pacific Ocean, and the Public Good Nature of Championing Market Design Reform.

https://luminarystrategies.substack.com/p/origin-story-speed-to-power-for-ai

• PCLR Origin Story Part 2: Speed to Power for AI Loads in ERCOT

How to get ERCOT comfortable with "managing" controllable load in exchange for earlier "connection" - NPRR1188 as PGRR134 Foundation  https://arushisharmafrank.substack.com/cp/192362539

• PCLR Origin Story Part 3: 60% of Data Center Load should be Dispatch-Ready  https://luminarystrategies.substack.com/p/pclr-origin-story-part-3-60-of-data

• Global Capacity Alliance: https://globalcapacityalliance.org/

• Book recommendation: https://jeffreypfeffer.com/books/7-rules-of-power/