This week on Energy Unplugged, we're excited to welcome Carolina Nester, Head of Operations for Iberia at Sonnedix. She joins Christina Rentell, our Research Lead for France & Iberia, to discuss the challenges of curtailment and its impact.

With over 17 years of experience in the photovoltaic (PV) sector, Carolina has a broad background spanning solar module manufacturing, installation permitting, design, construction management, and the supervision and control of solar assets, as well as PV consulting. Since joining Sonnedix in 2017, she has been responsible for optimizing and overseeing the performance of a solar asset portfolio generating €400M in revenue.

Main topics include the following:

• Negative prices and their impact on regulated assets

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In this episode of Energy Unplugged, our Head of Southeast Europe, Evangelos Gazis, is joined by Rebecca McManus, our Renewables Lead for European Power Markets, to disclose the main insights for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) from our European Renewables Market Overview Report.

Over the past decade, Europe's solar and wind energy capacity has increased to over 528 GW, driven by rising power demand, supportive policies, higher commodity prices, and supply chain improvements. CEE is on the cusp of a wave of investment in renewables and batteries, with Aurora forecasting 90GW of investments across the region between 2025 and 2030.

Main topics include the following:

• The outlook for renewables across CEE, and how this varies between markets

Aurora is expanding into the Western Balkans! Soon we will be launching our products in the region to help investors, developers, and policymakers gain the key insights they need to make well-informed, decisions in this rapidly developing market.

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This week on Energy Unplugged, we’re thrilled to welcome Nat Bullard, Co-Founder of Halcyon. He joined Oliver Kerr, our Managing Director for North America, and Hugo Batten, our Managing Director for APAC, to discuss the current state and future of global decarbonisation.

Nat is the Co-Founder of Halcyon, an AI-powered platform focused on energy transition and decarbonisation. He is also the Founder and Managing Director of Business Climate, a decarbonisation consulting firm based in Singapore, and serves on the advisory boards of both Ember and Arcadia. Prior to this, Nat spent 15 years at BloombergNEF, where he concluded his tenure as the group’s Chief Content Officer.

Main topics of discussion include:

• The impact AI may have on the energy transition over the next 10 years

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This week on Energy Unplugged, we’re excited to welcome Sandhya Ganapathy, CEO of EDP Renewables North America. She joins our North America Managing Director, Oliver Kerr, to explore the US power market—its appeal, and the challenges and opportunities shaping its future.

Before stepping into the CEO role in 2022, Sandhya was the Global Head of Investments and M&A, and also served as the Head of Investments and M&A for North America. With her vast experience in evaluating renewable energy investments and acquisitions, Sandhya brings a wealth of expertise to the conversation. Prior to joining EDPR, she spent over a decade as an investment banker, working with both regional and global banks across multiple regions.

Main topics include the following:

• Opportunities and challenges arising from demand growth

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This week on Energy Unplugged, we are delighted to welcome Javier Cavada, President & CEO for EMEA, Mitsubishi Power. He joins our Global Research Director, Richard Howard and our Lead Expert for European Hydrogen Markets, Dilara Caglayan, to discuss electrification as a key pillar of decarbonisation.

With over 20 years of global experience in the energy sector, Javier has successfully guided companies through every stage of corporate development and growth. Before joining Mitsubishi Power, he served as President and CEO of Highview Power. Prior to that, he spent 17 years at Wärtsilä Corporation, where he was President of the Energy Division and a member of the executive board.

Main topics include the following:

• How to run a power system with a high growth of renewables and of power demand

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This week on Energy Unplugged, we're thrilled to welcome Philipp Man, Founder & CEO of terralayr, and Mikko Preuß, Vice President of the company. They join Eva Zimmerman, Senior Associate in our Berlin Research team, to discuss the German battery market.

• Approaching batteries as an asset class, with a focus on financing and risk mitigation

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This week on Energy Unplugged, we are delighted to welcome Kelcy Pegler, CEO of FlexGen. He joins Olivier Beaufils, our Head of US Central, to explore the current landscape and future outlook of the energy storage industry in the U.S.

• Today’s grid being shaped by data centre demand growth, and the role batteries play in the equation

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In this episode of Energy Unplugged, we are delighted to welcome Scott Mercer, CEO of Focused Energy discussing nuclear fusion with our Managing Director for North America, Oliver Kerr and Eva Zimmermann, Senior Associate in our Berlin office. 

Scott has served as the CEO of Focused Energy since February 2024. Before joining Focused Energy, he founded and led Volta Charging, guiding the company from its inception to a successful initial public offering (IPO). Over the course of his career, Scott has played a key role in more than 1,000 engineering and construction projects across the US and Europe.

Main topics include the following:

• Nuclear fission VS fusion, and the different approaches people are taking to fusion

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In this episode of Energy Unplugged, we are thrilled to welcome Andrew Flanagan, CEO of RWE Clean Energy. He chats with Oliver Kerr, our Managing Director for North America, to discuss the current and future landscape of U.S. power markets.

• How much of the load growth in the US is real, and how much of its forecasting should be factored in investment decisions?

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In this episode of Energy Unplugged, we're excited to welcome Rohan Ma, the former Director of Energy Software at Tesla. Rohan joins Hugo Batten, our Managing Director for APAC, and Julia Hoos, our Head of USA East, for an insightful discussion on battery market economics.

Rohan's career has focused on the intersection of energy economics and technology. The last 8 years saw him leading the global Energy Software team at Tesla, launching initiatives like Autobidder, Tesla's Virtual Power Plant, and the company’s retail electricity program, Tesla Electric. Before Tesla, Rohan held positions at SolarCity, Pacific Gas and Electric, Clearview Energy Partners, and the Chicago Climate Exchange.

Main topics of discussion include the following:

• How did Autobidder develop within Tesla, and what were the biggest challenges facing scaling and rolling it out internationally?

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