The Green Room - Energy Innovation & Renewables Industry Podcast

🎙️ The Journey of Building an Engineering Company in the Renewable Energy Era

What does it really take to build an engineering company from the ground up?
And keep it thriving in one of the fastest-changing industries in the world?

In this in-depth conversation,  Veli chats with Demian Khan to explore the real story behind the evolution of a renewable energy engineering firm, from early curiosity about wind turbines and solar technology, through university and industry experience, to founding and scaling a company delivering large-scale battery storage, solar farms, wind projects, and carbon solutions.

This is ENHAR.

This episode goes far beyond technical talk. It’s about vision, risk, timing, leadership, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of building something that matters.

If you’re an entrepreneur, engineer, student, business owner, or simply someone fascinated by how ideas turn into real-world infrastructure, this one’s for you.

🔎 What You’ll Discover in This Episode

The mindset required to build and grow an engineering company
How renewable energy evolved from niche to mainstream
Lessons from early wind farm development and large-scale energy projects
The rise of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and grid stabilization
How large-scale solar, wind, and storage projects actually get developed
Working with landowners, councils, universities, and investors
The economics behind renewables vs coal and gas
The future of EV infrastructure, data centres, and grid demand
Carbon markets, reforestation, and digital climate solutions
Why engineering leadership requires both technical depth and long-term vision

From Scottish wind turbines to Australian battery farms, from consulting roles to founding multiple ventures Demian's story of how engineering expertise, commercial awareness, and forward-thinking strategy intersect is fascinating.

⚡ Topics Covered

Renewable energy project development
Solar farms & wind farms
Large-scale battery storage (100MW+ projects)
Energy arbitrage & frequency control markets (FCAS)
Grid infrastructure & transmission challenges
Carbon accounting & reforestation economics
ESG trends & sustainability strategy
Engineering entrepreneurship
Clean tech innovation
The future of 100% renewable energy systems

Is Australia leading the world in renewable energy, or falling behind in climate policy?

In this powerful episode of The GREENROOM Podcast, we sit down with Wayne Smith, renewable energy strategist, former political advisor, climate advocate, and long-time leader in Australia’s clean energy transition.

From working alongside Anthony Albanese and Peter Garrett to shaping national conversations around renewable energy targets, battery storage, solar policy, and Australia’s emissions trajectory, Wayne brings rare insight into how energy policy is actually made, and what’s at stake.

This is a deep dive into:

⚡ Australia’s path to 82% renewable energy
🔋 The explosive growth of home battery storage
🏛 Climate change policy inside Parliament House
🌏 COP climate negotiations & the Pacific’s renewable future
🏭 “Future Made in Australia” and solar manufacturing
⛽ Why gas is overstated in Australia’s energy mix
📈 The economics driving rooftop solar & VPP adoption
🤖 AI, grid stability, and the future of energy infrastructure

We unpack the Renewable Energy Target (RET), solar feed-in tariffs, virtual power plants (VPPs), grid reform, battery rebates, and the political realities behind Australia’s transition from coal and gas to clean energy.

Wayne also shares insights from international renewable energy developments, EV manufacturing in China, and what Australia must do to remain competitive in the global clean energy race.

If you care about:

Renewable energy policy in Australia
Solar power and battery storage
Climate change solutions
Energy security & grid stability
Gas vs renewables debate
Clean tech manufacturing
Electric vehicles & VPPs
COP climate negotiations
Future Made in Australia

…this episode delivers clarity without the spin.

The renewable energy transition isn’t theoretical anymore. It’s happening fast. 
The question is whether policy, infrastructure, and leadership can keep up.

🎧 Watch now and join the conversation on Australia’s clean energy future.

The GREENROOM podcast is joined by Darren Johannesen - Executive General Manager of Sustainability from the Smart Energy Council, for a grounded and wide-ranging conversation on the future of renewable energy, climate responsibility, and the real challenges facing Australia’s clean energy transition.

Darren brings a rare mix of strategic foresight, policy experience, and systems thinking, cutting through surface-level climate talk to explore what actually matters: circular economy principles, solar panel recycling, materials recovery, energy infrastructure, and how renewables intersect with biodiversity and long-term sustainability.

It's an honest discussion about where the renewable energy sector is doing well, where it’s falling short, and what needs to change if we’re serious about climate action - not just targets on paper.

If you work in renewables, energy policy, sustainability, solar, batteries, recycling, or climate advocacy, or if you simply care about the direction our energy systems are heading, this conversation will give you clarity and context.

Topics covered include:

The role of the Smart Energy Council in Australia’s energy transition
Solar panel and battery recycling realities
Circular economy vs real-world logistics
Climate change impacts beyond temperature headlines
Why materials, supply chains, and stewardship matter
Long-term thinking in renewable energy policy

Welcome to one of the most technically satisfying renewable energy podcasts you’ll hear this year.

In this episode of the GREENROOM, we sit down with Gareth Thomas, Application Engineer at DPA Solar, to dive deep into the world of batteries, off-grid power systems, inverter technology, and emerging storage chemistries.

If you’re an electrician, solar installer, engineer, energy geek, or someone who genuinely gets excited by the words MPPT curve… buckle up!!

⚡ Topics Covered in This Episode

✅ How batteries actually work (beyond the marketing fluff)
✅ Lithium Iron Phosphate vs NMC — real-world stability and safety
✅ Why “100% Depth of Discharge” is basically a trap
✅ Off-grid design: AC coupling vs DC coupling — what’s optimal?
✅ Victron, Selectronic, Fronius, and the reality of installer support
✅ Caravan solar systems and why everyone suddenly wants a 3000W inverter
✅ The rise of sodium-ion batteries and why they may change everything
✅ Voltage windows, thermal runaway, dendrites (yes, it gets spicy)
✅ The future of mid-scale C&I energy storage, demand shaving & grid support

🔥 Why This One’s Different

This isn’t surface-level “solar is good” talk.
Real engineering conversation, the stuff you hear in back rooms at wholesaler trainings, on commissioning days, or when someone’s inverter won’t start in the middle of nowhere.

Gareth brings decades of hands-on experience across:

Off-grid solar design
Battery retail and diagnostics
Inverter commissioning
Renewable industry training
Emerging storage technologies

🎧 Perfect For:

🔹 Solar Installers
🔹 Electrical Engineers
🔹 Battery Storage Professionals
🔹 Off-grid system designers
🔹 Renewable energy students

Australia’s solar and battery industry isn’t being shaped by opinions: it’s being shaped by policy, regulation, market operators, and the people working behind the scenes to keep the grid optimal!

In this episode of the Greenwood Academy Podcast, we sit down with Alistair, a key voice from the Smart Energy Council, to unpack what’s really happening inside Australia’s energy transition from battery rebates to virtual power plants, and the regulatory levers quietly changing the entire industry.

This isn’t a surface-level chat, Inside this episode, we cover:
How the Cheaper Home Battery Scheme is accelerating storage uptake 
(Alastair explains the rebate mechanism and how it’s driving market transformation)
Why Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are the next real grid weapon and why adoption is still stuck around 10%
How retailers are moving toward controlling fleets of batteries like a distributed power station
The hidden grid problem most homeowners don’t realise exists: minimum system load and emergency inverter shut-offs
Why smarter battery policy today could save billions in future transmission upgrades
The real future: energy retailers leasing batteries, solar, EVs electrification as a service

This episode is proof of Greenwood Academy’s mission

If you want to stay ahead of where the industry is going - this is the conversation.

🎧 Listen if you work in:

🔹 Solar + Battery Installation
🔹 Clean Energy Engineering
🔹 Grid Integration & DNSP Rules
🔹 Renewable Energy Policy & Advocacy
🔹 Energy Retail & Market Design
🔹 VPP & DER Program Development
🔹 Australian Energy Transition Careers

🎙️  In this episode of THE GREEN ROOM, we sit down with Samir Jacob, Clenergy Global Marketing Director whose career spans solar, batteries, off-grid systems, manufacturing, and clean energy education.

From growing up across India, the Middle East, Europe, and Australia, to shaping some of the most recognised renewable energy brands, Samir’s journey offers rare insight into how the clean energy industry has evolved and where it’s heading next.

Unwrap:

🌍 Samir Jacob’s global upbringing and career journey
⚡ The evolution of the Australian renewable energy industry
🧠 How marketing, branding, and storytelling actually work in clean energy
🔋 Solar, batteries, off-grid systems, and energy storage explained from the inside
🏗️ Lessons from working with leading renewable manufacturers and installers


With experience across multiple parts of the renewable industry, and beyond, Samir brings a grounded, no-nonsense perspective on what it really takes to build trust, longevity, and impact in renewables.

A brand new year 2026 - The Greenwood Academy Podcast returns as we sit down with Mohit Kumar:  A-Grade electrician, engineer, and renewable energy specialist to unpack one of the most fascinating journeys we’ve had on the show.

What do Indian classical music, Fiji, batteries, FCAS, microgrids, and energy trading have in common?
One very switched-on engineer!

🎧 What you’ll learn in this episode:

How music and engineering share the same fundamentals (yes, really)
Mohit’s journey from Fiji to Australia and how climate change shaped his career
The real impact of global warming on Pacific Island nations
What microgrids actually are (and why councils and communities are investing in them)
How embedded networks work in places like retirement villages
The truth about batteries, degradation, warranties, and ROI
What FCAS (Frequency Control Ancillary Services) really means!
Why energy arbitrage isn’t just “buy low, sell high”
How virtual power plants (VPPs) and orchestration platforms actually operate
The critical role of data, compliance, communications, and control systems
Why rushing into battery projects without the right advice can get very expensive, very fast

This conversation pulls back the curtain on the complex, fast-moving world of renewable energy, energy trading, and grid stability , the stuff that actually determines whether projects succeed or fail.


At Greenwood Academy, we’re all about bridging the gap between theory and real-world application, and this discussion does exactly that.

Strap in. Your brain might hurt a little. That’s how you know you’re learning!

Ed Bennison - mechanical engineer, industrial designer, renewable-energy gun, and co-founder of Arigo: one of Australia’s most agile and forward-thinking engineering consultancies. 

In this candid episode, we unpack everything from the collapse of Prana, to building a business from scratch, to the wild realities of grid applications, FCAS batteries, commercial solar design, large-scale construction packs, and what it actually takes to deliver compliant, installer-friendly engineering at scale.

Ed spills on detailed design workflows, DNSP approvals, structural requirements, PV + battery feasibility, protection studies, solar rebates (including the new VEU scheme), and the future of electrification.

He also shares stories from his time in South Korea, life-changing ski seasons in Japan, and why relationships still rule the renewable energy industry.

Whether you're in solar engineering, commercial EPCs, grid-connect design, battery storage, EV charging, or just love hearing how smart people build great things, this episode is a masterclass in technical excellence, business resilience, and the future of Australia’s energy transition.

🎙️ Peppa’s journey is wild! In the best way. 
From fearless horse-riding in rural Queensland to running a fast-moving creative agency that builds campaigns across solar, skincare, apparel and everything in between. 

🎯  Greenwood Academy sits down with Peppa Priestly from Spark Marketing to learn about:

- Why real, imperfect content is outperforming polished brand videos
- The psychology behind fonts, proportions & visual cues that convert
- How to build long-lasting B2B campaigns that actually shift behaviour
- Why timing is overrated, and testing is everything
- The difference between “looks good” and “sells good”
- How to identify early adopters, create FOMO, and drive traction
- Why founders struggle with marketing (and how to manage expectations)
- How small businesses can use AI better than enterprise giants
- The real role of storytelling, people, and authenticity in 2025

🎙️ Peppa breaks down why:
People trust grainy iPhone footage more than cinematic ads
Every business wants a “beautiful” website but forgets about conversion
Marketing is compounding - not instant gratification
If you try to copy big brands… you'll always stay behind them
The customer’s perspective ALWAYS wins over the founder’s ego
Imperfection is becoming a strategy, not a mistake

🎙️ From Venezuela to Australia: Passion, Grit, and Solar Innovation ☀️

In this episode, we sit down with Andres Rastelli, Business Development Manager at Clenergy, whose energy could power a small city. 
From his wild childhood in Venezuela to becoming one of Australia’s most passionate renewable energy advocates, Andreas brings stories that will make you laugh, think, and maybe even crave a good cup of coffee.

We dive into:
🌎 His journey from Caracas to Melbourne
☕ The science, art, and obsession of perfect coffee
🏗️ Engineering, rail systems, and Roman concrete that still baffles scientists
⚙️ Solar innovation, racking design, and the future of renewables
❤️ Family, culture, and what it truly means to build a life from the ground up

This isn’t just another energy chat - it’s a ride through culture, engineering, and pure human drive.

👀 Watch till the end to hear Andreas’ take on Clenergy’s secret sauce: people, products, and partnerships.

📢 Like, comment, and subscribe if you believe renewable energy is more than an industry - it’s a movement!!
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