Transmission

Australia has long been a global leader in residential solar adoption, with more than three million households now generating electricity from rooftop panels. This remarkable uptake has transformed how energy is produced and consumed at the household level, positioning Australia at the forefront of distributed energy.

But while rooftop solar has become mainstream, the next frontier of the energy transition. Widespread adoption of home battery storage is still in its early stages. As energy markets evolve, the value of grid exports is changing and resilience is becoming increasingly important and home batteries play a crucial role in unlocking the full potential of distributed energy systems.

To truly scale domestic storage, new models for ownership and financing are emerging. Shifting the conversation from technology to access. In this episode, we explore what’s driving demand for household batteries, what’s holding it back, and how smart coordination of home energy systems could transform both household economics and grid outcomes.

In this episode of Transmission, Wendel is joined by Jess Padman, Director of Energy Products at the National Renewable Network (NRN). Over the course of the conversation, you’ll hear about:

• What’s behind the rise in household batteries? From feed-in tariff reductions to energy independence and resilience, what's driving demand.
• The barriers to widespread adoption: Upfront cost, policy lag, and a fragmented supplier landscape.
• New ownership and financing models for batteries: Why access, not just technology, is key to scaling domestic storage.
• The role of smart coordination in the home: Coordinating solar, batteries, and appliances to maximise value for households and the grid.
• Australia as a testbed for residential energy innovation: How policy, culture, and infrastructure have created one of the world’s most dynamic residential energy markets.

About our guest

Jess Padman is Director of Energy Products at the National Renewable Network (NRN). With a background in distributed energy, solar programs, and product development, Jess focuses on bringing smart, scalable solutions to the residential energy market—helping more Australians access the benefits of rooftop solar and battery storage.

Behind every battery system that comes online is a hidden world of engineering, integration, and performance management. Getting a site up and running is only the beginning - keeping it safe, efficient, and profitable over time is where the real challenge begins. As investment in storage accelerates, the process from a blueprint to bankable asset remains a demanding process, especially at utility scale.

What does it take to deploy and operate large-scale battery projects successfully? In this episode, we unpack the overlooked realities of BESS integration, from hidden operational risks to the processes that keep these systems running at full performance.

Quentin is joined by Zach Vosburg, Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Flexgen. Over the course of the conversation, you’ll hear about:

• Integration 101: Why battery projects involve more than just stacking containers and switching them on.
• Commissioning bottlenecks and technical handovers: What tends to go wrong and how teams resolve it.
• Lifecycle support in storage: The difference between getting a site to COD and keeping it profitable five years later.
• Control software and data layers: How visibility, automation, and preventative diagnostics are shaping BESS operations.
• Lessons learned: The most common mistakes made during battery deployment and how the sector is learning to avoid them.

About our guest

Zach Vosburg is Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Flexgen, where he works across engineering, analytics, and software implementation to support the long-term performance of battery assets across multiple U.S. markets.

FlexGen specializes in integrating battery systems with traditional and renewable power sources, offering advanced energy management solutions, including its HybridOS platform. The company focuses on optimizing energy storage performance, ensuring grid reliability, and supporting the transition to sustainable energy. for more information on what FlexGen do, head to their website.

Behind every battery system that comes online is a hidden world of engineering, integration, and performance management. Getting a site up and running is only the beginning - keeping it safe, efficient, and profitable over time is where the real challenge begins. As investment in storage accelerates, the process from a blueprint to bankable asset remains a demanding process, especially at utility scale.

What does it take to deploy and operate large-scale battery projects successfully? In this episode, we unpack the overlooked realities of BESS integration, from hidden operational risks to the processes that keep these systems running at full performance.

Quentin is joined by Zach Vosburg, Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Flexgen. Over the course of the conversation, you’ll hear about:

• Integration 101: Why battery projects involve more than just stacking containers and switching them on.
• Commissioning bottlenecks and technical handovers: What tends to go wrong and how teams resolve it.
• Lifecycle support in storage: The difference between getting a site to COD and keeping it profitable five years later.
• Control software and data layers: How visibility, automation, and preventative diagnostics are shaping BESS operations.
• Lessons learned: The most common mistakes made during battery deployment and how the sector is learning to avoid them.

About our guest

Zach Vosburg is Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Flexgen, where he works across engineering, analytics, and software implementation to support the long-term performance of battery assets across multiple U.S. markets.

FlexGen specializes in integrating battery systems with traditional and renewable power sources, offering advanced energy management solutions, including its HybridOS platform. The company focuses on optimizing energy storage performance, ensuring grid reliability, and supporting the transition to sustainable energy. for more information on what FlexGen do, head to their website.

As battery energy storage systems scale up, so do the risks. For insurers, developers, and investors, understanding how to manage those risks has never been more important. From fire events like Moss Landing to the evolving role of insurance across development, construction, and operations, the way insurers are underwriting storage is changing fast.

In this episode we unpack how the insurance world is thinking about batteries, exploring how risk is priced, what underwriters look for in new technologies, and why insurability is becoming a key commercial consideration for project developers. Whether you're securing project finance, evaluating warranties, or just navigating changing industry expectations, this conversation is packed with insight from someone working at the frontier of energy infrastructure risk.

In this episode of Transmission, Ed is joined by Michael Bogdan, Partner at Lockton. Over the course of the conversation, you’ll hear about:

• Moss Landing and fire risk: What recent high-profile battery failures tell us about risk and how the industry is adapting.
• Insurance across the asset lifecycle: From development through to operations, how risk profiles evolve and what coverage actually looks like.
• Bankability and risk transfer: Why insurance is now a core part of making projects financeable and what’s driving underwriter decision-making.
• Emerging tech and evolving standards: How insurers approach new chemistries, control systems, and unfamiliar manufacturers.
• The future of battery insurability: What needs to change, from data access to design practices to make large-scale storage lower risk and more cost-effective.

About our guest

Michael Bogdan is a Partner at Lockton, where he specialises in insurance and risk advisory for renewable energy and energy storage projects. With a background in structuring coverage for complex infrastructure assets, Michael works closely with developers, investors, and insurers to ensure that clean energy projects are bankable, resilient, and ready to scale.

Lockton is the world’s largest privately held insurance brokerage, providing tailored risk management, insurance, and employee benefits solutions. With deep expertise in energy and infrastructure, Lockton advises developers, investors, and operators on how to structure coverage for complex assets—including renewable energy and battery storage projects. For more information, head to their website.

About Modo Energy

Modo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.

All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.

As battery energy storage systems scale up, so do the risks. For insurers, developers, and investors, understanding how to manage those risks has never been more important. From fire events like Moss Landing to the evolving role of insurance across development, construction, and operations, the way insurers are underwriting storage is changing fast.

In this episode we unpack how the insurance world is thinking about batteries, exploring how risk is priced, what underwriters look for in new technologies, and why insurability is becoming a key commercial consideration for project developers. Whether you're securing project finance, evaluating warranties, or just navigating changing industry expectations, this conversation is packed with insight from someone working at the frontier of energy infrastructure risk.

In this episode of Transmission, Ed is joined by Michael Bogdan, Partner at Lockton. Over the course of the conversation, you’ll hear about:

• Moss Landing and fire risk: What recent high-profile battery failures tell us about risk and how the industry is adapting.
• Insurance across the asset lifecycle: From development through to operations, how risk profiles evolve and what coverage actually looks like.
• Bankability and risk transfer: Why insurance is now a core part of making projects financeable and what’s driving underwriter decision-making.
• Emerging tech and evolving standards: How insurers approach new chemistries, control systems, and unfamiliar manufacturers.
• The future of battery insurability: What needs to change, from data access to design practices to make large-scale storage lower risk and more cost-effective.

About our guest

Michael Bogdan is a Partner at Lockton, where he specialises in insurance and risk advisory for renewable energy and energy storage projects. With a background in structuring coverage for complex infrastructure assets, Michael works closely with developers, investors, and insurers to ensure that clean energy projects are bankable, resilient, and ready to scale.

Lockton is the world’s largest privately held insurance brokerage, providing tailored risk management, insurance, and employee benefits solutions. With deep expertise in energy and infrastructure, Lockton advises developers, investors, and operators on how to structure coverage for complex assets—including renewable energy and battery storage projects. For more information, head to their website.

About Modo Energy

Modo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.

All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.

From arbitraging volatility and unlocking grid stability, battery energy storage is playing an increasingly central role in power markets. But even the most well optimized units can fall short of their potential if one key metric is off: state of charge (SOC). Get it wrong, even slightly, and the revenue losses can be staggering.

State of charge is hard to measure accurately - errors can compound over time, and what operators do to improve performance can make huge differences in profitability. Whether you're an asset owner, optimiser, or just want to understand the real-world constraints behind battery revenue models, this conversation is packed with detail and lessons that could change how you think about storage strategy.

In this episode of Transmission, Quentin sits down with Blake Rector, Director of Markets and Optimization at Powin explore the nuances of SOC. Over the course of the conversation, you’ll hear about:

• Why state of charge matters: How even a 1% error in SOC estimation can significantly reduce revenue from energy trading and grid services.
• Operational vs. theoretical capacity: The difference between nameplate and usable capacity, and why operators often leave value on the table.
• Forecasting and dispatch constraints: Why better SOC management means more flexibility and higher earnings in volatile markets.
• Hardware vs. software approaches to SOC: What Powin has learned about algorithmic improvements, calibration strategies, and real-time feedback loops.
• Powin’s scale and strategy: With 17 GWh online or under construction, what’s next for one of America’s fastest-growing battery OEMs?

About our guest

Blake Rector is Director of Markets and Optimization at Powin, where he leads the company’s efforts to maximise the performance and revenue of battery energy storage systems across multiple markets. With a background in energy markets, analytics, and operational strategy, Blake focuses on the interface between algorithmic control, asset health, and market opportunity.

Powin is a U.S. based global energy storage platform provider specializing in fully integrated, utility-scale battery energy storage systems. With over 17 GWh of systems deployed or under construction worldwide, Powin delivers scalable solutions that enable the transition to clean, reliable, and affordable energy. For more information, head to their website.

About Modo Energy

Modo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.

All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.

From arbitraging volatility and unlocking grid stability, battery energy storage is playing an increasingly central role in power markets. But even the most well optimized units can fall short of their potential if one key metric is off: state of charge (SOC). Get it wrong, even slightly, and the revenue losses can be staggering.

State of charge is hard to measure accurately - errors can compound over time, and what operators do to improve performance can make huge differences in profitability. Whether you're an asset owner, optimiser, or just want to understand the real-world constraints behind battery revenue models, this conversation is packed with detail and lessons that could change how you think about storage strategy.

In this episode of Transmission, Quentin sits down with Blake Rector, Director of Markets and Optimization at Powin explore the nuances of SOC. Over the course of the conversation, you’ll hear about:

• Why state of charge matters: How even a 1% error in SOC estimation can significantly reduce revenue from energy trading and grid services.
• Operational vs. theoretical capacity: The difference between nameplate and usable capacity, and why operators often leave value on the table.
• Forecasting and dispatch constraints: Why better SOC management means more flexibility and higher earnings in volatile markets.
• Hardware vs. software approaches to SOC: What Powin has learned about algorithmic improvements, calibration strategies, and real-time feedback loops.
• Powin’s scale and strategy: With 17 GWh online or under construction, what’s next for one of America’s fastest-growing battery OEMs?

About our guest

Blake Rector is Director of Markets and Optimization at Powin, where he leads the company’s efforts to maximise the performance and revenue of battery energy storage systems across multiple markets. With a background in energy markets, analytics, and operational strategy, Blake focuses on the interface between algorithmic control, asset health, and market opportunity.

Powin is a U.S. based global energy storage platform provider specializing in fully integrated, utility-scale battery energy storage systems. With over 17 GWh of systems deployed or under construction worldwide, Powin delivers scalable solutions that enable the transition to clean, reliable, and affordable energy. For more information, head to their website.

About Modo Energy

Modo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.

All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.

As the energy transition in Australia and New Zealand accelerates, the ability to develop, finance, and operate renewable energy projects is becoming increasingly complex.

Success now demands more than technical delivery, it requires a deep understanding of market risk, community engagement, and long-term asset management.

From battery storage financing to the growing importance of social license, this episode explores navigating risk, engaging communities, and why having a long-term view matters more than ever, as Australia navigates away from the traditional model of centralised coal and gas toward a more renewables centred generation stack.

In this episode of Transmission, Wendel joined by Dennis Freedman, Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand at Aquila Clean Energy. Over the course of the conversation, you’ll hear about:

• Aquila Clean Energy’s approach to battery storage: Why being comfortable with merchant risk is vital and how the debt market’s view on batteries is changing.
• The challenge of modelling batteries vs. wind and solar: Why volatility and spread are what matter for storage revenues.
• Australia vs. New Zealand: Comparing two very different energy systems, from hydro dominance to nodal pricing structures.
• Social license and misinformation: Why community engagement is becoming the biggest challenge for new projects and how developers can get it right.
• The future of the grid: Why replacing coal requires not just generation, but massive investment in transmission and why politics is increasingly slowing the transition.

Mentioned in the episode

Dennis is a member of the Clean Energy Council, if you would like to learn more about the CEC, head over to their website.

About our guest

Dennis Freedman is Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand at Aquila Clean Energy, where he oversees the development, construction, and operation of renewable and storage projects across the region. With nearly 20 years of experience in the energy industry, Dennis brings a long-term perspective to market risk, community engagement, and what it really takes to scale clean energy infrastructure.

About Modo Energy

Modo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.

All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.

As the energy transition in Australia and New Zealand accelerates, the ability to develop, finance, and operate renewable energy projects is becoming increasingly complex.

Success now demands more than technical delivery, it requires a deep understanding of market risk, community engagement, and long-term asset management.

From battery storage financing to the growing importance of social license, this episode explores navigating risk, engaging communities, and why having a long-term view matters more than ever, as Australia navigates away from the traditional model of centralised coal and gas toward a more renewables centred generation stack.

In this episode of Transmission, Wendel joined by Dennis Freedman, Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand at Aquila Clean Energy. Over the course of the conversation, you’ll hear about:

• Aquila Clean Energy’s approach to battery storage: Why being comfortable with merchant risk is vital and how the debt market’s view on batteries is changing.
• The challenge of modelling batteries vs. wind and solar: Why volatility and spread are what matter for storage revenues.
• Australia vs. New Zealand: Comparing two very different energy systems, from hydro dominance to nodal pricing structures.
• Social license and misinformation: Why community engagement is becoming the biggest challenge for new projects and how developers can get it right.
• The future of the grid: Why replacing coal requires not just generation, but massive investment in transmission and why politics is increasingly slowing the transition.

Mentioned in the episode

Dennis is a member of the Clean Energy Council, if you would like to learn more about the CEC, head over to their website.

About our guest

Dennis Freedman is Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand at Aquila Clean Energy, where he oversees the development, construction, and operation of renewable and storage projects across the region. With nearly 20 years of experience in the energy industry, Dennis brings a long-term perspective to market risk, community engagement, and what it really takes to scale clean energy infrastructure.

About Modo Energy

Modo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.

All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.

Battery storage has quickly moved from a niche technology to a core pillar of the energy transition. But one big question has remained: when will the world's largest banks fully get behind it? And what will it take for battery projects to attract long-term, large-scale financial backing?

How are market structures, price signals, and contract innovations shaping the future of battery investment? And what do developers, asset owners, and market participants need to understand as the sector matures?

In this episode of Transmission, Quentin is joined by Bryan Long, Executive Director at JP Morgan, to explore how major banks are approaching battery storage. Over the course of the conversation, you’ll hear about:

• The evolution of the US power markets: How market structures have enabled huge investment in renewables and what’s changing as load growth accelerates.
• The tipping point for batteries: Why banks like JP Morgan are now engaging in battery storage and what portfolio scale means for financing.
• Battery portfolios vs. single assets: How portfolio effects smooth returns, de-risk projects, and open new hedging strategies.
• Forward hedging for batteries: Why linking short-term battery operations with long-term forward markets is the next step for financial maturity.
• The rise of new trading products: How market participants are pricing volatility, risk, and revenue certainty across high and low-demand periods.
• US vs. European market dynamics: How the US remains the global leader in sending investable price signals and what Europe can learn as it faces its own transition challenges.

About our guest

Bryan Long is Executive Director at JP Morgan, specialising in power markets, commodity risk management, and structured energy products. With a background spanning real-time trading, renewables origination, and large-scale hedging strategies, Bryan helps clients navigate the evolving landscape of US energy markets—and build resilience as the grid transitions toward more flexible, renewable systems.

About Modo Energy

Modo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.

All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.