AUSTRALIAN
WIND INDUSTRY SUMMIT
4 MAY 2023 | MELBOURNE
OFFSHORE WIND AGENDA
Join us for an unmissable day of knowledge sharing and networking
The program for the Australian Wind Industry Summit is changing in 2023. Attendees will come together for the Market Outlooks session, breaks and networking drinks, but split for focussed presentations on onshore and offshore wind.
View the agenda for the Offshore Wind sessions below or click here for the Onshore Wind sessions. Please note you cannot attend both.
OFFSHORE WIND AGENDA
9AM-9.30AM
OPENING PLENARY
The Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton and Victorian Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio welcome attendees to the 2023 Australian Wind Industry Summit and set the agenda for the day.
Kane is the Chief Executive of the Clean Energy Council, Australia’s peak body for renewables. He has more than a decade’s experience in energy policy and leadership in the development of the renewable energy industry. Kane has advocated for and helped design the policies that have been critical to the renewable energy industry’s growth, and continues to be an active political advocate, public presenter and media spokesperson.
His previous roles include senior manager and advisor for Hydro Tasmania – Australia’s largest generator of renewable energy – and executive officer of Renewable Energy Generators Australia.
Kane has broad international management experience having previously worked in technology, living and working in Asia. He has held a range of advisory and board roles with government and non-government organizations in the climate change and energy sector, and is a non-executive director of Sustainability Victoria.
Kane is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, has a Masters in Social Science and Bachelor of Information Technology.
Lily D’Ambrosio is a member of the Australian Labor Party and has represented the electorate of Mill Park in the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2002.
She has previously served as Minister for a variety of portfolios, including Community Development, Industry, Suburban Development and Environment.
But most notably she is Australia’s longest serving current Minister for Energy, having been in the role since 2014, as well as currently being the Minister for Climate Action, the Minster for Resources, and the Minister for the State Electricity Commission (SEC).
Minister D’Ambrosio is a leader in action on climate change, renewable energy and energy efficiency in Australia, and has led the modernisation of much of Victoria’s key environmental regulations. She managed the passage of a restored Climate Change Act, Victoria’s landmark climate legislation, which saw it become the first Australian state to legislate in line with the Paris Agreement for net zero emissions by 2050, a target that has since been updated to 2045.
Under her leadership, Victoria is seeing the fastest real reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the country.
Recently she announced Victoria’s commitment to nation leading targets for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, including a goal of halving emissions by 2030 and reducing them by 75-80% by 2035.
She was proud to join with the Premier, Daniel Andrews, to announce the revival of the State Electricity Commission, with a mandate to build a portfolio of 4.5 gigawatts of publicly owned renewable energy by 2035, as part of a landmark commitment to reach 95% renewable energy in Victoria.
Minister D’Ambrosio is passionate about redesigning the Australian energy market to facilitate a smooth transition into a renewable, reliable and affordable energy future, and one that puts the interests of the public ahead of profits.
9.30AM-10.30AM
MARKET OUTLOOKS
The wind industry is booming. Australia’s largest ever wind farms are in construction, projects are being developed across the country, and the first offshore wind Feasibility Licences are up for grabs. AEMO is anticipating more than 20 GW of wind capacity will be added in the next seven years. Join us in this session to hear how domestic and international policies, finance and investment, workforce development, technology trends and planning frameworks will shape the sector over the months and years ahead.
Anna is Policy Director – Decarbonisation at the Clean Energy Council – Australia’s peak body for the renewable energy sector, which represents more than 1,000 member organisations working across solar, wind, hydro, energy storage and green hydrogen in Australia.
Anna leads the Clean Energy Council’s policy and industry development work relating to the decarbonisation of the Australian economy and the country’s aspirations to become a renewable energy superpower, supplying low-cost, renewable energy to supply domestic and international markets.
Anna has been deeply engaged in energy and climate change policy for close to 20 years, working as Public Affairs Director for two national climate change reviews on behalf of the Australian and state governments (the Garnaut Reviews in 2008 and 2011), and as an adviser to the country’s Climate Change Authority. She has also held private sector roles in mining, infrastructure and media.
Anna holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters in Business Administration.
Lillian’s career has spanned the commercial, strategic, political and regulatory spheres of the energy industry. As Infrastructure Development Manager in AusNet’s commercial transmission business, she works with renewable energy and storage developers to identify investment opportunities for the energy infrastructure that will underpin the rapid transition of Australia’s energy system.
She is also a Non-Executive Director of the Clean Energy Council (CEC) and was recently identified as one of the industry’s top 100 leaders in The Australian’s 2023 Green List.
Previously, Lillian was Policy Director, Energy Transformation at the CEC. She has also held roles at Origin Energy, the International Energy Agency and in the Federal Government.
Lillian holds a Masters in Sustainability and Energy Management from Bocconi University in Italy and a Bachelor of Business (1st Class Honours in Economics and Finance) and Bachelor of International Studies from the University of Technology, Sydney.
She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Brett Wickham is the Managing Director of ACCIONA’s Energy Division in Australia and is responsible for leading ACCIONA Energy’s Australian team, its operations, strategy, and growth in the Australian market.
Brett is an experienced industry executive who brings commercial focus and international expertise to the role, having worked on renewable energy projects in 14 countries.
First joining ACCIONA in 2006 as Director Engineering, Construction & Operations in the Australian energy business, he then moved to South Africa in 2012 as Director Construction & Operations, helping establish the brand in that country.
From 2015 until mid-2017, he worked for ACCIONA at its energy headquarters in Spain as Director Projects Organisation, creating a new framework for the development of international solar and wind farms around the world.
Penny has 17 years’ experience in the delivery of complex marine infrastructure projects and has spent the last 14 years working in offshore wind. She has led the project development, approvals and environmental impact assessments (EIA) for more than 10 GW of offshore wind projects in the UK and Australia – and is now leading the development of Corio’s two Australian projects – Great Eastern Offshore Wind and Great Southern Offshore Wind.
Tim is the Executive General Manager, Energy Markets at Iberdrola Australia. In this role, Tim leads the trading and retail functions of Iberdrola Australia. Tim also oversees business development for firming and smart solutions. Up until November 2018, Tim was the Chief Economist of AGL Energy.
He is also a Climate Councillor, member of the Westpac Stakeholder Advisory Council and is on the Research Committee for the Centre for Policy Development.
Tim is an Associate Professor at Griffith University. He holds a PhD in economics for which he earned a Chancellors Doctoral Research Medal and a first-class honours degree in economics. Tim is also a fellow of the Governance Institute (FGIA FCG CS CGP) and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).
10.30AM-11AM
MORNING TEA
11AM-12.30PM
Sailing away
The backbone of success for all large-scale infrastructure projects consists of the ports, maritime industries and supply chains that bring the plan to reality. Australia needs to be planning today to ensure we can harness the unprecedented opportunity of the offshore wind industry, learning from global best practice and ensuring the fundamentals are not overlooked before it’s too late.
Morgan Rossiter is a Senior Policy Officer at the CEC, working in the Market, Grid and Investment policy team. She champions for regulatory development of the electricity market to accelerate investment in new generation, storage, and transmission capacity.
She also leads issues relating to transmission, port development and supply chain for the CEC’s Offshore Wind Directorate. Morgan brings with her 10 years’ experience in the energy sector in a diverse range of roles across Australia and Singapore, from shipping, strategy, infrastructure development and sales.
Morgan holds a Bachelor of International Business from RMIT University and a Master of Environment and Sustainability from Monash University.
James Perry is an experienced Project Director who has been working in the offshore wind sector for the past 15 years in the UK before returning to Australia to support the growth of the industry on home soils/waters.
During his period in the UK James initially supported developers in early phase consenting and front end engineering design works before moving to Siemens Wind Power (later Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy). For the last 11 years James has worked with the turbine supplier leading project teams on the design, manufacturing, transport, installation and commissioning of turbines for multiple projects including Gwynt y Mor, Galloper and Hornsea 2.
In all James has had direct project leadership roles bringing nearly 2.3GW of offshore wind to the UK grid as well as supporting in many other projects in the UK and around the world. On the completion of commissioning the 1.4GW Hornsea 2 project James has moved to Australia to be based in Newcastle with his family.
Melissa specialises in energy sector sales and acquisitions and project developments across the Asia Pacific region, with particular emphasis on investments facilitating the energy transition.
Melissa’s renewable experience includes advising on a number of offshore wind matters from regulatory and corporate perspectives, including advising on preparation of licence applications, joint development agreements, and risk mitigation strategies.
Recently, Melissa has worked with a number of large international offshore wind developers on their proposed and realised investments in early stage offshore wind projects in Australia and New Zealand, including advising on federal and state based regulatory and approvals frameworks.
Katrina Langdon, Industry Development and Procurement Manager at Star of the South. Katrina has over 15 years of experience in the renewable energy industry, including roles at Vestas, Senvion, Pacific Hydro and AGL. At Star of the South, Katrina leads the local supply chain engagement, workforce and skills transition to offshore wind and the overall procurement planning for the project.
Jordan Glanville is Oceanex Energy’s Infrastructure Manager, responsible for delivering the port infrastructure, marine operations, fabrication and vessels strategy for Oceanex projects.
Jordan has over 16 years’ experience in maritime, port and offshore construction operations from both client and service company perspectives. He has an in depth understanding of what it takes to plan and execute marine and offshore projects within Australia, spanning shipbuilding to port operations to major offshore construction projects. Jordan has been closely involved with the development of the offshore wind industry in Australia since its inception and is deeply motivated to ensure it is a success.
12.30PM-1.30PM
LUNCH
1.30PM-3PM
Small print, big Impact
The multi-gigawatt offshore wind farms under development in Australia are at a scale and complexity not seen before in this country. This brings new considerations into these projects’ contracting structures, funding/financing mechanisms and insurance options. Join us to explore all of this and the latest on how offshore wind technology is evolving.
Jennifer has extensive expertise and experience successfully delivering major infrastructure projects, particularly in the energy and renewables sector.
Carla Cummings has extensive experience providing strategic commercial, procurement and legal advice on major infrastructure projects both in Australia and overseas.
Carla’s experience includes advising Governments, developers, funders and contractors (as applicable) on renewable energy projects, including offshore wind in the UK, onshore wind in UK and Africa and district heating and cooling systems, major health infrastructure projects (including campus hospital PPPs), urban regeneration projects and transport projects.
Adam is a Co-founding Partner of Energise Renewables, a Melbourne-based consultancy specialising in offshore wind development in the region.
Adam has gained more than a decade of international offshore wind experience – including five years in Australian and New Zealand markets – from two of the leading developers and investors in the industry.
He has worked across offshore wind development disciplines such as project origination and development, bid preparation, budgeting and financial modelling, offtake strategy, procurement, as well as operations and maintenance.
Adam holds academic degrees in Engineering, Finance, and Business Administration
A chartered engineer with over 20 years’ experience in project delivery and product development across energy, aerospace and automotive sectors, including 13 years working in offshore renewables. Rob leads RES’s global offshore activities and was previously head of the RES UK&I offshore business, a team of professionals working across all phases of offshore renewable projects from development to operation. Rob provides leadership and strategic focus to the offshore team, supports project investments and divestments and has board level experience in the UK and Germany.
Oliver Nunn is the managing director of Endgame Economics – a mathematical and economic consultancy that focusses on energy. Oliver has worked as a consultant across the length and breadth of the energy sector. He advises governments, networks, generators, developers and investors.
3PM-3.30PM
AFTERNOON TEA
3.30PM-5PM
Sharing the ocean
Community acceptance of offshore wind will depend on ensuring that the industry benefits coastal communities and minimises its impact on the natural environment. Join this session to hear about regional marine environment studies, First Nations perspectives, and community benefit-sharing approaches for offshore wind.
Megan has over 20-years of experience working in the sustainable energy sector in both Australia and the UK.
Her roles have included Director on the Australian Clean Energy Council Board, Head of Policy for the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy, Head of Communications & External Affairs at Senvion Australia and senior manager at Sustainability Victoria.
Through Wheatley Young Partners, Megan is currently working with the offshore wind sector to support the development of effective stakeholder engagement and benefit-sharing strategies.
Cameron Grebe leads NOPSEMA’s Environment, Renewables and Decommissioning Division since joining the regulator in August 2011, following 16 years as an environmental engineer, adviser, and manager at BHP, Woodside Energy and Shell Global Solutions International.
Christine has over 20 years’ experience in seabird, marine and terrestrial ecology, baseline surveys, monitoring programs, EIA, regulatory approvals, multi-criteria analysis and marine spatial planning in Australia.
Christine was appointed the first Chief Environmental Scientist for the Offshore Energy Regulator in Australia and has deep understanding of the OEI Act 2022, EPBC Act 1999 and OPGGS Act 2006 gained over 10 years with the regulator.
Christine is experienced with government sectoral planning processes, conservation planning, regulatory requirements and baseline study design and is now working for RPS in Australia as a Technical Director.
Mr Daniel Miller is the Chief Executive Officer at Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC). Daniel brings an understanding of social and cultural issues affecting Traditional Owners and Aboriginal communities, including interaction and working with non-indigenous communities.
Daniel is a forward thinker and has a strong focus on balancing community needs with strategic planning and sustainable business growth. He holds a Bachelor of Organisational Leadership and is studying a Master of Business Administration.
Rosie King works with Energy Estate as the Director of Partnerships & Engagement.
Rosie is the lead for Energy Estate on partnerships and engagement with the traditional owners of the land where our development projects are located, as well as driving the consultation with all of the stakeholders to our projects.
Rosie leverages her extensive experience in navigating the critical relationship between traditional owners, investors, government, industry and the community. Rosie is adept at establishing and maintaining positive and direct relationships with stakeholders, even when objectives and desired outcomes are not aligned.
She understands the importance of successful integration of large-scale projects into the local landscape and champions the importance of the communities who host large scale renewable developments being pivotal to the project process.
5PM-6PM
NETWORKING DRINKS
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Want to get your company involved in Australia’s #1 event for the wind industry? For more information about sponsorship and exhibitor packages, contact rdownie@cleanenergycouncil.org.au
