Show Notes
This week on the Energy Unplugged podcast, Casimir Lorenz, Managing Director for Central Europe at Aurora Energy Research, is joined by Aurélie Alemany, CEO of enercity, to explore one of the most pressing questions facing Germany's energy transition: how can the country solve its growing grid congestion challenge? Aurélie became CEO of enercity in July 2024, taking over as Chair of the Board of Management of the Hanover-based energy company. She sees her most important task as advancing the digital energy transition across the Hanover region, Northern Germany and beyond. With more than 15 years of experience in the energy sector, she previously served as CEO of energy solutions provider SENEC and Managing Director of Yello Strom, alongside holding several senior leadership positions within the EnBW Group. Her experience spans renewable energy, battery storage, retail energy and grid operations, providing a uniquely broad perspective on the challenges facing Germany's evolving power system. Recorded as Germany grapples with rising congestion costs, increasing renewable curtailment and mounting pressure to modernise its electricity market design, the conversation examines the competing approaches being proposed to manage grid constraints and deliver a more efficient energy system. Casimir and Aurélie discuss the role of flexibility, dynamic grid tariffs, regional pricing models and nodal pricing, as well as the practical and political challenges associated with reforming Europe's largest single-price-zone electricity market. You will learn about:
Why grid congestion has become one of Germany's most significant energy market challenges.
The differences between dynamic grid tariffs, regional pricing zones and nodal pricing.
How flexibility and battery storage can help reduce curtailment and improve grid efficiency.
Why market design reforms could shape future investment decisions across Germany's energy sector.
The technical, political and economic barriers to implementing more granular electricity pricing.
More from Energy Unplugged by Aurora
This week on Energy Unplugged, Emma Woodward, Principal in Aurora Energy Research’s GB & Ireland Advisory team and GB Flexible Energy Lead, is joined by Peter Kavanagh, CEO of Harmony Energy. Britain has built one of Europe’s most mature battery markets, largely without subsidy. But success brings its own complications. As batteries scale, the debate is shifting from whether the technology works to whether the market around it does. Merchant revenues remain volatile; projects can spend years waiting for grid and planning approvals, and batteries are still not always fully utilised when they could provide a cheaper alternative for balancing the system. At the same time, support for long-duration storage raises a more uncomfortable question: could policy designed to accelerate storage end up distorting a market that has already proved it can compete? For Peter, the message is increasingly simple: batteries have demonstrated their value. Now the challenge is removing the barriers that stop them delivering more of it. Main topics include:
This week on Energy Unplugged, Emma Woodward, Principal in Aurora Energy Research’s GB & Ireland Advisory team and GB Flexible Energy Lead, is joined by Peter Kavanagh, CEO of Harmony Energy. Britain has built one of Europe’s most mature battery markets, largely without subsidy. But success brings its own complications. As batteries scale, the debate is shifting from whether the technology works to whether the market around it does. Merchant revenues remain volatile; projects can spend years waiting for grid and planning approvals, and batteries are still not always fully utilised when they could provide a cheaper alternative for balancing the system. At the same time, support for long-duration storage raises a more uncomfortable question: could policy designed to accelerate storage end up distorting a market that has already proved it can compete? For Peter, the message is increasingly simple: batteries have demonstrated their value. Now the challenge is removing the barriers that stop them delivering more of it. Main topics include:
This week on Energy Unplugged, Jose Munoz, Market Lead for Spanish-speaking South America at Aurora Energy Research, and Melissa Carreño, Product Manager for Peru and Colombia, are joined by César Butrón, Chairman of the Board of COES, Peru's national system operator. For two decades, Peru has benefited from some of the cheapest electricity in Latin America, supported by abundant low-cost gas from Camisea. But the conditions that shaped that success are beginning to change. Demand is rising, cheap gas can no longer be taken for granted, and investors are struggling to finance new renewable projects despite strong resources and significant interest in the market. At the same time, policymakers face difficult decisions around gas infrastructure, battery storage, transmission expansion, and system reliability. Drawing on decades of experience at the centre of Peru's power sector, César explains why the country is not facing a shortage of electricity, but a potential shortage of affordable electricity, and what that means for Peru's next phase of development. Peru's challenge is no longer keeping the lights on. It's deciding what will power them next. Main topics include:
This week on Energy Unplugged, Jose Munoz, Market Lead for Spanish-speaking South America at Aurora Energy Research, and Melissa Carreño, Product Manager for Peru and Colombia, are joined by César Butrón, Chairman of the Board of COES, Peru's national system operator. For two decades, Peru has benefited from some of the cheapest electricity in Latin America, supported by abundant low-cost gas from Camisea. But the conditions that shaped that success are beginning to change. Demand is rising, cheap gas can no longer be taken for granted, and investors are struggling to finance new renewable projects despite strong resources and significant interest in the market. At the same time, policymakers face difficult decisions around gas infrastructure, battery storage, transmission expansion, and system reliability. Drawing on decades of experience at the centre of Peru's power sector, César explains why the country is not facing a shortage of electricity, but a potential shortage of affordable electricity, and what that means for Peru's next phase of development. Peru's challenge is no longer keeping the lights on. It's deciding what will power them next. Main topics include:
This week on Energy Unplugged, Richard Howard, Global Research Director at Aurora Energy Research, is joined by Michael Tobin CBE, one of the pioneers of the European data centre industry, former CEO of TelecityGroup and Non-Executive Director at Five Nines Group, alongside Sebastian Murphy, Director of Development & Innovation at Five Nines Group, to explore what it really takes to deliver data centre projects in Europe. Driven by AI, cloud computing and digitalisation, data centres are becoming one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity demand worldwide. But as power constraints, permitting challenges and supply chain bottlenecks intensify, can Europe remain competitive in the global race to build the infrastructure that will underpin the next generation of AI? Michael and Sebastian pull back the curtain on the realities of delivering data centres at scale, from securing scarce grid connections and navigating planning hurdles to managing supply chains, construction risk and ever-tightening sustainability requirements. They discuss why Europe's established data centre hubs are running out of room to grow, how regional markets are emerging as the next frontier for investment, and why access to power has become the industry's defining challenge. The episode also examines the shift towards AI inference facilities, the rise of behind-the-meter power solutions, and whether Europe has the regulatory framework needed to compete with the US and China. Along the way, the guests share firsthand insights from the front line of data centre development and make the case for what needs to change if Europe is to remain a serious player in the global AI race. You will learn: