Energy Unplugged by Aurora

This week on Energy Unplugged, Hugo Batten, Managing Director of Aurora APAC, and Arthur Yanagisawa, Head of Advisory for Japan at Aurora Energy Research, are joined by Virginie Sandilya, Chief Investment Officer of Shizen International and Head of Project Finance for the Shizen Energy Group. 

Japan knows it needs batteries. The question is whether the market can build them fast enough. 

Investor appetite remains strong, but the industry's biggest challenges are no longer technological. Grid congestion, rising interest rates, revenue uncertainty and increasingly competitive access to transmission are creating new hurdles for developers trying to reach financial close. 

Drawing on experience from both the lending and development sides of the industry, Virginie shares her perspective on what separates successful projects from the rest, why bankability remains a central challenge, and how developers are navigating a rapidly evolving market. 

In many ways, Japan's battery market has reached an inflection point. Investor appetite is there. The technology is proven. The question is whether the market structure can keep up. 

Main topics include: 

Why securing a grid connection may matter more than securing financing 

Can merchant battery projects attract debt at scale? 

The battle between contracted certainty and merchant upside 

Could data centres unlock the next phase of battery deployment?

This week on Energy Unplugged, Laura Picardo, Aurora Energy Research's Advisory Lead for Mexico, is joined by William Judd, Manager – Origination & Execution, LatAm at Cubico Sustainable Investments. 

After years of limited renewable deployment, Mexico's energy transition is moving again. 

New investment mechanisms, major regulatory reforms, and ambitious deployment targets are creating fresh momentum in one of Latin America's most important power markets. But this isn't simply a return to business as usual. Mexico is attempting to accelerate renewable deployment while integrating battery storage from the outset and building new partnerships between private developers and the state-owned utility, CFE. 

Drawing on Cubico's decade-long experience in the country, William discusses the market's resurgence, the opportunities created by the new mixed-investment model, and the realities of delivering large-scale renewable and storage projects on compressed timelines. 

The conversation also explores what Mexico can learn from markets like Chile and Uruguay, and whether the country can combine political ambition, private capital and strategic planning to deliver its next wave of clean energy growth. 

Main topics include: 

Why Mexico's renewable sector is entering a new phase of growth 

The rise of long-term partnerships between CFE and private developers 

How battery storage is being integrated into renewable projects from day one 

The key opportunities and challenges facing Mexico's next energy boom

This week on Energy Unplugged, Caroline Still, Aurora Energy Research's Market Lead for South Africa, is joined by Jan Fourie, CEO of Mulilo. 

Just a few years ago, South Africa's priority was clear: end load shedding. Today, the challenge looks very different. 

As private investment accelerates and the South African Wholesale Electricity Market (SAWEM) begins to take shape, the industry is shifting its focus from simply adding megawatts to building a power system that can deliver reliable, affordable electricity over the long term. 

Drawing on a front-row seat to South Africa's rapidly evolving power sector, Jan discusses why transmission has emerged as the industry's biggest bottleneck, how batteries are changing the economics of renewable energy, and why flexibility could become one of the most valuable commodities in the country's future electricity market. 

The conversation also explores the role of patient capital, the evolution of power procurement, and whether South Africa has the opportunity to do something few countries have managed successfully: build a competitive electricity market while simultaneously transforming its generation fleet. 

Main topics include: 

South Africa's transition from energy crisis to market reform 

Why transmission, storage and flexibility are becoming critical to the next phase of growth 

The role of batteries, curtailment and market signals in a changing power system 

How SAWEM could reshape investment, competition and electricity pricing in South Africa

This week on Energy Unplugged, Lara Panjkov, Aurora Energy Research's Head of Research for APAC, and Zelin Chen, Aurora's Market and Research Lead for China, are joined by Anders Hove, Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. 

For years, the story of China's energy transition was one of scale: more solar, more wind, more batteries, more transmission. 

Now the challenge is changing. 

As renewable generation surges and power demand continues to grow, China's focus is shifting from building clean energy capacity to integrating it. That transition is exposing new questions around market design, system flexibility, provincial decision-making and the role of coal, gas and storage in an increasingly renewable power system. 

Drawing on more than a decade of experience studying China's energy sector, Anders reflects on China's rise from low-cost manufacturer to global clean energy leader and explains why the country's power sector has entered what he describes as its "messy midgame". 

The conversation explores the latest Five-Year Plan, the evolution of renewable support mechanisms, the growing importance of flexibility, and whether China's biggest challenge is no longer building infrastructure, but using it more effectively. 

Main topics include: 

China's rise from clean energy follower to clean energy leader 

Why integrating renewables is becoming harder than building them 

The push and pull between central planning, provincial governments and market reform 

Whether flexibility, not infrastructure, will determine the success of China's energy transition

This week on Energy Unplugged, Oliver Kerr, Aurora Energy Research's Managing Director for North America, is joined by Declan Flanagan, CEO of Blue Star Energy Capital. 

For much of the past decade, renewable energy development was shaped by abundant capital, falling technology costs, and ever-growing pipelines. Today, the industry is operating in a very different environment. 

Demand growth is back, driven in part by AI and data centres. Project costs are rising. Capital is more expensive. And developers are being forced to rethink some of the assumptions that defined the industry's last growth cycle. 

Drawing on more than two decades of experience building renewable energy businesses, Declan shares his perspective on where capital is flowing, why the US remains the standout market for renewables, and how project development is evolving as the sector matures. 

The conversation also explores the realities of greenfield development, the growing importance of execution and transmission infrastructure, and why Declan believes higher interest rates and a gradual move away from tax credits could ultimately be healthy for the energy transition. 

Main topics include: 

How renewable energy development has evolved over the past 20 years 

AI, data centres and the return of electricity demand growth 

Capital discipline, rising project costs and changing market dynamics 

Why execution may become the industry's greatest competitive advantage