\n\tResourceful Pro recently down with Paul Hodgson, GM Innovation & Stakeholder Engagement at NERA in Brisbane.<\/p>\n
\n\tWe discussed all things Energy including the rapidly changing nature of the sector, future growth opportunities, the transition to renewables, and the role that NERA plays in all of this.<\/p>\n
\n\tPaul Hodgson<\/strong><\/a> is General Manager Innovation and Stakeholder Engagement East Coast for National Energy Resources Australia (NERA<\/strong>)<\/a>, an organisation working to bring the best of the energy resources sector together to drive productivity, collaboration and global competitiveness.<\/p>\n \n\tRP: Paul, what are the priorities & initiatives of NERA? <\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tPH:<\/strong> NERA is one of six Industry Growth Centres (IGCs) established by the Federal Government to drive innovation, collaboration and global competitiveness in our national priority sectors. With responsibility for Oil, Gas and Energy Resources, NERA has developed a ten-year Sector Competitiveness Plan, which we review and update annually. Within our SCP, there are eight knowledge priorities including \u201cenhance skills and business capabilities to support automation and digitisation\u201d and \u201cbuild talent and enable effective collaboration and innovation\u201d. Technology is moving rapidly, as it is in most sectors, with data analytics as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning increasingly being applied in the Oil, Gas and Energy Resources sector.<\/p>\n \n\tNERA has directly funded about forty collaborative projects and other initiatives such as the National Energy Literacy Framework<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tRP: Can you tell us about NERA\u2019s involvement in the renewables sector?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tPH: <\/strong>Another one of NERA\u2019s knowledge priorities is \u201cpursue a sustainable and low carbon energy future\u201d. The global energy transition represents both a challenge and an opportunity for Australia. As a global energy powerhouse with exports comprising two-thirds of our energy production, 98.2% of Australia\u2019s total energy production in 2016\/17 was is in coal, oil & gas and uranium. Fortunately for Australia, we are also endowed with significant potential renewable resources such as wind, solar, wave, tidal and geothermal energy as well as the minerals used to make batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles and other rapidly emerging technologies.<\/p>\n \n\tTraditional energy producers are high users of energy, so we are helping them to become less energy intensive and reduce their carbon emissions as a result. One such project we have supported is the development and trialling of a coal seam gas (CSG)-solar hybrid energy system for well-sites.<\/p>\n \n\tWe have also invested in the establishment of an Australian Ocean Energy Cluster, supporting and growing our offshore wind, tidal and wave energy technology sector.<\/p>\n \n\tNERA is also contributing to the national strategy to develop a hydrogen economy, and particularly how we can capitalise on our strong global position to become an exporter of green hydrogen (hydrogen created from renewable sources) and associated technologies.<\/p>\n \n\tThere are a number of Federal Government funding initiatives for renewables such as ARENA, CEFC and a number that we also help facilitate applications from our sector for such as Cooperative Research Centres and CRC-Projects, and the Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Program.<\/p>\n \n\tRP: How do you see the energy sector evolving over the next 10 years?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tPH: <\/strong>If I knew for sure I could make a lot of money!<\/p>\n \n\tGiven the price trends, I would expect to see the position of large scale wind and solar strengthening and we\u2019ll be hearing more about batteries and storage technologies as we seek to smooth out the intermittent nature of wind and solar. With Australia being a large producer of the minerals used in batteries, this is a significant opportunity for us.<\/p>\n \n\tGlobal energy demand will continue to grow, particularly in Asia, which is an opportunity for us as a net energy exporter. However, with increased global carbon emissions in 2018, I think we\u2019ll also see a resurgence in energy efficiency efforts and more discussions around the circular economy and life cycle assessment. It is challenging to transition to low carbon energy sources but even more so with ever increasing energy production.<\/p>\n \n\tHydrogen, electric vehicles, peer-to-peer energy markets, wave and tidal energy, and micro-grids are all likely to break through into the mainstream in Australia by 2030.<\/p>\n \n\tThere is significant transition and disruption happening, but Australia is well placed to provide new energy sources and technologies. An orderly transition is key, but we don\u2019t need to fear the future.<\/p>\n \n\tI\u2019d also like to see Australia increasingly known globally for exporting energy services, knowledge and technology. Lower energy costs in Australia could also boost onshore manufacturing and the local generation of new products off the back of low carbon energy.<\/p>\n \n\tRP: Describe the scale of demand for clean energy and the near-term opportunities.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tPH: <\/strong>Demand for clean energy is coming from the public and industry, initially fuelled by incentives for renewables but also increasing cost competitiveness. Australians are renowned for their uptake of new technologies and millions of rooftop PV systems are now deployed in domestic settings with people converting for a range of reasons \u2013 control, incentives, cost of energy, and a desire to contribute to a low carbon economy.<\/p>\n \n\tCreating energy storage will become more important for renewables to negate the issues of the sun not shining 24\/7 and the wind not blowing every day. New innovations will capitalise on renewable opportunities globally (best solar intensity, wave resource and wind).<\/p>\n \n\tRP: How does the consumer figure in all this?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tPH:<\/strong> Consumers are used to large, government-regulated energy generators and regular energy bills. The system is becoming more complex and costs are changing. Artificial Intelligence will eliminate direct interaction and save consumers time. A smart meter will know when we\u2019re home, when we\u2019re out and how we use energy, deciding how much energy may be sent to our neighbour or back to the grid. Power Ledger<\/a> is a good example. Energy prices will come down because of those efficiencies. <\/p>\n \n\tRP: What are the talent requirements, jobs and career opportunities associated with the transition?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tPH:<\/strong> The energy sector is ripe for opportunities for talented people, new ideas and investment. The industry is very technology driven. It can have you working on amazing data analytics and cutting-edge technology. A lack of data scientists is a notable shortage but there are some exciting initiatives around upskilling geoscientists and creating hybrid competencies.<\/p>\n \n\tInstead of a degree or certificate being the end of your education, it\u2019s now about life-long learning and workers will accumulate a virtual \u2018passport\u2019 with different stamps for different skills. As technologies, tasks and occupations change, workers will need to constantly upskill.<\/p>\n \n\tBeyond the textbook, employability will be about networking, associations, courses and experiences as well as a contextual understanding of a role \u2013 such a mutual knowledge of engineering, business and data science.<\/p>\n \n\tThe challenge will be ensuring a strategic connection between data and business function. A lot of companies still work from experience and gut feel so there are cultural factors in completing a full data value chain. How do experienced people react to seeing data that conflicts with what they have been doing?<\/p>\n