Australia is entering the decade where the energy transition shifts from ambition to execution. The pipeline is massive—but delivery is under pressure from approvals, community expectations, capital scrutiny and the realities of building at scale.

This opening address reframes sustainability as a delivery discipline, not a bolt-on. The Chair will highlight where projects lose time, trust and capital—and define what “buildable and defensible” looks like, so the sector can deliver faster, with fewer disputes and stronger outcomes.

• What “good” looks like: Measurable sustainability outcomes that support delivery, approvals and asset performance
• Where projects unravel? Unclear requirements, weak evidence, late assurance and interface gaps
• What needs to be locked early? Standards, metrics, procurement choices and accountabilities
• The shared priorities to lift certainty: Common language, transparent reporting and lifecycle assurance

Toby Kent, CEO, Infrastructure Sustainability Council

Delivering one renewable project is challenging enough. Delivering multiple projects across regions, with constrained labour, complex interfaces, long-lead equipment and pressure on timelines, is where the real delivery challenge begins. In this presentation, DT Infrastructure will share practical lessons from delivering major infrastructure programs and what project teams need to do differently when renewables become a portfolio of work rather than a single site.

• What delivery at scale looks like in practice across multiple projects, packages and regions
• The common causes of stop-start delivery, including late decisions, unclear scope, interface breakdowns and logistics pressure
• How stronger planning, sequencing and repeatable delivery methods can protect productivity across complex programs
• The decisions that need to be made earlier to improve mobilisation, reduce disruption and keep projects moving

Tom Perkin, GM Strategy, DT Infrastructure

This leaders panel brings together senior decision-makers to share what they’re changing now to unlock delivery – reducing connection and interface risk, securing land earlier, reshaping contracts to avoid defensive pricing, and lifting productivity without compromising safety or quality.

No broad commentary, just clear calls on what’s slowing projects, what’s working on the ground, and what must change to turn announced capacity into delivered megawatts.

• Connection and interfaces: Preventing connection risk and handover disputes becoming the critical path
• Land access and approvals: Locking the “right” groundwork early to avoid redesign loops and delay-driven re-pricing
• Contracting and risk: Sharing risk in a way that keeps projects financeable without inflating prices
• Productivity and safety at scale: Lifting output on site without compromising safety, quality or workforce sustainability

Panelists include

Neil Weston, Chief Project Officer, RATCH Australia

Gordon Taylor, GM Project Delivery, Transgrid

Maria Vazquez, Head of Engineering, Engie

Kelly Wood, Group Executive, Ausgrid

Moderated by

Sally Torgoman, CEO, Ascera Energy

Join owners, networks, EPCs, OEMs and delivery leaders for practical, small-group discussions on the issues slowing renewable projects in Australia. Attendees will take part in two 30-minute roundtables, each led by an experienced industry practitioner and focused on reducing delay, rework and disputes.

• Each table is capped to support open discussion
• Topics will be shared in advance to help attendees choose the most relevant sessions
• A 5-minute changeover is provided between roundtables

Choose the discussions most relevant to your role and priorities, and dive into what is working, what is not, and what needs to change.

Round Table 1: Next-generation renewable infrastructure – New project models beyond standalone generation:

Explore how integrated energy precincts are reshaping project delivery by combining generation, storage, embedded networks and major energy users. Discuss how these models are structured, financed and delivered, and what they mean for developers, investors and contractors.

Host: Adrian Odorisio, Project Director, Barossa Green

Round Table 2: Land access, stakeholder engagement and keeping projects moving:

Discuss the stakeholder and land access challenges that can slow renewable energy projects before construction even begins. Explore practical strategies for improving landholder engagement, integrating cultural heritage and stakeholder processes earlier, and building more credible pathways with communities and Traditional Owners to reduce friction and support smoother project delivery.

Host: Vonda Malone, General Manager & Chief Advocate, Indigenous Energy Australia

Round Table 3: Land acquisition and site selection – Getting the early project fundamentals right:

A practical discussion on how developers can identify the right sites earlier, secure better land outcomes and avoid the front-end issues that often create delays later in approvals, stakeholder engagement and project delivery. Explore what project teams need to assess upfront around land suitability, planning risk, infrastructure access and site constraints to set projects up for smoother delivery.

Host: Daniel Moroko, Land Acquisition Agent, Rok Solid

Round Table 4: From Design to Delivery: Creating a Single Source of Truth Across Renewable Projects

Host: Autodesk

Round Table 5: Contracting and risk allocation in renewable energy construction:

A practical conversation about how risk is currently being allocated across renewable construction contracts. Explore what owners, contractors and lenders are looking for in contracting structures and how projects can manage uncertainty without driving defensive pricing.

Round Table 6: Supply chain risk – Managing long-lead equipment and global procurement:

With transformers, switchgear, cables and battery components often driving project schedules, this discussion explores how project teams can improve procurement planning, supplier coordination and logistics to reduce delivery risk and avoid costly delays.

Round Table 7:  Grid connection readiness – What project teams must get right before commissioning:

A practical discussion on preparing projects for successful grid connection. Explore where connection processes typically stall and what developers, EPCs and technical advisors can do earlier in design and procurement to avoid delays and rework during commissioning.

Round Table 8: Workforce, safety and productivity on renewable construction sites:

Discuss the workforce and safety challenges of building renewable infrastructure across remote sites and multiple regions. Explore practical strategies for improving productivity, strengthening safety culture and building the workforce capability needed for large-scale construction programs.

Adrian Odorisio, Project Director, Barossa Green

Vonda Malone, General Manager & Chief Advocate, Indigenous Energy Australia

Daniel Moroko, Land Acquisition Agent, Rok Solid

As Australia’s energy transition shifts from policy to delivery, outcomes are now shaped as much by capital, supply chains and geopolitics as by engineering.

In this session, Tim Buckley translates global market forces into practical implications for developers, EPCs, OEMs, contractors and networks. Drawing on Climate Energy Finance research, he’ll cut through what’s changing in costs, procurement and supply chains – and what it means for timelines, risk and construction readiness across wind, solar, batteries and transmission.

The focus: decisions teams can make earlier to improve cost certainty and reduce delivery risk.

• How cost of capital and contracting structures are influencing which projects reach FID, and when
• What supply chain concentration and manufacturing trends, including China, mean for lead times, pricing and technology choices
• The implications of technology improvement curves for modules, inverters, batteries, charging and grid equipment procurement strategies
• How geopolitical and trade settings in the Australia and the greater Asian region are affecting investment, exports and industrial load growth

Tim Buckley, Director, Climate Energy Finance

In this high-level briefing, Alison Wiltshire, GM Delivery & Governance for the Capacity Investment Scheme, defines what “deliverability” means in practice—and why it matters.

She’ll outline the core principles behind credible renewable and storage projects, including the evidence required to demonstrate a clear path to financial close and construction. The focus is on consistent, publicly available guidance—not confidential CIS bid details.

• What does deliverability mean in the CIS context, and why it is central to selecting projects that can actually be built?
• The key deliverability pillars proponents should be able to evidence, including approvals, land, grid and scope readiness, supply chain, delivery capability and project governance
• Practical indicators of a “credible” versus “aspirational” project, and how proponents can reduce delivery risk early without relying on privileged information

Alison Wiltshire, Branch Head for Capacity Investment Scheme Delivery, DCCEEW

Grid connection is now one of the biggest delivery risks—driven as much by coordination and accountability as by engineering.

This panel is a practical reality check on why connections drag, where time is lost, and what teams must do earlier to reduce rework, disputes and commissioning delays. The goal: a clear, shared view of what “connection-ready” actually looks like.

• Why do connections take so long? Unpacking the biggest causes of delay and uncertainty in the connection process
• Getting the basics right early: Data, modelling, testing scope and documentation that prevent rework later
• Clear responsibilities and handovers: Who owns what through design, construction, testing and commissioning
• Preventing late changes becoming disputes: Change control and “definition of done” that keeps projects moving

Panelists include

Alex Crosby, MD, Multiworks

Charbel Antoun, Head of Grid Connections & Engineering, Spark Renewables

Tilman Thrum, Market Leader Energy & Power, Stantec

Land access and approvals remain where projects slip, costs rise and redesigns start.

This panel cuts to what’s actually slowing progress, where teams get caught out, and what leading proponents and contractors do differently to keep agreements, approvals and cultural heritage moving – without rework.

The focus: early decisions and disciplines that reduce risk before construction ramps up.

• How leading teams secure land access and landholder agreements faster, and the recurring issues that trigger avoidable delays
• Approvals sequencing in practice: how to plan planning, environment and stakeholder pathways so they support delivery rather than forcing redesign
• Cultural heritage and First Nations engagement: how teams avoid late surprises that impact route, design, program and cost
• Practical mechanisms that support participation and stronger outcomes on projects, including Indigenous Holdco Loans as one relevant tool in the wider land access and approvals picture

Panelists include

John Carr, Project CEO - Capricornia Pumped Hydro, CIP

Nicola Pero, Executive Board Director, Iberdrola Australia

Kath Elliott, Head of Stakeholder and Community Engagement, Squadron Energy

Louise Baring, Head of Community, Stakeholder & Communications, TasNetworks

In this session, leading delivery partners showcase innovations solving the biggest constraints in renewable construction—followed by a panel on how new tools, methods and partnerships are improving productivity, quality and speed to energisation.

Talk 1: Connection-ready by design: Digital engineering and early grid integration that eliminate late-stage change

Talk 2: AI in the field: Predicting delays, optimising schedules and reducing rework in real time

Talk 3: Digitally enabled workforce: Lifting productivity, safety and compliance across distributed sites

Talk 4: De-risking critical supply: Procurement, tracking and QA strategies that protect program certainty

When uncertainty rises, so does price—not from greed, but risk being priced in.

This panel cuts to the real drivers of defensive pricing in renewables: unclear connection pathways, shifting approvals, scope changes and supply chain volatility. The focus is practical—how to allocate risk, structure change control and keep projects financeable without turning contracts into claim battles.

• The biggest drivers of defensive pricing right now: Connection risk, approvals risk, geotech uncertainty and supply chain volatility
• What fair risk-sharing looks like in practice: How owners and contractors are structuring responsibility without killing bankability
• Change control that works: How to handle late changes without constant claims, re-pricing and delays
• What lenders and insurers need to see: The contract signals that give capital confidence while keeping delivery realistic

Panelists include

Nik Trajkovski, GM Commercial & Bids, Acciona Energia

Deepak Sambhi, Partner, KPMG

Projects slow down when the workforce isn’t there, critical equipment arrives late, quality issues cause rework, or safety risks force work to stop. This panel focuses on the practical realities of delivering renewables in Australia right now, what’s constraining progress on site, and what is genuinely working to keep projects moving day-to-day while maintaining safe delivery.

• Workforce capability and shortages: HV, electrical, civils and commissioning — what’s working to build and retain capacity
• Supply chain and long-lead items: transformers, switchgear, cables, BESS components, reducing delays and quality issues
• Site productivity: the practical changes that lift output (sequencing, standardisation, clearer interfaces and planning)
• Safety at scale: HV risk, remote sites, fatigue/mental health, and battery safety during construction

Panelists include

Dave Evans, Chief Delivery Officer - Snowy 2.0, Snowy Hydro

Anthea Middleton, CEO, Powering Skills Organisation

Catherine Gale, Head of Health, Safety & Sustainability, Beon Energy Solutions

Matt Lennon, Operations Manager, DT Infrastructure

Moderated by

Robert Sobyra, Executive Director, BuildSkills Australia