Joshua Riddiford , Energy News
The key disruptive trends facing the energy industry – digitalisation, decentralisation and decarbonisation – lead the agenda at this year’s Asia Pacific Energy Leaders summit.
The event will bring together representatives from governments from across the region as well as executives from leading energy and technology organisations including the Edison Electric Institute and Amazon.
It is co-hosted by the BusinessNZ Energy Council and the World Energy Council and will take place in Wellington on October 31 and November 1. It follows the inaugural summit held in 2016, also held in the capital city.
This year’s summit will be opened by BEC chair David Caygill before World Energy Council chief executive Christoph Frei discusses how decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation will drive change in the energy sector.
Innovation features strongly on the first day, according to the summit’s initial programme. Edison Electric Institute vice president Lawrence Jones will discuss the attributes of energy innovation before former Proctor and Gamble executive Steve Meller offers practical tips on how firms can encourage it.
Morning and afternoon keynote speakers will also join two facilitated panel discussions.
Delegates have options for attending networking or a chief executive round table during the lunch session.
Decarbonisation day
The global trends of digitalisation, decentralisation and decarbonisation – the ‘three Ds’ – have been highlighted by BEC asincreasingly important to the energy sector in New Zealand. They sit alongside the three aspects of the WEC’s energy trilemma – sustainability, energy security, and affordability.
The focus of the first day is on digitalisation and decentralisation. Decarbonisation is a key theme of the second day and the Labour-led Government’s twin goals of making the economy net zero carbon by 2050 and having all power generation come from renewable sources – in a normal hydrological year – by 2035 are likely to be top of mind for local speakers.
Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods and Climate Change Minister James Shaw will discuss barriers to decarbonisation during the gala lunch session. They will be joined by ministers from other countries.
International viewpoints and work will also be covered. Finavia vice president Mikko Viinikainen will open the second day by discussing the Finnish airport operator’s goal of decarbonising its 21 airports by 2020 and the role of airports in controlling emissions.
A panel session will discuss how regulatory and commercial frameworks should evolve to remain fit for purpose at a time of rapid economic, social and environmental transition. Morning and afternoon keynotes will again participate in separate panels.
Registration for the event is open now with early-bird discounts available until the end of August. Reduced rates are available for BEC and WEC members, those who belong to the Young Energy Professionals Network and WEC Future Energy Leaders.