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The business of clean energy
Speaker abstracts and biographies
Chair: Brett Croft, Partner, Oceania Power & Utilities Sector Leader and Oceania Assurance Markets Leader, Ernst & Young
Brett is a Partner of Ernst & Young in Melbourne. Brett is the Oceania leader of the Power & Utilities team and provides assurance and business advisory services to a number of clients in the energy industry, including clients in our Melbourne office and previously, with some of our largest energy clients in the London and Houston offices and a variety of clients in our Chicago and San Francisco offices.
Brett is also the Oceania markets leader for the Assurance practice, which involves working across the region to improve the firms Assurance market footprint. Brett is Board member of the EY Foundation and is a past State Chair of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Environment and planning assessment and consents for renewable energy projects Drawing from nearly 20 years’ experience as an environment and planning lawyer and his extensive, Australia-wide experience on conventional and renewable energy projects, Tim will provide a brief overview of environment and planning processes. The presentation will then highlight the issues which are likely to be the focus of stakeholder and regulator attention on future wind, utility-scale solar and geothermal projects, and offer some perspectives on preparing and planning for your planning and environment applications.
Australian environment and planning laws are complex, and vary between the Australian States and Territories. They also provide an opportunity for stakeholders to contribute to the assessment of planning applications through the public exhibition of applications, appeals and panel hearings.
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Tim Power, Partner, Freehills
Tim Power is a partner at the law firm of Freehills, and leads the Melbourne environment and planning practice. He has practised exclusively as an environmental and planning solicitor for nearly 20 years, holds a Master of Laws degree, tutors in Planning Law at the University of Melbourne, and has been accredited as a specialist by the Law Institute of Victoria.
Tim has a particular strength and focus on the energy industry, from which his renewable energy practice has evolved. Tim and the Freehills team have acted for the proponents of most wind farm projects in Victoria, and have also worked on wind energy projects in Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. The Freehills team has also advised on planning and environmental consent issues for proposed solar energy projects in NSW and Victoria, and on a proposed geothermal energy exploration and production programme.
Asset management in an uncertain business environment
However, the current business environment is changing rapidly with governments and companies wrestling with key issues like climate change, ageing population, integrity of financial systems, globalisation and the sourcing of major capital funding. There is now also greater influence of minority groups in infrastructure planning and project developments.
The deployment of new information technology is accelerating the cycle times for decision making processes, providing ready access to information (some not even creditable) to a wider global audience – the consequence of which can have a significant impact on the operation of a business.
The Asset Manager is now faced with the challenge of maintaining the performance and capability of the assets for the immediate business needs but at the same time, have to have asset strategies and plans in place to assist the business to quickly adapt to new market forces.
“Future proofing” is taking on a whole new meaning and challenges.
What are some of the issues to consider in developing such contingencies? What are some of the tools and resources to use? This paper will provide some insight into these questions. It will also attempt to illustrate these issues using specific business operations within the power industry.
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Raja Ratnam, Business Development Leader - Asset Management, Energy Sector, Asia Pacific, Aurecon Australia Pty Ltd
Raja Ratnam (B.E. Melbourne) has had over 30 years experience power industry working in all facets of the business from operations, maintenance to engineering and project development. He has held senior positions in the public and private sectors and worked with global companies like ABB, ALSTOM, WorleyParsons and now Aurecon. He spent over 15 years in the NSW power plants at Liddell and Eraring.
Raja has spent significant part of his career in asset management and the provision of such services to a wide range of industries. Raja’s approach has been from a business perspective, applying the smart principles of reliability engineering, people management, innovative commercial models, implementing asset management systems and processes and collaborations with industry leaders.
7 mistakes companies make when applying for Government grants – and how to avoid them
The idea of getting ‘free money’ (government grants) is very appealing to most business… especially those experiencing financial difficulty. Like a tropical oasis amongst the dry desert, grants offer hope and salvation. Yet in most cases this ‘grant oasis’ quickly turns into quicksand, sucking enormous energy and time. After jumping through many hoops, filling out mountains of paperwork most companies are left with a rejection letter… and a feeling of despair.
In this presentation Ross Turetsky will expose the myths associated with grant applications and show you how to dramatically increase your chance of winning government grants.
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Ross Turetsky, Managing Director, Grant Solutions
Ross Turetsky is the founder and Managing Director of Grant Solutions. Prior to establishing Grant Solutions, Ross worked in many industries including IT, Education, Management Consulting, Banking and the Public Sector.
He is currently finishing an MBA at the Melbourne Business School and plans to study a 4th degree - Masters of Marketing. Ross has been fortunate to receive a several scholarships (to study in US, China and UK) and has recently completed a highly regarded Project Management accreditation (Prince 2).
Ross is recognised as one of Australia's experts in government grants. He guest-lectured at Monash University and was invited to appear on national television (Channel 7). Ross's reports have also been published in the business media (including SmartCompany and Manufacturers Monthly).
In his spare time, Ross enjoys cycling, swimming and being a passionate speaker in his 2 public speaking clubs (where he has won awards at the national level). Passion, energy and the "tenacity to succeed" is something you'll no doubt experience when you work with Ross.
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