Australia’s strong credentials for renewable energy and storage buildout have resulted in increasing penetration into the NEM, as coal-fired power and gas are being phased out. In fact, in the final quarter of 2025, at the start of the country’s summer period, renewables and storage met more than half of total energy needs for the first time.
The panel was chaired by Karen Gould, managing partner at Palisade. It featured Codevelle alongside James Katsikas, chief executive of EDF Power Solutions, Jean-Marie Verrier, managing director and head of power, renewables and transition at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Rob Wheals, chief executive of Squadron Energy.
Verrier drew on his experience since moving to Australia in 2006 to describe a country that had faced down multiple industry crises and kept building.
“We went through the Marginal Loss Factor (MLF) crisis, where your cash flows dropped by 20% in one day. We went through significant difficulties in the solar construction sector. And if you think about it, we have faced those issues head-on each time, and we are still there. The megawatts are climbing, and we are getting closer to the target.”
Wheals framed the current moment as halftime rather than full time, with the second to be tougher than the first.
