Training & Events

Training & Events

EEC's 2024 All Energy wrap 

All Energy is always a big few days, but this year the scale caught even seasoned veterans off guard. At the end of Day 1, event director Robby Clark told us they'd had 10,000 people through the doors – the kind of number usually seen over the entire event. And sure, many of those people were there for solar and storage, but in 2024 it was clear how much attention has been carved out for demand side technology, innovation and thinking.

This wasn't just evident at the EEC's Energy Management Zone, which had sessions full to overflowing throughout both days. There were also lines out the door at the Demand Management theatre, which had to introduce a nightclub-style one in, one out policy (the irony of long wait times for demand management was not lost on some wags).


The Demand Management Theatre, still packed late on day two.

So what did we learn, and what were the themes?

As ever with an event this size, it depends who you ask. But from the introductory plenary sessions to the very last panels on the EMZ stage, the conversation is coalescing around electrification.

As Grattan Institute's Alison Reeve said in one of those opening plenaries, "for almost all applications, electricity will be the default in the clean energy economy."

On the same stage, our CEO Luke Menzel unpacked some of Australia's decarbonisation policy blind spots, explaining the gaps waiting to be filled for the thousands of businesses (and millions of households) that aren't classified as large emitters.


Luke Menzel, Brad Archer, Anthea Middleton, Darren Miller and Heidi Lee on the plenary stage, opening morning.

While there may not yet be clear policies equal to the task of decarbonising Australia's households, manufacturers and local governments, it's not for lack of on-ground expertise and experience.

From the sessions across the two days at the Energy Management Zone, there was gold to be found in the mix of high level thinking and project-specific insights and case studies.

From Anthea Middleton, CEO of Powering Skills Australia, acknowledging that electrical engineers "have no brand in secondary schools," cut to a panel on the Heat Pump Hot Water System Roadmap, and the consideration that 75% of Victoria's 30,000 plumbers are aged over 35. As most plumbers did their training before heat pump hot water was taken seriously, and this older workforce are where consumers turn to for advice, the workforce training issue is far broader than engineers.

From reframing consumer energy as a solution (Stephanie BashirNexa Advisory), to planning ahead of an EV-owning nation driving home at the end of the day to plug their cars in during the evening peak (Matthew van der LindenFlow Power), demand management's big issues were met by EEC member expertise and insight. 

Here's just a small handful of takeaways from two packed days.


AGL's Julie Hirsch, Energy Management Zone stage.

Equity

'In a year, the average Australian spends more on coffee than electricity. It's our most vulnerable who really need help to manage costs.' James GiblinSynergy.

'We know rental properties are not being upgraded and people are renting longer term, so they're at risk of being permanently locked out of benefits. We have to get the most at-risk households off the gas network first.' Helen Oakeyrenew.

'Most landlords only own one property, but most renters are dealing with landlords who own multiple properties.' Alastair MatcottGreen Energy Trading.

'Apartments are more likely to be home to renters, migrants and people who live alone, and high rises are also really energy hungry. Each apartment might have a relatively small energy bill, but people in high rises consume 25% more energy than those living in a detached dwelling. And across a whole building, there are huge opportunities for efficiency. Apartments can cut electricity bills by a third with low or no-cost solutions.' Amy BrandLet Me Be Frank.

Nudges

'Sticks work better than carrots. Hurry up with minimum rental standards and mandatory disclosure! Low interest finance has existed for years … landlords are not interested.' Alastair Matcott.

'We need to get the most out of every single one of our touchpoints. We have to make the most of every interaction from householders to industry – not in disparate, fragmented conversations, and not just talking about solar.' Luke Menzel, opening plenary.

'There's an assumption we need to convince households of the benefits of electrification. We don't. It turns out 88% of Australians are considering home upgrades – they're just not thinking of it as "electrification".' Julie HirschAGL

In New Zealand, there was recognition that having received an energy audit, businesses needed help to divert funds from BAU operations. The department there set up a round of energy transition accelerators, which position audits less as technical reports, and more as investment decision-making documents for boards to interpret progess.' Jon BruceDETA consulting.

'One of biggest barriers for people who didn't continue on the journey was actually prioritising energy efficient appliances when considering their household budget. Why customers haven't continued their electrification journey is overwhelm, too much generic information, no clear way of comparing products, and an inherent distrust of bias due to information coming from companies trying to sell you something.' Julie Hirsch.

'How do we make energy efficiency relevant to customers? 70% of SMEs are worried about climate change's impact on their operations, so we must make this insight is relevant to customers, and help businesses ask - and answer - How is energy used in my business? What upgrades are available to me?' Cindy ArthurANZ.

'Energy boffins, folks who love talking the talk, get caught up in it. It's not where the public are at. But many people are working on their homes and thinking about them all the time, so how can we insert ourselves in the conversation?' Dan CowdellGeelong Sustainability Group.

"10% of EVs could provide 30% of our storage needs – if the market's properly developed and energy providers have done the work of providing a good value proposition to plug their car into the grid.' Johanna BowyerIEEFA.


Jonathan Leake, Merrily Hunter, Matthew Daly and Jeremy Sung.

Residential

'Everyone wants to go straight to solar panels and EVs, but solar panels won't keep you warm in winter. Draughtproofing is the second-largest activity in the VEU program, but due to cheap products and unqualified doorknockers, the vast majority of thermal loss remains completely unsolved.' Alastair Matcott.

'Each state is facing their own network capacity issues and curbing demand more important than ever, but the move is away from traditional energy saving devices to time of use. HEMS will eventually be replaced by retailers doing that energy management, but in order to start the dialogue, HEMS need to be pushed by local electricians. That will only happen when they're affordable, trusted and easy to use.' Merrily HunterMAC Trade Services

'Government needs to send a signal that interoperability is coming, and you're not incentivising products that aren't going to be useful in a few years time.' Dr Matt DalyUTS.


EEC's Luke and Sage with some of our wonderful members on the expo floor.

Industrial decarbonisation

'The language around 'hard to abate' could be reframed as simply 'late to abate', explaining that decarbonisaing heavy industry is entirely possible through ideas like net zero industrial precincts.' Dr Calvin LeeClimateworks.

'In terms of recent government incentive programs that worked, Energy Efficiency Opportunities was a great program, but needed board involvement. The Clean Technology Investment Program also saw lots of projects with better production facilities coming online, though the right screening was missing. These programs both ended abruptly, creating demand for products and programs, then redundancies. As soon as you string together a program with knowledge sharing and a clear pathway, you see impact – like the Community Energy Upgrade Fund. It's not just about grants, but sharing knowledge.' Jarrod LeakA2EP

Needless to say, we're not even touching the sides of what we covered. Project-specific case studies from large scale heat pump applications to using AI for context-aware electric load prediction, the focussed, outcome-specific discussions on critical technologies and policies... but there's plenty more to come, especially if you're joining us next month at the Buildings Energy Performance Summit.