S4E01: Accelerating the energy transition: why systems thinking changes everything

S4E01: Accelerating the energy transition: why systems thinking changes everything

From Talking Infrastructure by AECOM

January 31, 2025 · 54 min · Season 4 · Episode 1

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of a systems thinking approach to accelerate the energy transition and tackle challenges in clean energy.

"We’ve got to think about this all together as a whole-systems holistic solution, whether it’s a single rural community or whether that’s at an industrial cluster level. It’s the same—the whole nation is a system in itself. So, we’ve got to have that whole-systems approach from the top down, whether that’s transmission networks right the way down to [...] the final mile on the grid." – Kate Gilmartin, British Hydropower Association For too long, we’ve tackled energy challenges in isolation—treating renewables, grid capacity and infrastructure as separate pieces of the puzzle. But real progress demands a systems approach—one that connects people, politics, places and portfolios. In this first episode of Talking Infrastructure’s Season 4, our host Toby Sadler is joined by Kate Gilmartin (CEO, British Hydropower Association), Dan Nicholls (Chief Product Officer, SNRG) and Sarah Falconer (Energy Planning, Consenting and Development Lead, AECOM) to discuss why systems thinking is key to delivering a successful transition to clean energy. They cover topics such as: How local energy solutions like microgrids could shift power back into the hands of communities The role of hydropower in…

People in this episode

Host: Toby Sadler

Guests: Kate Gilmartin, Dan Nicholls, Sarah Falconer

Topics covered

  • energy transition
  • systems thinking
  • clean energy
  • local energy solutions
  • hydropower
  • policy alignment
  • workforce development

Keywords

  • energy transition
  • systems thinking
  • clean energy
  • microgrids
  • hydropower
  • policy
  • infrastructure

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: British Hydropower Association, SNRG, AECOM

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