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Last week, we hosted a roundtable at Piper Maddox as part of the Clean Energy Exchange event series, focused on grid flexibility. With Michael Lee moderating, we had folks from Tesla, Leap, Olivine, Enersponse, Shadowpower, and others who know this space inside out. The feeling in the (virtual) room? We’re at a real tipping point. Virtual Power Plants aren’t just “emergency response” tools anymore, they’re critical infrastructure, and the market conditions are lining up perfectly for them to step up. Capacity prices are through the roof, wholesale markets are volatile, and demand is growing in ways the old models can’t handle. This is exactly when VPPs should be at the forefront of conversations: fast to deploy, low-cost, and able to deliver flexibility exactly where it’s needed. 1. The market design problem The problem is the market design hasn’t caught up. We’re still stuck with siloed programs that box in assets instead of letting them work where they have the most impact. We need models that open up multiple revenue streams and recognise that not all VPP resources are the same – an HVAC system doesn’t behave like an EV fleet or a battery, and they shouldn’t be valued like they do. One point that landed hard in the discussion was around local value. The way we price flexibility right now is far too broad. A single neighbourhood with a cluster of flexible assets can fix a local constraint far more cheaply than building more infrastructure – but you’d never know that from today’s pricing zones. We need distribution-level nodal pricing that actually reflects the hyper-local impact these assets can have. 2. Balancing grid and customer needs Then there’s the customer side. Batteries are the classic example – the grid wants certainty, customers want backup. If programs can’t balance those needs, participation will always be limited. With over 3,500 utilities in the US, capability is all over the place. Some are ready to play, others are decades behind. Meeting them where they are, or going around them when we have to – will be key. That means understanding the realities of each market, working with what’s already in place, and finding ways to connect customers and utilities without overcomplicating the participation process. 3. The missing industry voice The final piece is advocacy. Right now, there’s no unified industry voice pushing for fair valuation or smarter market rules. Imagine what we could do with a coalition of VPP providers, utilities, generators, and even data centres speaking with one voice. The narrative on grid reliability needs a rewrite – and the proof these assets deliver is already there from recent heatwaves and grid events. If we want VPPs to fulfil their potential, we need to align as an industry, decide what we’re pushing for, and make sure the message is loud enough to cut through. Bottom line: VPPs aren’t the future – they’re here. But without changes to market design, pricing, and the way we advocate for them, they’ll stay underused. Get it right, and they can become the backbone of a more flexible, reliable, and cost-effective grid.

Despite Miami’s booming renewable energy sector, it quickly became clear that professionals lacked a dedicated platform to connect and collaborate. “Outside of recruitment, I feel it’s important to build relationships and grow the wider energy community in the local area,” says Tom Cooper, who leads recruitment across renewables finance and investments for Piper Maddox Miami. “This happy hour gives us the opportunity to bring people together, spark insightful conversations, and hopefully make this a regular event.” And so, The Clean Energy Exchange was born; a relaxed happy hour event for clean energy experts and professionals across South Florida to meet, mingle, and build connections. Why networking matters in Clean Energy For many working in renewables in Miami, in-person networking isn’t something that happens regularly. Kylie Leberman, Principal Consultant at Piper Maddox Miami, knows how rare it can be to meet your network face-to-face. “Having a renewable energy happy hour lets us bring together like-minded professionals in a relaxed setting,” Kylie explains. “It’s a chance to build new connections and spark fresh ideas that can only come from in-person conversations.” Kylie moved to Miami from New York last year to help grow Piper Maddox’s footprint in the Southeast and now leads the Development & Origination function. She’s excited about creating real-world opportunities for the clean energy community to thrive. What to expect from The Clean Energy Exchange Happy Hour The event is open to all clean energy professionals, not just industry leaders, and aims to be a welcoming space where anyone working in renewables can network and share ideas. Piper Maddox Miami is excited to welcome you to what we hope will become a regular, must-attend event in the clean energy calendar. A growing hub of renewable energy Miami’s clean energy sector is booming. More businesses and leaders are relocating here, creating a vibrant, fast-growing market. James Borner, Senior Consultant leading EPC & Operations recruitment for Piper Maddox Miami, says the city is missing a regular event for clean energy professionals to come together. “This happy hour gives everyone, from Miami locals to newcomers, the chance to connect with others in the field,” James says. “It’s a chance to build a stronger, more connected local industry.” Save the Date If you work in clean energy in Miami or South Florida, don’t miss out on this great opportunity to meet fellow experts and grow your network. The Clean Energy Exchange – Happy Hour Networking Event📅 Thursday, 26th June⏰ 5-7pm PDT📍 Brickell, Miami

After the past few years of not being able to attend in-person events, some of our US Piper Maddox team enjoyed attending the largest and most comprehensive event in North America for the clean energy industry. The event; RE+ brings together the modern energy industry to embrace a cleaner future for all. RE+ reflects an ongoing entrepreneurial approach to renewing best practices across the clean energy landscape as the marketplace evolves. It is comprised of Solar Power International, Energy Storage International, RE+ Power (including wind, and hydrogen and fuel cells), and RE+ Infrastructure (electric vehicles and microgrids). With some of our US consultants attending the RE+ event, it offered them the chance to have various networking opportunities whilst bringing them together with a vast alliance of renewable energy leaders. Lauren Jones; Senior Client Partnerships Manager at Piper Maddox comments: “After not seeing people face-to-face for so long, it was great to see the industry get together and get to rekindle those in-person relationships. Seeing how many people were in attendance just shows how big of an impact the renewable space is making! I had the best time seeing new technologies, meeting new/old faces and learning about all the projects in the works. Cheers to this next year, it’s sure to be an exciting one!” As a brand, we see it as an ideal opportunity to attend events such as RE+ as it brings together the best minds and technology under one roof to both transform the biggest energy, environmental, and economic challenges into opportunities that will ensure a prosperous, clean, and productive future, and gives the opportunity to access resources for growing our brand further in line with industry changes. Our consultants enjoyed every minute at the RE+ Event and look forward to continuing to grow our brand and network, and they are excited for the next year to come!

My colleague and I were invited to the WRISE event celebrating Women’s Leadership in Renewables, Energy Efficiency, and Energy Storage held in Bloomberg’s building in Manhattan and I felt it important to share my thoughts on a, perhaps incorrectly, highly politicized subject. Before I go ahead, at this stage, I think it’s important to tell you that a) I am a man and b) I am a feminist. What does being a feminist mean to me? It means equality without question. That women and men, in education and the workplace, deserve equal rights, equal opportunity and should be treated with equal amounts of respect. As a leader of Piper Maddox, a recruitment business that focuses exclusively in placing professionals in one of the most progressive industries out there – Renewable Energy & Cleantech, it was important for me to learn about equality and inequality in the workplace in our industry. Perhaps more importantly, I wanted to learn how we could help the businesses in our sector to improve their diversity and why they should be putting this at the forefront of their hiring strategies. This is why I was honored to have been invited to this event and have the opportunity to learn from impactful women such as Kristen Graf, Executive Director of WRISE. Here were some of the key takeaways I gained from Kristen Graf’s presentation: The renewable energy industry is projected to employ 24 million people globally by 2030, up from 9.8 million today – we’re going to need to mobilize a diverse workforce! According to a major MIT study, group decision-making was improved by 3 major factors, with the 3rd being the proportion of women in the group. Where there are 3 or more women on the board, they outperformed businesses with zero women on the board by 84% for ROS (return on sales), by 60% for ROIC (return on investment capital) and by 46% for ROE (return on equity) in four of five years where data was recorded. Although it did increase year on year, by 2013 the Energy industry was behind most major industries in the percentage of women on boards of businesses, with just less than 10%. In a famous study, where identical resumes were assigned 4 different names “Jamal”, “Greg”, “Jennifer” and “John” there were some interesting results: “Jamal” needed 8 additional years’ experience to be considered as qualified as “Greg”; “Jennifer” was offered $4,000 less in starting salary than “John”. There is inherent unconscious bias built into the interview process of most companies that make it more difficult for women (and minorities) to succeed. There is also bias built into most other areas of talent engagement including how adverts are written. During the networking event, we also discussed some of the solutions to increase the diversity of the workforce in Renewable Energy. What is clear is that we need to: Increase the recruitment of women into our sector and the businesses within it. We need to develop the women in our businesses, through training and mentoring programs. We need to retain the women in our businesses and in our industry. We need to promote the women in our businesses and give them tools to progress. Speaking to the different attendees, and even members of the Board of WRISE, some trends became clear that I noticed. Firstly, all of these women are passionate about Renewable Energy and they have been for a long time. So, it’s disheartening to hear how most of the people I spoke to had felt like a minority in their business and felt marginalized both socially and professionally. Some of the people went so far as to admit they considered leaving their businesses and the industry itself because of the “boys club”. It was interesting and heartening to hear about how mentoring from both men and women had played an important role in their careers, and also how this offered a support network that they otherwise wouldn’t have had. There were great stories of progression in the industry, the different female advocacy groups that have since sprung up, and the strides some businesses have made – for example; we talked about how BP has appointed their first black female CEO! Great to hear about positive change. What was really exciting was talking to the different members of WRISE and sharing how, Piper Maddox, as a recruitment partner can help educate and facilitate diversity in the workplace. We’ve experienced such positive reactions from the market and our clients about the different diversity initiatives that we can run. I have sparked an internal debate about how best to formalize these programs and aggressively take them to the market to offer the options that our clients want to see. While we’re discussing this internally, I’d greatly appreciate any input, either privately or in the comments section to hear your challenges around diversity, possible solutions or anything else regarding hiring in the Cleantech sector. I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress! Finally, I wanted to send a big thank you to WRISE – it was an honor to be invited, we had a great time and look forward to the next event!

Elon Musk hit the stage at SXSW this week to talk Mars, Tesla and Artificial Intelligence. I don't know about you, but the informative interview left me with way more questions than answers, particularity when it comes to the subject of AI. The Government commissioned an independent review into the development of AI in the UK last year. The findings were that AI shouldn't be subject to direct regulation, but an AI council should oversea the industry. Are the suggestions of Wendy Hall and BenevolentTech CEO Jérôme Pesenti enough to keep us safe? Should we not demand regulation and controls over the development of AI? As Elon says, you wouldn't let just anyone build a nuke! (Cheery stuff ay?!!!). According to Elon, it is inevitable the world will slip into a dark age... he should try being a Spurs fan, like me! Here are the recommendations following the Government review, which to me feels insufficient. What do you think? Read the original article here.