“Oh no, not you too!” Talent exodus continues at Clean Energy Council

Another key senior executive has announced their departure from the Clean Energy Council, the renewable energy lobby group, adding to the exodus that appears to have been triggered by the “takeover” by big industry at the latest board elections.

Anna Freeman, the highly regarded head of advocacy and investment at the CEC, and acting policy director, announced her departure after eight years in a post on LinkedIn this week.

“After eight wonderful years, I am moving on from the Clean Energy Council,” she wrote. “I don’t know what’s next just yet – I’ll take a break and work that out in due course.”

Freeman’s departure follows that of CEO Kane Thornton, chief policy officer Arron Wood, former head of strategy Nicholas Aberle, former head of market operations Christiaan Zuur, former COO Ashleigh Dalmau, head of jobs and supply chain Anita Talberg, Queensland state director Stacey Stinson, and a number of others.

(Update: Renew Economy has also learned that the highly regarded head of planning, Bronya Lipski, has also announced her departure, and will leave on September 12. She was regarded as an important voice, particularly for the EPBC review).

“Oh no, not you too Anna!” wrote Kobad Bhavnagri, the global head of strategy at BloombergNEF in response to Freeman’s news. “It’s been such a delight working with you over the years. The CEC won’t be the same without you.”

Indeed, it won’t. At the CEC’s recent Clean Energy Summit, there was concern in the corridors and in the barista queues about the direction that the CEC is taking, and might take, following the board turnover last year.

The chief concern is that the CEC will become – as it was once viewed more than a decade ago – as a policy platform for big corporate power, perceived to be more concerned with shareholder returns than green policy outcomes that it had been championing in the last few years.

Those that feel most disaffected by the changes include those at the “smaller end of the industry”, and others who fear that the agenda is now driven by the “big end of town”.

Last year, in board elections, representative from Spanish energy giants Acciona and Iberdrola, Andrew Forrest’s Squadron Energy and Australia’s Tilt Renewables won four vacancies on the CEC board, and now appear to be setting the agenda.

This includes a focus on social licence for wind projects, but at a policy and government level rather than grass-roots, and an apparent embrace of gas generation as an essential part of the renewable transition. Most of these big corporates have gas investments, but critics argue that the gas industry is not short of lobbying power.

The new board has appointed a new CEO, the former Queensland state Labor minister Jackie Trad, and other new arrivals include Acciona’s William Churchill, who will be the new policy director.

Acciona Australia boss Brett Wickham has been acting CEO at the CEC pending the arrival of Trad, and Iberdrola’s Ross Rolfe is chairman.

Freeman said in her LinkedIn post that community and grass-roots engagement were paramount for the success of the green energy transition.

“When I started at the CEC, Australia’s renewable electricity share was at 17 per cent, large-scale solar was just getting going, and Australia’s first big battery – the Hornsdale Power Reserve – was under construction,” Freeman wrote on LinkedIn.

“Today we are at a 41 per cent RE share, the costs of solar have plummeted, and big batteries are top of the pops in the investment stakes. We have come a long way in a relatively short time.

“There is so much yet to do, and plenty of challenges ahead – not least of which is bringing communities with us in the transition – something that has remained very close to my heart throughout this journey.

“But I absolutely believe we can deliver this transition in a timely way if we treat it like the national priority that it is, and treat communities and workers fairly and respectfully in the process.”

Karin Stark, the founder of Nationals Renewables in Agriculture, wrote: “Thank you for believing in me and the National Renewables in Ag Conference when it was just starting up all those years ago. Your intellect, vision and passion are an inspiration. You’re one of the best!”

Freeman also received bouquets from Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean, and Australian Renewable Energy Agency CEO Darren Miller, among a hundred others.

“A massive loss for the organisation,” added Aberle. “You’ve been so central to the entire mission of the CEC and the renewables industry for so long. Thoughts with you at this juncture.”