Origin taps ex-AGL “New Energy” exec to lead its own renewables push

Origin Energy has announced the appointment of seasoned energy executive James McGill to head up a newly created business unit called Origin Zero, that will accelerate the gen-tailer’s transition to “cleaner energy products.”

Origin said on Monday that McGill, most recently from Genesis Energy – owner of New Zealand’s biggest coal and gas plant – had taken the new role of executive general manager of Origin Zero, and would report to CEO Frank Calabria as part of Origin’s executive leadership team.

Calabria said in a statement that the new role reflected the changing nature of Origin’s business as it “lead[s] the energy transition,” and was also more aligned with the changing needs of its business customers, who wanted help to achieve climate commitments.

“Origin Zero will seamlessly support our customers with everything from traditional energy supply to renewable energy supply and firming, to commercial solar and storage, through to demand management, offsets and other solutions and services,” Calabria said.

“All of these services are supported by Origin’s market-leading data and analytics, allowing us to provide customers with clear line of sight to improvements in energy efficiency and costs, and reducing their carbon footprint.

“With a strong pedigree in energy, utilities and customer-facing roles, James has the ideal mix of skills to lead this important new function,” Calabria added.

Origin’s creation of a renewable energy-focused unit follows similar moves by other major gen-tailers, including the now defunct “New Energy” division at AGL. AGL has instead more recently opted to split its business into two to better deal with the accelerating clean energy transition.

Interestingly, McGill was part of AGL’s ill-fated New Energy division, until he left along with the former boss of that team, Marc England, to join Genesis, where England is now CEO.

Origin Energy was earlier this year forced to revise down its earnings forecasts after being hit by a double whammy of higher than expected gas purchase costs and falling wholesale electricity prices.