Preparing to power future resource development

ER Law President, Ryan Hartfield talks Preparing to power future resource development, ahead of the Annual Conference - 19-21 October, Perth, Australia

Regardless of your area of focus, the industries we work in are fundamentally changing. We all need to adapt and upskill to ensure we are best placed to advise on the next generation of projects. Across the entire energy and resources industry, we are seeing a more rapid need to address issues around energy transition and new energy than anyone was expecting even a few years ago. This change is being driven by a number of factors.

Obviously, climate change is a key driver behind the push to new energy and clean tech. We are now seeing energy and resources companies taking responsibility for decarbonisation and leading the charge, by investing billions in developing clean energy solutions. We are also looking at how we can bring cleaner energy and new tech to our existing projects at a micro-level, for example by utilising solar energy instead of diesel to power generators on production facilities.

Energy and resources companies know that it is imperative for the energy transition to happen, but they are also acutely aware that it will not happen overnight. We need to ensure energy security while we transition to cleaner supplies of energy. It is all well and good to say ‘let's cease fossil fuel production and switch to solar today’, but if it is a cloudy day outside, that doesn't keep the lights on without widespread battery storage capacity. From an energy supply and demand standpoint, global events such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, continue to have a large impact on global energy markets.

There is now a sharper focus on environmental protection and decommissioning from regulators. The days of leaving infrastructure dormant, to be dealt with “sometime in the future”, are gone. Operators are having to take a more holistic view of their project life cycles, from beginning to end, rather than just reaping the benefits of the resource and trying to avoid remediation costs for as long as possible. As a result, there is now a greater focus on life of asset planning.

Another issue that is often overlooked in the energy transition debate, is “energy equity” or the “just transition” and how we transition ethically. It is very easy for proponents in developed countries to say that we need to switch off fossil fuels, but the reality is that developed countries had the benefit of industrial revolutions and wealth creation utilising those very fuels. We need to be very careful that we don't detrimentally impact developing countries by preventing them from utilising fossil fuels, as this will only ensure those countries remain in a cycle of poverty, without any realistic path out of such cycle.

One of the biggest challenges I see as we make this transition is getting all stakeholders to work together and engage in open, fact-based dialogue. Resources and energy companies make easy targets, but what is often forgotten is that those very companies are the ones funding and pushing clean tech and new energy developments. Stakeholder alignment is important to ensure that we don’t adversely impact efforts that people are making to push the energy transition in a positive way.

In terms of the regulatory environment, governments are definitely taking a stronger leadership role in encouraging and providing the right research and development and investment climate to develop new energy projects. Existing industries will remain vital for the foreseeable future. For instance, we will continue to have a significant need to mine the materials needed to support these new energy projects. As an example, mining of critical and rare earth minerals is an essential element of the battery production chain. There is also no point in producing all this clean energy if you can't store it and use it when you don't have sun or wind for instance, so it is critical for the regulatory environment to encourage investment in research and development in the energy storage space. There needs to be access to capital to fund these new energy related projects given how heavily capital intensive they are.  

The Energy and Resources Law Association (ER Law) plays an important role in this transition. It is a key platform for educating and developing both the current and next generation of practitioners in this space. We bring like-minded professionals together to discuss these issues. There are many industry leaders involved in the organisation, some of whom play a critical role in consultation processes with both Federal and State governments on the legislation, regulations and guidelines covering the legal frameworks behind these new energy and clean tech projects.

Our Annual Conference in October is a great opportunity for us to look at how this new focus is becoming a huge part of what we do day to day as energy and resources lawyers - whether we are involved in project development, transactions, financing or litigation. We have a generation of lawyers who will effectively need to retool - to take off their pure mining or oil and gas hat and put on a broader resources and energy hat instead. The conference provides a valuable opportunity to continue supporting this shift and help build knowledge both from an educational perspective and by having numerous opportunities to network with our industry peers and experts in our fields.

Personally, I am looking forward to getting back in the same room as colleagues and industry leaders who are dealing with this transition too and talking about some of the cutting edge and topical issues which are becoming more and more relevant in my daily work. I look forward to seeing you there. You can register to attend the ER Law Annual Conference here.