In February 2026, dual events in Sydney and Melbourne brought together senior leaders from gentailers, networks, developers, market bodies, regulators, government, and education and skills providers to explore the next era of the energy transition.

These events were conceived as a continuation of the conversations sparked by two articles published by Nous in late 2025, 'An exercise in energy sector hindsight: What did we get wrong about the future back in 2005?' and 'An exercise in energy sector foresight: Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it'. Together, those pieces reflected on the lessons of the past two decades, when the energy transition repeatedly defied expectations, from the pace of technological change outstripping forecasts to the critical importance of community trust and social licence being underestimated. They also looked ahead to 2045, asking what capabilities, partnerships and policy settings will be required to succeed in a future defined by volatility, innovation, and rising expectations.

Nous' February events offered an opportunity to test these ideas in practice. Across both discussions, a consistent message emerged: the next era will be shaped by organisations that can orchestrate customer energy assets at scale, deliver capital and projects under real-world constraints, earn social licence through genuine partnership, and navigate a regulatory system struggling to keep pace with change. For energy businesses, the question is no longer whether further change is coming, but whether strategies, organisations and operating models are equipped to convert that change into investable decisions, trusted delivery and enduring value.

We have distilled the most practical insights from the issues panel members debated most passionately into a brief white paper, which you can access here.