Dr Simon Wright is a Senior Research Fellow in Energy and Circularity at Charles Sturt University in Orange and brings 20 years of sustainability experience in academia, industry and consultancy. As an academic, Simon’s primary research interests revolve around regional energy transitions as an opportunity for long term economic development. In his consulting capacity, Simon works with more than 70 regional councils across NSW on net zero planning and renewable energy projects. Earlier this year, Simon returned from a Churchill Fellowship to Canada and Europe investigating best practice approaches to transition regional mining communities from coal to renewables.