Donovan Burton – Director and Chairman
Board renewal comes as the company moves toward public unlisted status and sharpens its focus on resilient clean energy infrastructure
Australian clean energy technology and green fuels company, Sunshine, has appointed climate change governance specialist, Donovan Burton, as a Director and Chairman of the Board as the company expands into a new growth phase.
The Board resolved unanimously to appoint Burton. At the same meeting, the Board accepted the retirement of Michael Myer as Director and Chairman.
Burton is Director of Informed.City and has more than 20 years of experience in climate risk, adaptation, resilience planning and climate-related financial assessment, spanning hundreds of climate risk and adaptation projects.
He has worked closely with the New Zealand banking sector on climate-related disclosure, has trained and mentored central bank staff and financial policymakers across the Asia Pacific, and served as a technical expert on the UNFCCC UAE-Belem work program. He has also been invited by the IPCC to contribute to work on methodologies, metrics and indicators for assessing climate change impacts and adaptation.
Sunshine CEO Rick McElhinney said the appointment reflected the company’s next phase of growth.
“Donovan joins us at a point where the company is maturing,” McElhinney said. “Our projects are moving from concept and modelling into structured development, and the questions our customers, investors and financiers ask us are increasingly about risk, resilience and disclosure. Donovan has spent two decades working on exactly those questions at a governance level.”
McElhinney thanked Myer for his contribution to the company.
“Michael brought energy, confidence, commercial judgement and personal commitment to Sunshine during a formative period,” he said. “He helped take the company from an ambitious technology and project developer into a business with a serious portfolio of clean energy, green fuels and long-duration storage opportunities. We will miss his contribution and we thank him sincerely.”
Burton said the appointment reflected a broader shift in how energy infrastructure is being assessed.
“The energy transition is a resilience project,” Burton said. “It has to deliver reliable electricity, reliable fuel supply, durable regional economies and infrastructure that holds its value under stress. All while being low carbon. Sunshine is building assets designed to do that, and the discipline the company applies through AESOP and its unique skill sets is the kind of systems thinking the sector needs.”
The appointment comes as Sunshine progresses toward public unlisted company status, advances its South Australian green fuels project, and continues development of the Djandori Gung-i Superhybrid(TM) in the Central Queensland Renewable Energy Zone and the Dumaresq project in New South Wales. It follows the company’s rebranding from Sunshine Hydro to Sunshine Energy as the whole of business name with two sub-brands, Sunshine Hydro and Sunshine Green Fuels, now dedicated to hydro and long duration energy storage work and green fuel production, respectively.
About Sunshine
Sunshine is an Australian renewable energy technology platform, hydro, long duration energy storage and green fuels company developing projects that produce reliable 24/7 carbon-free energy and domestic green fuels. Its Superhybrid(TM) model integrates wind, solar, sustainable biomass, long-duration energy storage, electrolysers and green fuel production, orchestrated by the company’s proprietary optimisation software, AESOP (Advanced Energy Storage Optimisation Program). Its portfolio includes the Djandori Gung-i project near Miriam Vale in Central Queensland and the Dumaresq project in New South Wales. Learn more at https://sunshinehydro.com/
INDEPENDENT NEWS IS IMPORTANT.
Enjoy reading Eco Voice? Please help us by purchasing a GIFT Voucher or send one to a friend and encourage people to purchase trees or seeds via The Native Shop – www.nativeshop.com.au
Plants, seeds & more delivered to your door!