Hi, I’m Gabrielle Kuiper.
I’m an expert in Distributed Energy Resources (DER) with over 20 years of experience in climate and sustainability spanning corporate, government, non-government and academic sectors.
My career includes strategic leadership positions at the Energy Security Board, in the Office of the Australian Prime Minister, at the Public Interest Advocacy Center (now the Justice and Equity Centre) and in the NSW Government.
I currently work internationally and in Australia on policy and regulation to support DER, including with CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency and Integrate to Zero (I2Z), a global NGO focused on accelerating the uptake of DER and Virtual Power Plants (VPPs).
I sit on five DER-related industry and research advisory bodies in Australia.
I hold a PhD in Sustainable Futures and a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning, on top of physics and science communication degrees.
My aim is to shape policy and regulation to accelerate the integration of rooftop solar, electric vehicles and smart devices, advancing both the decarbonisation and democratisation of energy systems.
Profile on CSIRO’s Meet the Researcher
Ruth Dawkins did an extraordinary job of capturing my journey from student environmental activist listening to Kirsty Hamilton OBE speak about the enhanced greenhouse effect at the Christchurch City Council Library in 1992 to sustainability professional, Winston Churchill Trust fellow and DER expert in this profile for the CSIRO website.
CV in brief
Current roles:
Australia-Southeast Asia DER lead at CSIRO (p/t) (July 2025-present)
Strategy Consultant, clients include Solar Citizens, Energy Efficiency Council, The Energy, Malaysian Government agency MyPOWER (with Blunomy), ARENA (with Blunomy), Ausgrid (with Blunomy), Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) Australia, (2021-present)
Adviser, Integrate to Zero (2024-present)
Previous positions include:
DER Strategy Specialist, Energy Security Board (2019-2020)
Senior Adviser, Climate Change, Energy and Environment, Office of the Australian Prime Minister (2012-2013)
Senior Policy Officer, Public Interest Advocacy Centre (2014-2015)
Various roles in NSW Government, VicUrban, Investa Property Group
Education:
PhD, Sustainable Futures (State of the Environment Reporting), University of Technology Sydney (1997-2002)
Master of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Sydney (2005-2006)
BSc (Hons), Experimental Physics, First Class Honours, Australian National University (1995)
Bachelor of Science, Physics, University of Canterbury (1992-1994)
Areas of Expertise:
Distributed Energy Resources (DER)
Energy policy and regulation
Sustainable transport
Sustainable buildings and urban form
Corporate sustainability
Early Career Awards included:
Hermon-Slade Foundation Chevening Scholarship (for research in the UK),
SEDA Prize for climate change journalism, and
a number of Australian university scholarships and awards.
Recent Awards:
The Green List: Australia’s Top 100 Energy Players (2024) Recognised by The Australian as one of the nation's leading energy policy experts.
Churchill Fellowship recipient (2018) From the Churchill Trust to investigate international best practices in the regulation of clean, smart, customer-centric energy networks, with research travel to the USA, Canada, UK, Belgium, France, Denmark and Norway.
