Energy Capital Podcast Rooftop Revolution: John Berger on Scaling Distributed Solar in Texas
What steps do we need to take in Texas to foster growth in this important emerging market? To explore this question, there's no one better than John Berger, founder and CEO of Sunnova Energy. Headquartered in Houston, Sunnova is a leader in residential solar, battery storage and energy management technologies across the US John has been in the industry for about 30 years now, and he understands the value proposition and the barriers to renewable energy and distributed generation as well as anybody.
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Timestamps
4:03 - Current trends in the power market and how that’s impacting the value of distributed generation and resilience
7:49 - Bull vs bear market; changes in the power market in the past 30 years and demand growth
12:25 - What policy/regulatory changes needed to grow distributed solar
17:11 - Potential for greater competition in distribution and publicly available distribution resource plans, challenges of central planning
23:30 - Why is Texas lagging in distributed generation?
28:17 - A performance mechanism for microgrids
31:06 - Sunnova’s Adaptive Retail Plan with David Energy
33:51 - Virtual Power Plants
36:05 - Benefits of distributed generation and VPPs to consumers; what’s holding back the growth of VPPs
38:52 - How to make solar available and affordable to all
42:03 - Sunnova’s Project Hestia with the Department of Energy
44:41 - Impact of Inflation Reduction Act investments on the market
46:57 - Are solar supply chains shifting to the US / North America
50:07 - EVs and EV charging
Show Notes
Sunnova’s Adaptive Retail Plan with David Energy
Critics Say CenterPoint CEO’s “Relationship” Influenced $818M Deal For Generators - Texas Monthly
CenterPoint spent $800M on mobile generators. Where are they post-Hurricane Beryl? - Houston Chronicle