Factor This

Sunnova’s John Berger is hell-bent on upending the status quo
Sunnova’s John Berger is hell-bent on upending the status quo

Sunnova founder and CEO John Berger joined Episode 43 of the Factor This! podcast to give his unvarnished take on decarbonization and taking on Goliath. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

John Berger doesn’t mask his contempt for utilities.

The industry’s monopolistic business model and deference to the status quo stand as obstacles to his relentless pursuit of consumer choice.

Berger, the founder and CEO of Sunnova, one of the country’s largest residential solar and storage providers, is hell-bent on upending any construct that limits someone’s ability to obtain clean and reliable power.

So when the California Public Utilities Commission recommended dismissal of Sunnova’s micro-utility proposal, Berger wasn’t surprised. His company’s quest to provide new-build communities with integrated solar and battery storage systems, along with associated infrastructure, was a shot across the bow to the state’s investor-owned utilities. 

But he didn’t anticipate that the application would be rejected without ever having a hearing before the CPUC, a likely scenario as commissioners consider the recommendation for dismissal.

“You can sit there and watch Netflix during our presentation,” Berger said. “But at least humor us. Make it look good.”

Sunnova still plans to propose individual community microgrids, and the company is offering free batteries to customers to combat another controversial ruling in California: the move away from net metering to a net-billing structure that slashes compensation for excess rooftop solar power.

Setbacks haven’t stopped Berger from pushing the envelope. He joined the Factor This! podcast to give his unvarnished take on decarbonization and taking on Goliath.

Choice above all else

In a conversation about utilities, Berger periodically uses words like communism, socialism, corruption, and anti-competitive to describe the guardians of poles and wires.

His opinions were forged early in his career when he worked as a power trader at Enron and later as an advisor to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

“I thought, fundamentally, the power system in the United States had to change,” Berger said.

It was an archaic structure. Berger felt that utilities were “taking taxpayers for a ride,” and that there was little standing in the way of the problem getting worse.

At the time, Berger didn’t know which technology would win out. But he believed that software and data would one day enable unprecedented consumer choice; and he committed the next two decades to ensure they did.

Sunnova made early bets on residential batteries. The company was one of the first to heavily invest in Puerto Rico, which has seen its electric grid battered by hurricane after hurricane.

The company is focused on what they call adaptive homes and communities. Fully integrated systems that provide clean power, resilience and, ultimately, freedom to customers.

“Just because we’ve been doing something the same way over the last 130 years, everything else in our lives has changed, why can’t this change? It’s a good question.”

Identify crisis

Sure, crisis may be a bit hyperbolic. But Berger said he believes strongly that the clean energy industry needs to rework its communication strategy in order to be truly successful and ensure long-term sustainability.

As the leader of a publicly-traded company, one that interfaces directly with the general public, Berger has a strong sense of how outsiders view the sector.

The industry is especially challenging for investors to reckon with, he said, due to a constant barrage of headlines: supply chain constraints, trade disputes, net metering changes, and so on.

“There’s a belief that we’re growing, but they don’t know what’s growing,” Berger said. “If we crystalize our messaging, we’ll be a lot better off.”

That’s why Berger takes every opportunity to share Sunnova’s mission with the world. He’s a frequent contributor to financial news network CNBC and has made his fair share of podcast appearances.

Even still, he said there’s more work to do.

“Let’s be real, there haven’t been a lot of successful companies in this space,” Berger said. “We’ve got a lot of wood to chop and a lot of investors to convince.”

Sunnova continues to grow, and is financially strong, but its stock price has only grown modestly since its initial public offering in 2019 ($11.44 vs. $14.74).

The stock price doesn’t reflect Sunnova’s performance, Berger said, and investors have yet to factor in the long-term effects of the Inflation Reduction Act.

But investor opinions of the clean energy industry matter. And we all have a stake in making sure they understand that the sector is strong, bankable, and prime for growth, he said.

“We’ve got a lot of wood to chop and a lot of investors to convince,” Berger said.