The National Broadband Network offers telcos wholesale access to its broadband infrastructure to telcos. Could a similar model be used to wholesale home solar and battery storage systems through retail power utilities?
That’s the underlying premise of a Sydney-based startup called National Renewable Network (NRN). The fund and asset manager that enables energy retailers to offer energy plans that include solar, battery and EV chargers for their customers without an upfront capital outlay.
This, in turn, allows households and businesses to switch to renewable energy without any upfront cost of finance, and also takes the onus off the end user to maintain the system and maximise its value.
By providing solar and battery systems at no cost to the end user and taking responsibility for their integration into the electricity grid, NRN is removing one of the biggest barriers to installing renewables in homes.
There are three pillars to NRN’s business model:
First, it’s a fund manager that enables investors to invest in renewable energy infrastructure in homes.
Second, it’s an asset management business that leases solar panels and equipment to install in homes to utility companies. It also takes care of their maintenance.
Third, by aggregating all of its sites together into a virtual power plant, it helps retailers turn excess supply into ancillary income services.
The startup was named in late July as one of the 10 Australian startups that joined EnergyLab’s 2022 Climate Solutions Accelerator, which allows it to get the support it needs to deploy its innovative technology at scale.
As of July, the startup had raised $3.6 million worth of equity in the company, and also had a $30 million fund to be able to finance renewable assets.
Renewables without the upfront cost
NRN founder and chief executive Alan Hunter tells The Fifth Estate that many people want to install renewables, but aren’t able to because either they’re renting, or they don’t have the money upfront to do it.
“I think Australia did it wrong. We shouldn’t have made people buy solar to go green—it’s infrastructure. I don’t have to buy a road to drive my car on it. So the first step was asking: ‘Why am I expected to buy something that we need to have?’” Hunter says,
“Also, many people can’t afford these assets. They’re quite expensive. It’s $15,000 to buy a solar and battery system for your home. Not many people have that surplus of cash.”
Meanwhile, energy retailers in Australia are not incentivised to help people to install renewables, because it means they lose money.
“Imagine you, as a customer, pay $2000 a year on your energy bill. If you go and buy a solar and battery system, your bill’s $400. Who loses? The energy retailer, who makes less money from you. So they’re not incentivised for you buying that system,” Hunter says.
“We need the retailers to be the leader here. They need to help people go green. How do we do that?”
In response, the startup has developed a model where it works with the retailers to wholesale the renewable equipment. In turn, the utilities can then offer customers a cheaper energy plan that also includes solar and battery.
“They develop energy plans that include solar and battery for free for their customers and reward the customers with a cheaper energy bill,” Hunter says.
“Through our system, you as a customer get a cheaper bill, but the energy retailer increases their profit margin at the same time. So they’re incentivised now to upgrade their customers to renewable energy, through the NRN network.”
Partnering with developers
Beyond power retailers, the startup is now partnering with developers who want to include solar and batteries as part of their developments.
Hunter gives the example of a Victorian developer his firm is working with to create a large micro grid as part of a new master planned community, where every home will have access to solar and battery power.
The model also enables renters to have solar panels installed on their homes, at no cost to their landlord.
“We signed our first renter contract, which I’m really excited about. It’s a market we’ve wanted to reach for ages, with 3.5 million homes being rented in Australia,” Hunter says.
“The landlord doesn’t have to pay anything at the end of the day, and the tenant gets an energy bill and that energy bill is cheaper than what they pay today.“
Idea good in merit but as we’ve seen with the NBN it became a political football and destroyed by the Liberal gvt.