Building NRN's Solar Solution with Alan Hunter and Jess Padman

About this episode

The episode discusses NRN's innovative approach to renewable energy, focusing on solar and battery adoption without upfront costs for customers.

Dr. Greg Trainor and Neil Belford speak with Alan Hunter, CEO and Founder of NRN (National Renewable Network), and Jess Padman, Director of Energy Products, about their innovative approach to making renewable energy accessible to everyone—without the upfront costs, maintenance headaches, or complexity. This episode explores how NRN has reimagined solar and battery adoption by removing the financial barrier. Instead of customers buying their own systems, NRN installs, owns, and maintains the assets, then licenses them to energy retailers who use the capacity 24/7 for their hedging strategies. Customers simply get lower energy bills—typically saving $700-$1000 annually—without any capital investment or maintenance risk. Alan shares his journey from door-to-door solar sales to discovering that the traditional ownership model wasn't working for many Australians. Jess explains the sophisticated digital platform that makes the entire customer journey seamless, from quoting through to installation tracking. The conversation tackles critical industry challenges: why only 15% of battery owners join VPP programs (even among early adopters), the conflict of interest across stakeholders when…

People in this episode

Hosts: Dr. Greg Trainor, Neil Belford

Guests: Alan Hunter, Jess Padman

Topics covered

• renewable energy
• solar solutions
• energy accessibility
• battery adoption
• energy retailers
• cost savings

Keywords

• renewable energy
• solar
• battery adoption
• energy savings
• energy retailers
• VPP programs
• financial barriers

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NRN, National Renewable Network, VPP

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