An interview with Ryan Wood, Partner Development Manager, and Ben Hutt, CEO and Managing Director at Evergen.

Ryan: Now over the last six months I know Evergen has done a lot of consumer research. What are some of the key messages that have come out of those surveys?

Ben: Yeah, it’s been really fascinating actually. We started off doing our own research with three and a half thousand consumers last year. And then this year, with lots of the Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) we’ve been running with networks and with retailers. We’ve been gathering feedback during and after those events too. So I feel like we’ve got a pretty solid understanding of how people feel about the future of energy.

I guess key things are consumers are super interested in the evolution of the energy system and want to participate and contribute. So people are on the journey. Second thing is people who’ve got solar and a battery are happy not to be worrying about what it’s doing and not thinking about what it’s doing every day or not controlling it as long as they trust who’s controlling it.

Ryan: Yep.

Ben: So what I found really interesting was we surveyed three or four groups of consumers who’ve been lending their battery through us to another utility for three to six months. They trust us to be doing the right thing with their battery. And so they’re not checking into their app every day. They’re not logging into the portal. They’re not wondering what’s happening. They’re just grateful when they get their monthly credit on their bill. And I think that’s really important because there’s a lot of sort of rubbish spouted around the industry about who’s controlling your battery. And it’s like if you bought a $30,000 car, would you let someone else drive it around all day? And I actually think in the future, we will.

Ryan: Good point.

Ben: Right? So if I get my Tesla, it’ll be Ubering during the day when I don’t need it, for sure. And I won’t worry about that because I trust Tesla not to crash it.

And I think to some extent where we’re at with energy now is if people got started on a battery, what we’ve learned and what people tell us is as long as they feel like they’re being fairly rewarded they don’t really mind what’s happening with those assets, which is great because I think we’re headed towards a decentralised system. Bloomberg two weeks ago said that Australia has the most decentralised energy system on the planet.

Ryan: Oh wow. Okay.

Ben: …which is amazing. And so this rise of a network of lots of small things all working together so that when a big, bad thing happens, like a coal plant in Queensland goes out, just as a recent example.

Ryan: Yeah, recently. Yeah.

Ben: …batteries can come to the rescue in that environment, small batteries, big batteries, batteries everywhere. And I think that decentralisation over time really gives us a resilient energy system where arguably now we’re still at the mercy of these big things when things go wrong.

If you have a solar and battery system, for information on how to join an Evergen run VPP, visit here.

Related posts



-Small-scale Technology Certificate (STCs) rebates are applicable for any new solar system being installed for your home - read more. Your installer will calculate this rebate as a part of your quote

-The Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme (DEBS) gives homeowners the chance to apply for a time-based feed in tariff ($0.10/kWh during peak times, $0.03/kWh during off peak times) - read more

-Small-scale Technology Certificate (STCs) rebates are applicable for any new solar system being installed for your home - read more. Your installer will calculate this rebate as a part of your quote

-Small-scale Technology Certificate rebates (STCs) are available in Tasmania. Click here to see an overview of STCs. Your installer will calculate this rebate for you included as a part of your quote

-The ACT Government is offering the following incentives to homeowners: Battery subsidy - $825/kW of sustained battery output (up to 30kW) for new battery installations, Renewable interest free loan - Up to $15,000 to support the installation of renewable technology including solar and batteries

-Small-scale Technology Certificate (STCs) rebates are applicable for any new solar system being installed for your home - read more. Your installer will calculate this rebate as a part of your quote

-The Empowering Homes Program offers homeowners an interest free loan up to $14,000 for solar and battery purchases or up to $9,000 for a battery only purchase - read more

-Small-scale Technology Certificate (STCs) rebates are applicable for any new solar system being installed for your home - read more. Your installer will calculate this rebate as a part of your quote

-SolarVIC is offering the following incentives to homeowners Solar panel subsidy - Up to $1850, Solar panel interest free loan - Up to $1,850, Battery subsidy - Up to $4,174

-Small-scale Technology Certificate (STCs) rebates are applicable for any new solar system being installed for your home - read more. Your installer will calculate this rebate as a part of your quote

-The South Australian Home Battery Scheme offers homeowners a battery subsidy up to $3,000 - read more

-Small-scale Technology Certificate (STCs) rebates are applicable for any new solar system being installed for your home - read more. Your installer will calculate this rebate as a part of your quote

-The NT government is offering home and business owners the chance to apply for a $6,000 grant to be put towards the installation of a battery system - read more

-Small-scale Technology Certificate (STCs) rebates are applicable for any new solar system being installed for your home - read more. Your installer will calculate this rebate as a part of your quote

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce diam urna, lobortis sit amet dui a, interdum sollicitudin ligula. Vivamus mollis nibh eget augue ultrices lobortis. Curabitur eget pretium justo, quis hendrerit massa. Fusce nisi lacus, consequat eu mi at, suscipit pellentesque libero. Suspendisse potenti.