John Berger has won big and lost big. He founded Sunnova out of his Houston apartment in 2012 and grew it into one of the largest residential solar companies in the country, before it ended in bankruptcy. Now he’s back as CEO of Otovo, betting that the next big solar business isn’t installing panels but keeping them running.
In this far-ranging conversation with host Elisa Wood, Berger explains why installation and service are two different businesses, what it means for a solar system to be “orphaned,” and why he built a company that avoids heavy debt and policy exposure. He also shares why he wishes the Inflation Reduction Act had never been so politically visible, why data centers and oil producers are turning to behind-the-meter power, how Otovo is using AI to run service operations, and whether humanoid robots could soon be working in the field.
Plus: Europe as a “sleeping giant,” balcony solar, and what eating glass has to do with entrepreneurship.
About the Guest
John Berger began his career as an analyst at Enron and later advised the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He co-founded SunCap Financial, a residential solar service provider, and Standard Renewable Energy, a provider and installer of renewable energy and efficiency products. He founded Sunnova Energy International in 2012 and served as its CEO, president, and board chair until March 2025. Sunnova filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2025. He holds a civil engineering degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
In June 2025, Otovo’s nominating committee proposed Berger for its board. That September he launched Otovo USA, a Houston-based home energy services startup that licensed the Otovo name and raised more than $4 million in seed funding led by the EIC Rose Rock Venture Fund. Following a December 2025 merger, Berger leads Otovo ASA, which has since acquired a series of service businesses, including Solar Service Professionals, EnergyAid and SunSystem Technology, and has agreed to acquire Israel’s Green Panel.
Key Takeaways by Audience
Policymakers
- Berger argues that tax credits like the ITC were extended repeatedly with bipartisan support until the high-profile, one-sided passage of the IRA made them a political target. In his view, durable policy often depends on staying out of the spotlight.
- Unclear guidance on sourcing rules, such as proving whether components were made in China, makes tax departments and banks reluctant to take on solar risk, even when incentives exist. Clear rules can matter as much as generous ones.
- He contrasts the US monopoly-based system with Europe, where retail power markets are open (he cites France), and says the US lacks pressure to open the industry to new entrants.
Utilities
- Berger says many utilities don’t know what behind-the-meter assets are on their grid, and may shut circuits down even when local solar could power a neighborhood, because those assets aren’t in the rate base. He credits PPL and, increasingly, CenterPoint as exceptions.
- He frames data centers’ move to behind-the-meter power as a symptom of the incentive system, not utility failure: utilities have been given rules that don’t reward building capacity ahead of demand.
DER Developers and Installers
- Installation is a construction business measured in weeks and months. Service is a logistics business measured in hours and days. Berger says installers treat service as secondary, so capacity “goes to zero” during hurricanes just when demand peaks.
- Otovo doesn’t do new builds; it hands those to installers and focuses on post-install service. That creates an opening for partnerships in which an installer or manufacturer uses Otovo for the service side.
- Fixed-price, 20 to 25-year service obligations embedded in leases and PPAs are now “wildly upside down” after tariffs, inflation, and higher rates, according to Berger.
Investors
- Berger’s stated lesson from Sunnova: avoid heavy debt, avoid dependence on policy, and don’t be “held hostage” to capital markets. His headline success metric for Otovo is net income and cash generation.
- He estimates a base of at least 37 million installed systems in Europe and the US, assuming zero new installations, and says Otovo needs roughly 275,000 customers in a single year at its modeled unit economics. These are company claims, not independently verified.
- Otovo’s growth is predominantly through acquisitions of service businesses at a lower cost of capital than he says was available 15 years ago.
Local Governments
- Orphaned systems, where the installer is out of business, leave residents and small businesses without anyone to call. Berger says the problem is large in the US and Europe.
- He attributes the popularity of balcony and plug-in solar to how difficult permitting and utility approval are in the US. Streamlined permitting could reduce the pressure for workarounds.
- Service response during hurricanes and other weather events is a resilience issue for communities that rely on home solar, batteries, and generators.
General Listeners
- If your installer has disappeared, you’re not alone. Berger describes “orphaned” systems as a widespread, natural result of industry maturation.
- Otovo’s memberships cost $9, $29, or $49 a month for 48-, 24-, or 12-hour response, with repair discounts and loyalty perks.
- On entrepreneurship, Berger’s advice is blunt: the highs and lows are extreme, the risk never leaves, and persistence matters more than anything.
