John Berger Is Back — and Betting on Solar’s Biggest Blind Spot.

<p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Plus: Europe as a “sleeping giant,” balcony solar, and what eating glass has to do with entrepreneurship.</p><p>Subscribe to the Energy Changemakers newsletter free at energychangemakers.com.</p><p><br></p>