December 3, 2024 • 8 mins
One expert has offered a theory about why SolarZero met the end that it did.
The Kiwi-founded solar and battery firm was placed into liquidation - costing over 160 employees their jobs.
Lightforce Solar owner John Harman says SolarZero offered an 'amazing' deal for consumers - but economic factors have created additional trouble for the sector.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The owner of a solar panel business, has weighed in
on why he thinks Solar zero has failed.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
So.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Solar zero was a solar panel subscription service that was
unexpectedly put into liquidation by its one hundred percent shareholder,
black Rock last week. John Harmon is the owner of
light Force Solar anders with us this evening.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hi John, Good afternoon Jack.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Were you surprised by the Solar zero announcement?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I was absolutely stunned. Yes.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Why well, they had such a huge pool of money
behind them, and you know, they had a pretty awesome
proposition that you could put solar panels on your roof
at no charge, so it was amazing.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I was astonished.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Yeah, I mean it does from a consumer perspective, putting
solar panels on your roof and no charge does sound
pretty good. But I suppose from a business perspective that
there might come with a few more fish hooks. So
explain to us why did solar zero close down?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Well, I mean the thing is, we're at the end
of the supply chain from China. A lot of the
batteries and the technology that we installed five to ten
years ago are our parts are used by data need replacing.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
So that's the first thing.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
And the second thing is that you know the contract
was for twenty five years and most people buy and
sell their house within seven to ten years, and that
contract had to be transferred to the new owner, so
that caused a problem. I mean, for instance, the final
(01:36):
thing is that the price of panels and the qualities
come down, so you can put twenty thousand dollars worth
of panels on your house and that adds thirty thousand
dollars worth of value to you when you sell it.
So all of those factors I think played into the
demise of black Rock.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So explain that point to us. So you can put
twenty thousand dollars worth of panels on your roof and
that increases your house value by more. Explain that to us.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
So that's that comes from Sydney, Australia. The fact that
you've got independent energy source and these panels last for
thirty years increases the value of your house.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
So you increase the value of your house.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
You probably produce about twenty five to thirty percent of
your power off the roof for the next thirty years.
And if you move things around and sort of plugging
your ev during the sunny day, you get free juice
to run your car. So there's a lot of positives
about being independent and owning your own owning your own
sort of generation source.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, I mean absolutely. It's the capital cost that's often
the challenge for people, right, But I suppose if you're
putting panels at a capital cost of twenty grand on
your roof and you're going to be saving on power
to the tune of ten grand in the future, if
not more, then it does make sense. So how's your
business going, John, how's Lightfoce solar going at the moment?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Well, we can't keep up with demand.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
I mean, the people are aware that power prices are
going up. They're aware now that they need resilience and independence.
So we've got a three month waiting list to do
an installation. We're in about seven places around New Zealand,
major centers, so we can't keep up with demand. Yeah,
(03:20):
I mean it's really reached the tipping point where the
price of power, the price of panels, and the feeling
that Kevis want, which is to be independent of the
big boys, all of that's quite a moving feast and
it's really the tipping point for us.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah, So do you think that Solar Zero, because of
its kind of unique structure, was an outlier and that
other solar providers in New Zealand have more robust businesses
even in these trying economic times.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Absolutely, you just have to right size your business. And
we don't have a legacy of old customers requiring.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Upgrades and stuff like that. So you know, if we
do any upgrades.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
With people, they say I start off with ten pounels,
but now I want another ten or they say I
want ten pounds in a battery because I trust that
it really works. So you know, that's a different model
to least to own. And we're quite a small population
in New Zealand, and you know people want to go
(04:21):
with you know, they often buy local and they want
to buy locally owned. We're a New Zealand owned company
that they almost all of my installation guys have been
with me ten years. They're real experts. And it's not
one size fits all. You know, each roof is different,
each budget is different, so you have to you have
to you have to make sure that you're meeting people's
(04:45):
expectations and meeting the budget.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that makes total sense. You know,
it's fascinating to look at what Australia has done on
the solar front. And obviously there are different climatic conditions
in Australia, though I suppose a city like Melbourne would
be relatively comparable, relatively comparable to a city like Auckland.
But are there things that you think the government could
do john that would make it easier with regulation, that
(05:10):
would speed up the uptake of rooftop solar.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Absolutely, any new house should have rooftop solar mandatory, so
that's new bills.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
We should have recognition that.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
If you put a battery on that you're creating resilience,
and you can use the battery to aid charge from
the grid during cheap power prices and discharge to the
grid from high power prices, so you basically become a gentaile.
You generate power and you can sell power and those
are the things that modern technology is allowing you to do.
(05:47):
And that's an ever increasing wave. I mean in Australia,
of the whole energy system, twenty two percent is rooftop solar,
not solar farms. Rooftop solar use the Eland it's aboutzero
point one percent. We've got a long way to go. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Yeah, that is amazing, isn't it that? I mean, again,
very different kind of climatic environment, but that is quite remarkable. John,
How did you go from being a breast surgeon to
the owner of a solar panel company.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Well, I'm the accidental owner, Jack, so thanks for that.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
I really saw this as the future of New Zealand,
and I'm an entrepreneur, and I invested in the company
and then it grew so big that I had to
buy the original founder out, as often happens, and grow
it in the direction that was most business like.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Right, Yeah, that's amazing. How different is your life then?
Are you enjoying this?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Yeah? I do. I mean I see.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I asked some of our installation guys when I first
invested in the company, I said, how's it going? And
they said, Johnny, I have a different view from my
office every morning, and I'm saving the planet.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
It's the best job in the world.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
And I have that sense within our community that we're
doing right by our community and we're doing right by
global warming. So and it's really plugged into the latest
technologies that are fast moving.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
So it's exciting.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Yeah. So for people who've been considering going solar for
some time. Do you reckon there are going to be
big reductions in the cost of solar panels in the
years to come. I mean it keeps getting cheaper and
cheaper and cheaper, but for how much long is that
going to continue?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Well, no, we're starting to see panel prices at their
cheapest and they're putting in slight price increases, so they're
at the highest quality and cheapest price now that they're
only going to go up slightly in price. And you know,
I think that the panels are incredibly high tech and
(07:47):
last thirty years, so they're not going to get much better.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, hey, thanks for your time. We really appreciate it.
That is John Harmon. He is the owner of light
Force Solar.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
For more from Heather Duplessen Drive, listen live to News
Talks it B from four pm weekdays, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.
The owner of a solar panel business, has weighed in
on why he thinks Solar zero has failed.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
So.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Solar zero was a solar panel subscription service that was
unexpectedly put into liquidation by its one hundred percent shareholder,
black Rock last week. John Harmon is the owner of
light Force Solar anders with us this evening.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hi John, Good afternoon Jack.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Were you surprised by the Solar zero announcement?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I was absolutely stunned. Yes.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Why well, they had such a huge pool of money
behind them, and you know, they had a pretty awesome
proposition that you could put solar panels on your roof
at no charge, so it was amazing.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I was astonished.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Yeah, I mean it does from a consumer perspective, putting
solar panels on your roof and no charge does sound
pretty good. But I suppose from a business perspective that
there might come with a few more fish hooks. So
explain to us why did solar zero close down?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Well, I mean the thing is, we're at the end
of the supply chain from China. A lot of the
batteries and the technology that we installed five to ten
years ago are our parts are used by data need replacing.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
So that's the first thing.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
And the second thing is that you know the contract
was for twenty five years and most people buy and
sell their house within seven to ten years, and that
contract had to be transferred to the new owner, so
that caused a problem. I mean, for instance, the final
(01:36):
thing is that the price of panels and the qualities
come down, so you can put twenty thousand dollars worth
of panels on your house and that adds thirty thousand
dollars worth of value to you when you sell it.
So all of those factors I think played into the
demise of black Rock.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So explain that point to us. So you can put
twenty thousand dollars worth of panels on your roof and
that increases your house value by more. Explain that to us.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
So that's that comes from Sydney, Australia. The fact that
you've got independent energy source and these panels last for
thirty years increases the value of your house.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
So you increase the value of your house.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
You probably produce about twenty five to thirty percent of
your power off the roof for the next thirty years.
And if you move things around and sort of plugging
your ev during the sunny day, you get free juice
to run your car. So there's a lot of positives
about being independent and owning your own owning your own
sort of generation source.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, I mean absolutely. It's the capital cost that's often
the challenge for people, right, But I suppose if you're
putting panels at a capital cost of twenty grand on
your roof and you're going to be saving on power
to the tune of ten grand in the future, if
not more, then it does make sense. So how's your
business going, John, how's Lightfoce solar going at the moment?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Well, we can't keep up with demand.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
I mean, the people are aware that power prices are
going up. They're aware now that they need resilience and independence.
So we've got a three month waiting list to do
an installation. We're in about seven places around New Zealand,
major centers, so we can't keep up with demand. Yeah,
(03:20):
I mean it's really reached the tipping point where the
price of power, the price of panels, and the feeling
that Kevis want, which is to be independent of the
big boys, all of that's quite a moving feast and
it's really the tipping point for us.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah, So do you think that Solar Zero, because of
its kind of unique structure, was an outlier and that
other solar providers in New Zealand have more robust businesses
even in these trying economic times.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Absolutely, you just have to right size your business. And
we don't have a legacy of old customers requiring.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Upgrades and stuff like that. So you know, if we
do any upgrades.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
With people, they say I start off with ten pounels,
but now I want another ten or they say I
want ten pounds in a battery because I trust that
it really works. So you know, that's a different model
to least to own. And we're quite a small population
in New Zealand, and you know people want to go
(04:21):
with you know, they often buy local and they want
to buy locally owned. We're a New Zealand owned company
that they almost all of my installation guys have been
with me ten years. They're real experts. And it's not
one size fits all. You know, each roof is different,
each budget is different, so you have to you have
to you have to make sure that you're meeting people's
(04:45):
expectations and meeting the budget.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that makes total sense. You know,
it's fascinating to look at what Australia has done on
the solar front. And obviously there are different climatic conditions
in Australia, though I suppose a city like Melbourne would
be relatively comparable, relatively comparable to a city like Auckland.
But are there things that you think the government could
do john that would make it easier with regulation, that
(05:10):
would speed up the uptake of rooftop solar.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Absolutely, any new house should have rooftop solar mandatory, so
that's new bills.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
We should have recognition that.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
If you put a battery on that you're creating resilience,
and you can use the battery to aid charge from
the grid during cheap power prices and discharge to the
grid from high power prices, so you basically become a gentaile.
You generate power and you can sell power and those
are the things that modern technology is allowing you to do.
(05:47):
And that's an ever increasing wave. I mean in Australia,
of the whole energy system, twenty two percent is rooftop solar,
not solar farms. Rooftop solar use the Eland it's aboutzero
point one percent. We've got a long way to go. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Yeah, that is amazing, isn't it that? I mean, again,
very different kind of climatic environment, but that is quite remarkable. John,
How did you go from being a breast surgeon to
the owner of a solar panel company.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Well, I'm the accidental owner, Jack, so thanks for that.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
I really saw this as the future of New Zealand,
and I'm an entrepreneur, and I invested in the company
and then it grew so big that I had to
buy the original founder out, as often happens, and grow
it in the direction that was most business like.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Right, Yeah, that's amazing. How different is your life then?
Are you enjoying this?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Yeah? I do. I mean I see.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I asked some of our installation guys when I first
invested in the company, I said, how's it going? And
they said, Johnny, I have a different view from my
office every morning, and I'm saving the planet.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
It's the best job in the world.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
And I have that sense within our community that we're
doing right by our community and we're doing right by
global warming. So and it's really plugged into the latest
technologies that are fast moving.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
So it's exciting.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Yeah. So for people who've been considering going solar for
some time. Do you reckon there are going to be
big reductions in the cost of solar panels in the
years to come. I mean it keeps getting cheaper and
cheaper and cheaper, but for how much long is that
going to continue?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Well, no, we're starting to see panel prices at their
cheapest and they're putting in slight price increases, so they're
at the highest quality and cheapest price now that they're
only going to go up slightly in price. And you know,
I think that the panels are incredibly high tech and
(07:47):
last thirty years, so they're not going to get much better.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, hey, thanks for your time. We really appreciate it.
That is John Harmon. He is the owner of light
Force Solar.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
For more from Heather Duplessen Drive, listen live to News
Talks it B from four pm weekdays, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.
Popular Podcasts
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Decisions, Decisions
Welcome to "Decisions, Decisions," the podcast where boundaries are pushed, and conversations get candid! Join your favorite hosts, Mandii B and WeezyWTF, as they dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often-taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday, Mandii and Weezy invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, they share their personal journeys navigating their 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions that challenge societal expectations. From groundbreaking interviews with diverse guests to relatable stories that resonate with your experiences, "Decisions, Decisions" is your go-to source for open dialogue about what it truly means to love and connect in today's world. Get ready to reshape your understanding of relationships and embrace the freedom of authentic connections—tune in and join the conversation!