(Bloomberg) —
The US residential solar market is in turmoil following a string of high-profile bankruptcies this year. The founder of one of those bankrupt firms has a new venture he thinks can help turn the industry around by leveraging artificial intelligence to assist homeowners in managing their energy needs.
John Berger, the former head of Sunnova Energy International, said he’s raised more than $4 million to form Otovo USA. The new firm has a licensing agreement with Norway-based home solar company Otovo ASA, where Berger also serves on the board.
The new company plans to offer subscriptions for AI software that can provide real-time monitoring and rapid servicing, Berger said. The platform will help users manage solar panels, batteries, back-up generators, electric car chargers and other home energy equipment. Otovo USA is launching in Texas, where it can sell power directly to homes, with plans to expand to other markets.
“What we really need to do is focus on delivering that power service instead of focusing on delivering that initial installation of equipment,” said Berger. “As an industry, we have not done a good job of that at all.”
Berger is no stranger to the travails of the residential solar business. He departed Sunnova before it filed for Chapter 11 in June following struggles with mounting debt and diminishing sales prospects. Berger said he learned a number of lessons from the downfall of Sunnova, including the value of having a business with a simple financing structure that’s less exposed to policy whiplash. (Several national residential solar companies have run into trouble by relying on complex financial engineering to help fuel growth.)
The solar industry has been hit hard by high interest rates that have made it more expensive for homeowners to finance solar panels. The industry faces even more significant headwinds with the passage of President Donald Trump’s tax bill, which will end tax breaks for the purchase of residential solar panels after this year. Residential solar installations are forecast to fall 35% in 2026, according to analysis done by BloombergNEF.
Still, companies are eyeing Texas as fertile ground due to the growing number of homeowners with solar systems or batteries and the state’s deregulated power market, which allows companies to compete in producing and retailing electricity. They include Base Power, which offers low-cost battery installations and syncs them up as a virtual power plant. The company was co-founded by Zach Dell, son of personal computing billionaire Michael Dell, and raised $200 million earlier this year.
Berger said the rooftop solar industry hasn’t been focused enough on servicing panels and other home energy equipment and sees a market opportunity in meeting that need. In addition, he views artificial intelligence as a tool that can help the US residential solar business reduce costs and improve customer service.
“Residential solar isn’t dead,”he said. “It’s at a tipping point, and AI is going to save it.”
To contact the author of this story:
Mark Chediak in San Francisco at mchediak@bloomberg.net
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
