Chris McGrath on starting 5B and the solar revolution
Have you ever seen a fundamental gap in your industry, one that’s just crying out for reinvention? That was me in 2013 when 5B co-founder Eden Tehan and I had an idea to completely revolutionise the way solar projects are delivered. Our idea was so simple and yet so fundamentally different to the way the industry was operating that we were motivated to leave our corporate jobs and strike out on our own.
At that point I’d spent three years as a development manager for Infigen Energy, interrogating construction cost models on large-scale solar energy projects, and questioning why it couldn’t be done cheaper, done better. It was clear that solar PV manufacturing would continue to get cheaper, to the point where solar modules became a smaller part of the project cost base. Therefore the next critical focus for the industry had to be on driving down the construction and deployment costs of large-scale solar projects. In other words, getting modules from factories in China, to the field in solar farms, in a revolutionary, simple, fast and low cost way.
The reinvention of solar energy
In mid-2013, standing at the edge of an empty paddock in remote, rural NSW, I was struck by an idea. A vision of solar modules in an apex, replicated across the entire 100 ha paddock. I raced back to Sydney to start work, on the phone to Eden most of the way.
Over the next 15-months, working from our backyard in North Bondi, Eden and I developed the prototype for a new kind of solar array. One that would smash on-site construction times and drastically simplify supply chains.
That lightbulb moment in 2013 has led us on a four-year journey to develop a lightning-fast-to-deploy solar array, which does away with the need for expensive and time-consuming construction. Our Maverick system means, for the first time, businesses will have access to flexible and affordable solar power, whether they need a long- or short-term solution.
I can say with confidence that our technology is now cheaper, faster and better than traditional, energy sources – and it also happens to be cleaner.
The future is Solar
Against a background of rising energy prices, market uncertainty and policy gridlock, renewables are thriving in Australia. The solar industry has undergone a revolution in the past 12-months, reaching a tipping point across every market segment from residential and commercial, to off-grid and utility. More importantly, our largest users of electricity are now increasingly looking towards renewables to offset their rising energy costs.
For perhaps the first time, we’re finding that the vast majority of businesses we speak to have a solid understanding that they need to be thinking about solar – and that’s a major change.
Our Maverick technology has come through at a perfect moment in time, where the market is ready and interested in what we have to offer. We can do it cheaper and faster than the other players: we are the lowest-cost solution for many projects today, and as the cost of solar panels continues to fall, we will beat them hands down. That’s a trend that will continue into the future.
I look forward to what the next 12-months will bring for the solar industry. It’s my hope that Australia can become a world leader in renewable energy technology development – and its adoption, in projects on the ground.
5B still has the drive to bridge more of the gaps in the energy market. Maverick is just the starting point for a long future of developing new technologies that drastically reduce the cost of renewable energy for our customers. Our team of passionate engineers are working tirelessly to make this dream a reality.
By Chris McGrath – Co-founder and CEO of 5B
