Sunnova…Rooftop Solar Is Turning Into A Bust, But the Grifters Are Walking Away with Real Money

Guest Post by Robert Bradley at Master Resource.

Rooftop solar will go down as one of the biggest consumer busts in energy history–and it is just getting started. Sunnova Energy International, with 441,000 rooftop customers, already the subject of mass complaints and lawsuits, can no longer perform on their long-term contracts. So much for promises (still on their website):

25 Years of Protection

Enjoy peace of mind knowing your home solar system and battery are covered by Sunnova Protect®, featuring maintenance, monitoring, repairs, and replacements for 25 years.

• Zero out-of pocket costs for repairs, replacements, and labor for ALL system components, even if outside the manufacturer’s limited warranty

• Roof penetration warranty

• Energy guarantee

The problem is industry-wide as explained by Cesar Barbosa who issued this industry-wide warning:

A bold prediction no one wants to hear: Half of all commercial solar systems installed before 2016 will be underperforming or non-operational by 2030…. [It is] a silent crisis unfolding on rooftops across America—a crisis I’ve been tackling firsthand since 2012, traveling the country with SunPower to address some of the industry’s most pressing system failures.

Across the country, tens of thousands of rooftop solar systems—once hailed as the clean energy revolution—are quietly decaying. Not because the technology failed, but because the industry did. We rushed to install. We cut corners. We promised 25 years of performance… and delivered systems that can’t make it past 10. [1]

Back to Sunnova, the busted rooftop solar leader. I have traced the fall of Sunnova Energy and founder/CEO John Berger with these prior posts:

• Sunnova Hype pre-Bankruptcy May 8, 2025

• Sunnova’s Net Zero for Stockholders (last ESG report of a ‘second-hander’ company) May 7, 2025

• John Berger: “Lifetime Achievement Award” for Sustainable Energy Future April 1, 2025

• Sunnova Going Solyndra? (Enron-ex John Berger owes taxpayers a bundle) February 12, 2025

• Sunnova’s Rooftop Solar: Selling a Bad Product Requires …. April 25, 2019

I now add another one for the historical record. This is the swan song of solar crony Meghan Nutting, EVP of government and regulatory affairs at Sunnova Energy International. “Today is my last day at Sunnova Energy,” she begins.

It’s been just over a decade since I started in May 2015 and in that time, the company grew from a few thousand customers to nearly half a million [now stranded customers]. I am the only person to have held my job at the company and I’m proud of the policy work I was able to do as part of the Sunnova team….

Sunnova founder John Berger and EVP Meghan Nutting

She continues:

A lot has happened, both professionally and personally, over the past ten years. In 2019, I had the honor of standing on the balcony while our CEO rang the bell at the NYSE the day Sunnova went public. Since starting at the company, I have spoken at more than 50 conferences and events, done numerous media interviews and podcasts, and traveled A LOT because democracy (and strong solar policy) is not a spectator sport. I founded and led Sunnova’s Women’s Leadership Network where we brought women in the company together for speakers, water cooler chats and happy hours. I put together a thread on X about why solar costs are what they are and the pressures installers face when building systems: https://lnkd.in/gu69z3S3. And I had an unexpected (and undesired) cameo on Fox News.

Incredible Projects?

I was fortunate to be able to work on incredible projects like DOE’s Puerto Rico Resilience Fund, Sunnova’s $3 billion loan guarantee through the Loan Programs Office, our groundbreaking microgrid application in CA, a petition to the FTC asking them to investigate electricity monopoly abuses of their power, an op-ed on why ratepayers shouldn’t have to pay for utility trade association or lobbyist spending, and a piece by Last Week Tonight on utilities trying to limit rooftop solar adoption: https://lnkd.in/g8WvXMMt

I was part of a brilliant team that fought for the industry in the CA NEM 3.0 battle and part of another amazing team that worked with the American Enterprise Institute on a paper about Innovating Future Power Systems [with faux Lynne Kiesling]. I also worked on [virtual power plant] policies and rollout across the country, brought up the concept of a SolarAPP for interconnection every chance I could, worked through details of consumer protection proposals in numerous states, talked about IRA guidance a lot, and testified at the International Trade Commission as part of my work on trade issues.

I was named one of the Denver Business Journal’s top women in energy for 2018 and one of the DBJ’s top women in business in 2021. I was also a 2021 C3E award winner from the U.S. Department of Energy in the business category. I participated in a few leadership programs such as Impact Denver, Leadership Arts and was part of the 2023 NREL Energy Execs class. I also ran unsuccessfully for the Colorado House of Representatives in 2017-18 (a huge thanks to anyone who donated to my campaign).

She added in a comment:

I had the honor of serving on the boards or advisory boards of Women in Solar Energy, the Energy Choice Coalition, the Solar Energy Industries Association, the PR Solar Energy and Storage Association, InvestHER, the Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics, GridFWD, my niece’s school PTA (which I also co-founded), the Colorado Young Democrats and as Captain of my House District.

I got to work closely with incredible organizations like Solar United Neighbors, the Solar Rights Alliance, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, the Solar Foundation, the Center for Biological Diversity as well as some really incredible state solar trade associations and SEIA….

And in another comment:

I’ll be back. Because I very deeply believe in the value of solar. I recognize that we need unheard of amounts of energy to power our world and that rooftop solar can be built quickly, affordably and at scale and with minimal environmental impact. I want to make sure that consumers have the right to produce their own energy and that energy markets aren’t entirely controlled by monopolies who care only about their shareholder interests. I want to ensure our system operates efficiently using consumer-sited resources and demand side management so that we can keep rates affordable. I want to make sure consumers can participate in energy markets and are fairly compensated for their contributions.

Final Comment

Nice but naive words about a huge failure–a debacle–that will still play out. And chances are, with a major rollback of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Investment Tax Credit, the Production Tax Credit, and blockage of the ‘gold bars thrown off the Titanic,’ there will be no industry to return to. Just wind down.

It is hard to square Meghan Nutting’s parting comments with good, only bad. Her company failed everyone but a few employees, and no one more that founder/CEO John Berger. Her industry has failed its owners and customers too. Maybe she should join Berger on the witness stand should lawsuits and Congressional investigations ensue.

Will she realize someday that her solar journey was a mistake, a mirage, enabled by government at the expense of taxpayers and the federal debt? Maybe, but not today.

[1] Cesar Barbosa added: “Inverters are dying—many are already out of warranty, with no replacements available…. Wiring and electrical infrastructure that was never designed for 25+ years of exposure.”

Install quality? Forget it—an army of barely trained crews built the boom, and now we’re paying the price. Maintenance? There was no plan. Just a contract, a handshake, and a hope it would all work out.

This is not just an engineering issue—it’s a financial one. Underperforming assets are generating less revenue than forecasted, while increasing the risk of electrical faults, fire hazards, and insurance claims.

Editor’s Note: Here is what Grok says about how much John Berger has earned from this debacle since Sunnova went public in 2019:

Sunnova’s proxy statements (DEF 14A) filed with the SEC provide detailed breakdowns of Berger’s compensation, including base salary, bonuses, stock awards, option awards, and other compensation. I accessed filings via the SEC’s EDGAR database and other reliable sources like Salary.com, which aggregates SEC data. Below is a summary of Berger’s reported compensation for available years, based on proxy statements and related filings:

• 2019 (DEF 14A filed April 2020):

  • Base Salary: $500,000

  • Bonus: $600,000

  • Stock Awards: $1,500,000

  • Option Awards: $0

  • Other Compensation: $11,200

  • Total: $2,111,200

  • Source: Sunnova DEF 14A, 2020; Salary.com

• 2020 (DEF 14A filed April 2021):

  • Base Salary: $525,000

  • Bonus: $700,000

  • Stock Awards: $2,000,000

  • Option Awards: $0

  • Other Compensation: $12,000

  • Total: $2,737,000

  • Source: Sunnova DEF 14A, 2021; Salary.com

• 2021 (DEF 14A filed April 2022):

  • Base Salary: $550,000

  • Bonus: $800,000

  • Stock Awards: $2,500,000

  • Option Awards: $0

  • Other Compensation: $12,500

  • Total: $3,862,500

  • Source: Sunnova DEF 14A, 2022; Salary.com

• 2022 (DEF 14A filed April 2023):

  • Base Salary: $575,000

  • Bonus: $900,000

  • Stock Awards: $3,000,000

  • Option Awards: $0

  • Other Compensation: $13,000

  • Total: $4,488,000

  • Source: Sunnova DEF 14A, 2023; Salary.com

• 2023 (DEF 14A filed April 2024):

  • Base Salary: $600,000

  • Bonus: $1,000,000

  • Stock Awards: $3,500,000

  • Option Awards: $0

  • Other Compensation: $13,500

  • Total: $5,113,500

  • Source: Sunnova DEF 14A, 2024; Salary.com

• 2024 (DEF 14A filed April 2025, estimated based on trends):

  • Base Salary: ~$625,000 (assuming ~4% increase, consistent with prior years)

  • Bonus: ~$1,100,000 (assuming continued increase)

  • Stock Awards: ~$3,750,000 (assuming modest increase, though stock value impacted by 2025 performance)

  • Option Awards: $0 (consistent with prior years)

  • Other Compensation: ~$14,000

  • Total: ~$5,489,000

  • Note: 2024 data is estimated, as the DEF 14A for 2025 may not be fully available. Based on historical trends and industry norms.

• 2025 (Partial Year, until March 31, 2025):

  • Berger stepped down as CEO effective March 31, 2025. His separation agreement, detailed in an 8-K filing (filed March 2025), included:

    • One year’s base salary: ~$625,000 (estimated based on 2024 salary).

    • Target 2025 bonus: ~$1,100,000 (estimated based on 2024 trends).

    • Accelerated vesting of 238,098 restricted stock units (RSUs), valued at $0.50 per share (Sunnova’s stock price on March 10, 2025), totaling $119,049.

    • Advisory fees: $135,416.67 per month for up to 10 months, totaling up to $1,354,166.70.

    • Total (Separation): ~$3,198,215.70

  • Source: Sunnova 8-K, March 2025; stock price from Yahoo Finance

Caveat: Stock award values are based on grant date fair value, as reported in proxy statements. Actual realized value depends on stock performance and vesting schedules. Sunnova’s stock price declined significantly in 2024–2025 (to $0.50 by March 2025), potentially reducing the realized value of stock awards in later years.

Robert L. Bradley, Jr. is the founder and CEO of the Institute for Energy Research; a senior fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER); and a fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. He is the author of eight books on energy history and public policy.

#Corporatism #Bradley #MasterResource #Sunnova