About this episode
Craig has spent over 25 years in the Australian renewable energy industry. He founded XESS to build practical energy storage solutions that actually work in Australian conditions.If you’ve ever wondered what it actually takes to build, sell, and support serious off-grid power systems in Australia, this one’s for you.Craig's someone who’s been in the renewables game since the late 90s. He started out winding transformers, worked through the early Selectronic era, helped grow battery manufacturing businesses, and now runs a battery and inverter brand focused heavily on off-grid and remote power systems.This isn’t a hype session about “the energy transition.” It’s a grounded conversation about what really happens when you install off-grid systems, why installers are effectively “married” to their clients for life, and how battery storage has evolved from clunky lead-acid setups to modular lithium systems with built-in redundancy.We get into:-Why off-grid is a completely different mindset to grid-connect-AC coupling vs DC coupling (and the real-world pros and cons)-Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry and why safety matters more than marketing-Managed vs self-managed battery systems-Redundancy in inverter design - and why it’s critical in remote areas-The realities of servicing systems 5–10 years down the track-VPPs, FCAS, arbitrage… and whether the money is actually there-EV-to-grid: clever idea or overhyped?-Government rebates and the “solar coaster” effect-Why support matters more than flashy specsCraig also shares what’s changed in the industry over the past 25 years - from $20–$30 per watt solar panels to today’s flood of battery brands, and what hasn’t changed (hint: the need for trust and proper support).If you’re an installer, engineer, or someone seriously considering battery storage or going off-grid, there’s a lot of practical insight in this one. And if you’re just curious about where renewable energy in Australia is heading, especially in remote and off-grid applications - you’ll get a realistic view, not a sales pitch.Renewables move fast. Technology changes. Incentives come and go. But systems still need to work, especially when there’s no grid to fall back on.
