Smart Commercial Energy

19/10/2026

Thank you to Haris Murtaza and the team at Alsco Uniforms for welcoming us to Port Kembla today to celebrate the progress on their new Wollongong commercial laundry, opening in 2027.

Fresh from winning Gold at this year’s TRSA Clean Green Sustainability Awards, Alsco continues to show what serious investment in eco efficiency looks like.

Kathryn, Jon and Lauren toured the facility and came away impressed. As Alsco’s solar partner, we’re glad to be part of the journey and look forward to more great work together.

16/10/2026

Installed solar more than a decade ago? The time to upgrade might be soon, and your old panels deserve better than landfill.

Today, the team from PV Industries joined us for a Lunch and Learn, and it was a timely reminder that our job as an industry doesn't end at commissioning.

Australia's solar panel waste is forecast to reach more than 91,000 tonnes a year by 2030, yet fewer than 5% of removed panels are currently recycled. That's despite more than 95% of a panel being recoverable.

The systems are finally catching up, with NSW consulting on a mandatory stewardship scheme and a national recycling pilot underway. But business owners can help make it work right now:
✅ Ask your installer where your old panels will end up.
✅ Make recycling a requirement in your procurement and tenders.
✅ Keep the records, because your ESG reporting will increasingly need them.

Thanks to James Petesic from PV Industries for a great conversation and for helping make sure solar stays clean from installation to retirement.

Blog linked in the comments to read more ⬇️

14/10/2026

“The people of Goulburn own the only debt-free, community-owned solar farm in the country.”

Moving words from CE4G Vice President Ed Suttle and Smart GM Kathryn Hoogesteger after winning the Community Engagement award at the 2026 AFR Energy Awards!

The Australian Financial Review Komo Energy Trinasolar

13/10/2026

We’re proud to share that Smart Commercial Energy has won the Community Engagement award at the 2026 AFR Energy Awards, for our work on the Goulburn Community Solar Farm project!

We’re incredibly pleased to be recognised by The Australian Financial Review alongside some of Australia’s leading energy projects.

It’s a special one, coming after our Clean Energy Council Community Value & Impact Award win for this same project just a few months ago.

As always, a shout-out to everyone involved in this ground-breaking project including Komo Energy, Trina Solar and Community Energy for Goulburn (CE4G).

12/10/2026

We’ve shared plenty about the Goulburn Community Solar Farm over the past year, from the inspiring story behind the project to the recent Clean Energy Council award it received.

Now, hear directly from our CTO Kealy Day about what it actually took to get this 1.4 MW solar farm and 4 MWh battery from a long-held community ambition to a working commercial project.

The site, the grid connection, the engineering and the economics all came with their own challenges. This is a great behind-the-scenes look at how we worked through them.

Worth a watch if you’re interested in what it really takes to deliver community solar and storage projects like this - https://hubs.la/Q04zS2Jq0

08/10/2026

We’re speaking at All Energy Australia Exhibition & Conference 2026! ⚡

Join Huon Hoogesteger and Kealy Day for their panel discussions exploring the opportunities and challenges shaping Australia’s energy transition.

🎤 Huon Hoogesteger, MD - Wednesday 28th October, 11:10am - 12:40pm, Room 203, speaking on decarbonisation: The missing middle for commercial & industrial.

🎤 Kealy Day, CTO - Thursday 29th October, 11:30am - 12:15pm, Exhibition Floor, speaking on exploring underserved applications of EV charging

If you’re attending, be sure to join the Smart team in the audience. We look forward to seeing you there!

Register now: [https://bit.ly/4hWZ1Pb]

06/10/2026

Shoutout to the team at Tradezone for hosting last week’s Smart Lunch ‘n’ Learn session.

Plenty of useful conversations, practical feedback and shared ideas on how we can make commercial energy procurement easier and more efficient.

Thanks to everyone who joined and contributed to such an open and productive session.

01/10/2026

4.5 MW. A major international airport. 90+ inspections. 12,000 project photos. And a lot of moving parts.

Western Sydney International is exactly the kind of project where getting the solar installed is only half the job.

The team at Procore - the project management platform we use - have taken a look behind the scenes at how we delivered the project, as well as how we use their platform to manage complex commercial energy projects as we scale.

Two case studies, one pretty good look at what it takes to deliver commercial solar properly.

Thanks to the Procore team for putting our work in the spotlight.
Have a read 👇
➡️ https://hubs.la/Q04xX7Xk0
➡️ https://hubs.la/Q04xX7ZM0

28/09/2026

Australia’s first Fox ESS Power Beast has landed, and it’s gone straight to one of the places we know it will be put through its paces.

Smart’s power couple Huon and Kathryn Hoogesteger have lived off-grid with their family for more than 15 years, so they’ve had a front-row seat to how quickly energy technology has evolved.

The latest addition to the home microgrid is a 97.44kWh Power Beast from Fox ESS Australia.

It’s a pretty serious battery. But what’s more interesting to us is the opportunity to put new technology into a real working microgrid and see how it performs day after day, not just on paper.

And if there’s one thing we know about Huon, it’s that he’ll be watching the data.

Thanks to the team at Fox ESS Australia for supplying the unit and helping make Australia’s first Power Beast installation happen.

Watch Here ➡️ https://hubs.la/Q04y5Fkz0

AUSTRALIA’S FIRST POWER BEAST HAS BEEN UNLEASHED. Built to withstand Australia’s harshest conditions, the nation’s first Fox ESS Power Beast has been installed and it has already earned high praise from Huon Hoogesteger Hoogesteger, CEO of Smart Commercial Energy. Huon selected the ...

23/09/2026

Solar at scale starts with strong partnerships. ☀️

We're proud to support Officeworks' national solar rollout, with the latest 96kW installation at Bundoora expected to reduce electricity costs by around 30%. A great example of how long-term partnerships can deliver renewable energy at scale.

Read more on our website ➡️ https://hubs.la/Q04xQD1X0

Special thanks to Sunlock, our long-time supplier and collaborator on this case study.