In the early 2010s, our founder Huon Hoogesteger played a key role in introducing PPAs to the commercial solar market. He saw the potential to help businesses access solar with no upfront cost, paying only for the electricity they use. To take that concept further, Huon joined forces with Warren Yates and Christina Kirsch to help establish ClearSky Solar Investments (CSSI) — a not-for-profit that allows everyday Australians to invest directly in commercial solar projects and earn reliable financial returns.
The model works like this: ClearSky raises capital from individuals who want to support the energy transition. That capital funds solar systems for commercial customers. The business receives clean, affordable energy under a long-term agreement. Investors are repaid over time from energy sales. And Smart delivers, manages and guarantees performance across the life of the project.
Many ClearSky members are renters or apartment dwellers who can’t install solar themselves. Others already have rooftop systems but want to go further. By investing in commercial-scale solar, they can actively support industrial decarbonisation — while earning returns that compete with traditional investments.
In April 2017, a group of 19 ClearSky investors came together to fund a rooftop solar system at Blackwoods’ Canning Vale site in Western Australia. Blackwoods, one of the country’s largest industrial suppliers, was looking to cut energy costs and reduce emissions without tying up capital.
The investors contributed close to $400,000 to fund the project. Smart Commercial Solar designed, installed, and maintained the system under a PPA arrangement. Blackwoods paid only for the electricity it used, at rates lower than the grid. Meanwhile, the community investors received regular repayments funded by those energy savings.
The project ran for eight years and was completed in early 2025, with all parties benefiting from consistent financial and environmental outcomes.
One of the investors was Sydney resident Kate Grove, who saw the opportunity as both a values-aligned decision and a practical one.
“It’s so wonderful to have contributed that much solar power into the world — and to know it will keep on giving. And it’s a nice bonus that it has made a decent return,” Kate said.
“I’ve been driving an EV for almost 12 months and have too much beautiful gum tree shade to have rooftop solar — so these ClearSky investments are all the more important to me. I’m offsetting my grid power and covering my EV usage by contributing solar somewhere into the system.
It’s such a win-win investment. I’m sure if more people knew about it, you’d have lots of new registrations.”
The Blackwoods Canning Vale project is just one of more than 110 commercial solar installations facilitated by ClearSky since 2013. Together, these projects now generate more than 22 megawatts of clean electricity and have attracted over $28 million in community investment — much of it into systems delivered by Smart.
For businesses, this model offers a way to adopt clean energy without the barrier of upfront cost. For investors, it’s a chance to contribute to Australia’s decarbonisation goals while earning stable, transparent returns. And for Smart, it represents the kind of collaborative, future-focused solution that defines our work.
We’re proud to have helped shape this model and to continue delivering on its promise — one project, one partner, and one investor at a time.