Coast go-getter on power surge in US
FORMER Gold Coaster Kenny Habul chose a poor time to become a developer in the US.
He arrived in North Carolina right on the cusp of the Global Financial Crisis – spent a fortune on property and promptly saw the market plunge in value.
However, the timing was both calamitous and fortuitous because the State of North Carolina would become the leading proponent of solar energy use in the US, providing massive subsidies.
Mr Habul poured his energy into a new business – Moorsville-based SunEnergy1 – which is now challenging the dominance of traditional energy companies.
In a speech to the Bond University Business Leaders Forum on Monday, Mr Habul outlined his position on traditional energy suppliers (“Coal is finished – they are closing coal plants everywhere”), property development versus renewables (the latter is better because “You know you will get paid”), and Donald Trump (just a straight “no comment”).
Mr Habul has had a remarkable life.
After attending Merrimac State High School, he went to Bond University in the early 1990s, where he studied law.
After university he forged a successful career on the Gold Coast as a luxury home developer through Habul Brothers Luxury Home Construction, where his interest in so-called “green building” and renewables was sparked.
But it wasn’t until he ventured to the US that he made his mark. Mr Habul now heads an energy company with a turnover “well in excess of $500 million” (he won’t specify a figure).
He is also mates with Australian ambassador to the US and former federal treasurer Joe Hockey, and will meet to consult with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on renewables in the next few weeks.
His company is also a trailblazer in the solar energy world.
SunEnergy1 started installing solar on rooftops but now has turned its back on the sector, and is focused on building massive projects on the ground.
In 2013 it became the first company in the US to build solar with connected transmission.
“We won a contract to supply half of George Washington University’s power load with solar power,” he said. “The local utilities were very upset with that. But the university was very happy. For us, it was a success, and we realised the model was working.”
In 2015, the company built the largest solar site on the East Coast, with 375,000 solar panels producing 112 megawatts of power.
Last year SunEnergy1 built a system covering 809ha of land and this year plans on constructing the largest solar system in the world – with a 945 megawatt capacity spanning 2832ha.
“A part of that system will be selling power directly to residential homeowners on the East Coast of the US,” he said. “That is exciting. For whatever reason, utilities move slowly and are not risktakers, but we see the opportunity to bring solar directly to homeowners and to do it for less than what they are paying currently for coal or natural gas. We’re the first in the US to do that.”
Customers include Massachusetts Institute of Technology (where Mr Habul is a guest lecturer) and Lockheed Martin. Mr Habul is also known for a love of car racing.
When he was young he became friends with Australian motor racing legend Peter Brock and the sport has remained a lifelong passion – although business has come first. Last weekend he came second in the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour race at Mount Panorama.
“Like a lot of kids I got up early Sunday morning in my pyjamas and watched Bathurst, everyone grew up loving Peter Brock,” he said.
“In 1987 I was there when Brock won. I’m lucky enough to have the Commodore in my museum. I was there, my job was to clean the wheels, and I was under strict orders not to open the door or look inside. So 30 years later, to be on that podium, it was like my life had come full circle.”