Clean energy technologies are often judged by efficiency, emissions reductions, and technical performance. For businesses and consumers, however, a more practical question matters just as much: does the technology work reliably, solve a real problem, and make economic sense?

Patrick Sherwin, founder and CEO of GoSun, has spent more than two decades working with solar and distributed energy technologies. In a conversation hosted by Net Zero Compare, he discussed what he has learned from developing physical clean-energy products, where solar and distributed generation can add value, and why implementation matters as much as innovation.

🎥 Watch the Full Conversation: Watch the full Net Zero Compare interview with Patrick Sherwin for more context on solar economics, distributed generation, EV charging, resilience, product design, and manufacturing. The full discussion adds useful detail around the trade-offs companies face when deciding whether a technology is genuinely practical.

Practical Use Matters More Than Technical Potential

Sherwin began his career working mainly with off-grid and isolated-grid systems, where solar often competed not with a conventional grid connection, but with running a generator. Over time, he watched solar become easier to deploy and much more affordable.

His early work also reinforced a simple lesson: technical performance alone is not enough. Products used in difficult environments need to be durable, reliable, and convenient. Sherwin pointed to earlier solar cooking technologies that required frequent adjustment and did not retain heat well. GoSun later developed designs intended to improve insulation and reduce the need for constant repositioning.

For sustainability and procurement teams, the lesson is straightforward. Technical specifications should be evaluated alongside usability, maintenance needs, durability, and actual operating conditions.

Sustainability Alone Rarely Drives Adoption

Sherwin argued that consumers usually adopt clean technology because it offers practical benefits, not simply because it has a lower environmental impact. He used electric vehicles as an example, noting that performance, comfort, convenience, and operating costs can be as important as emissions.

He also pointed to the long-term effect of poor early experiences with solar. Some older systems failed to meet expectations, leaving consumers skeptical even as the technology improved. For companies introducing new climate technologies, reliability and clear economics can therefore matter more than sustainability messaging alone.

How Businesses Should Evaluate Solar Economics

For organizations considering solar, Sherwin emphasized that the purchase price is only one part of the calculation. Electricity costs, future rate assumptions, maintenance, system life, installer quality, and site suitability all affect the business case.

He described solar as a long-term investment, with panels potentially producing power for around 30 years. That makes the quality of the manufacturer and installer important, along with whether the business expects to control the site for long enough.

Sherwin recommended obtaining several quotes rather than automatically choosing the cheapest option. He also said ownership can offer stronger long-term economics than solar-as-a-service when a company owns the property and can afford the upfront investment.

The broader procurement lesson is that the lowest initial price is not always the lowest long-term cost.

Solar EV Charging Can Complement the Grid

GoSun has also developed a portable solar EV charger. During the interview, Sherwin demonstrated a system on a Tesla Model Y and said it could add around 20 miles of range on a favorable sunny day.

He was clear that performance depends on weather, season, location, vehicle efficiency, and how long the system is exposed to sunlight. Cold conditions can also reduce charging efficiency.

The practical value is therefore not necessarily in replacing conventional charging. For some users, solar can supplement grid charging, reduce demand, or provide additional range where charging access is limited.

Distributed Energy and Resilience

Sherwin is a strong supporter of distributed generation, where energy is produced closer to where it is used. He sees solar, batteries, and electric vehicles giving businesses and households more control over how they generate, store, and manage electricity.

He also highlighted vehicle-to-load and related technologies that can allow EV batteries to support buildings or equipment during outages. This adds another dimension to the business case for distributed energy because assets can provide resilience as well as energy savings.

The value of resilience varies by organization. A short outage may have little effect on one business but create major operational or financial losses for another. For that reason, companies should consider continuity of operations alongside emissions and utility savings when evaluating solar and storage.

Climate Technology Still Involves Trade-Offs

Developing physical clean-energy products requires balancing performance, durability, weight, cost, repairability, manufacturing complexity, and speed to market.

Sherwin said GoSun generally prefers getting a useful product into customers' hands rather than waiting for perfection. Feedback from early production runs and crowdfunding campaigns can then be used to improve later versions.

He also cautioned against adding unnecessary complexity. Existing components can often be integrated rather than developed from scratch, and more features do not automatically make a product better. The better approach is often to identify the core problem and build the simplest solution that addresses it well.

Manufacturing Remains a Major Challenge

Sherwin said GoSun regularly explores manufacturing in the United States, Canada, or Mexico, but often finds production in Asia significantly cheaper. For smaller clean-tech companies, the capital required for domestic tooling, facilities, and production teams can be difficult to justify before demand is proven.

That creates a real trade-off between cost, supply-chain control, and resilience. For procurement teams, manufacturing location should therefore be considered alongside price, quality, supplier stability, and long-term availability.

Start With Energy Efficiency

When asked what businesses often misunderstand about clean energy, Sherwin pointed to energy efficiency as an area that is frequently undervalued. Reducing consumption can deliver strong returns and may reduce the amount of new generation or storage a company needs.

He also warned against chasing new technology simply because it is new. Before investing, companies should be clear about the problem they are trying to solve, whether the technology has proven real-world performance, who will maintain it, and whether the projected return depends on realistic assumptions.

Conclusion

Sherwin's experience highlights a practical point for organizations working on energy and decarbonization: climate technology has to do more than reduce emissions. It needs to work reliably, fit the operating environment, solve a clear problem, and make economic sense.

For businesses considering solar, storage, EV charging, or other distributed-energy technologies, the strongest decisions are likely to come from careful procurement, realistic assumptions, and a clear understanding of the use case. Innovation matters, but implementation determines whether that innovation becomes useful in practice.