Recently Mr Gerrard was announced as one of West Australia's top 40 entrepreneurs under 40, while the Greensense-designed sustainability monitory devise, Greensense View, recently won the West Australian Information Technology and Telecommunication Awards.

Where does your interest in clean energy stem from?

Climate change is one of the mega-challenges society faces in the 21st century. We badly need to shift to a clean energy economy to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, and we need to do it soon. I started Greensense because of my interest in sustainability, and clean energy is a huge part of creating a more sustainable future.

What top two steps does the industry need to take to be cost-competitive with traditional energy generation? How can they be achieved?

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I think getting a price on carbon is key so we can start to recognise the true cost of fossil-fuel based energy. I also think the smart grid trend is important as it provides mechanisms and incentives for energy users to shift, bank, and shed loads intelligently, and in a way that will better accommodate intermittent energy sources. The contribution of Greensense in this area is to put information in the hands of energy users so they can make better choices.

What has been the greatest achievement of the clean energy industry, or your sector, in the past five years?

We work across a really wide range of sectors: government, land and property development and property management, professional services, retail, and energy and resources. I think the most pleasing development across all of these sectors in the last five years is that they are all starting to embrace sustainable development principles. This is the big achievement.

Where do you see the renewable energy sector going in the short and long term?

Maybe this is wishful thinking, but I predict we'll stop seeing renewables as the exceptional part of the energy sector. The default assumption would ideally be that our energy sector is renewable, and we only selectively make use of fossil-fuel technology for load balancing and peaking.

What are the top two government incentives/policy measures you would like to see implemented today? Why?

I would like to see the Federal Government change the rules limiting third party access to metering data. There is still a mindset that the only purpose of metering data is billing. But whether we are talking about electricity, water, or gas utilities, their meter-data management systems are gold mines of information waiting to be tapped to drive smarter resource use. It would also be nice to see more support for small-scale commercial renewables in the 15–150 kilowatt range.

What one piece of advice would you give new entrants to the clean energy industry?

You better hit the ground running because the industry is moving really, really fast!

What promising project/technology is your company currently developing?

We have developed a real-time sustainability monitoring and engagement platform called Greensense View. We make intangible resource use – water, electricity, and gas– tangible, we turn buildings into teaching tools to engage occupants and visitors in improving efficiency and reducing costs, and we showcase sustainability achievements. We have completed a host of interesting projects focused on renewable energy including building a 'virtual power station' for a local government authority, and providing a monitoring system for Western Australia's biggest roof-top photovoltaic system.