Renewable Energy Retrofits – Savvy Solutions for Strata Living

Moderator: Dr Rosemary Kennedy

Speakers: Brent Clark - CEO and founder of Wattblock, strata energy consultancy, Ben Humphreys - Managing Director, HumEnergy and Andrew Latimer - Business Development Manager - Commercial, NECTr Solar & Battery.

Apartment residents are increasingly seeking access to clean energy solutions — from rooftop solar and battery storage to EV charging and backup power. While these technologies are already delivering benefits to stand-alone homes, strata buildings face unique challenges.

This panel will examine how apartment buildings can be retrofitted to participate in the energy transition. Our speakers will share practical approaches and case studies highlighting what’s working now and what’s on the horizon.

Topics include:

• Retrofitting for rooftop solar and batteries in strata

• Enabling EV charging infrastructure

• Improving energy resilience and reducing common area costs

• Navigating governance, technical, and financial hurdles

Whether you're part of a body corporate, a sustainability professional, or simply interested in the future of strata living, this session will offer clear insights into the opportunities and realities of electrification for multi-residential buildings.

Speaker Bios:

Dr Rosemary Kennedy (Moderator)

Dr Rosemary Kennedy established the SubTropical Cities Consultancy to specialise in climate-responsive urbanism and collaborative design research. She holds a PhD from QUT and has extensive experience working with State and Local governments, academia and industry on projects ranging from design policy to practical guidelines for sustainable architecture and public spaces across Queensland. Her long term research interest in resilience and social impacts of apartment living includes an Australian Research Council Linkage grant, her PhD thesis The Liveable Multi-Storey Apartment Building and her major study on innovative residential towers in SE Asian megacities as the AIA’s inaugural Dunbar Fellow in 2018. She is a registered architect and AIA Life Fellow. Rosemary resides a 1970s Surfers Paradise apartment building.

Brent Clark 

Brent Clark is CEO and founder of strata energy consultancy, Wattblock. Wattblock has assisted apartment buildings housing over 100,000 residents with solar, batteries, EV charging and efficiency in Greater Sydney and SE Queensland. He has 20 years experience as a strata committee member including as Chairperson and Secretary. Brent has worked with 15 local councils, seven universities including Griffith Uni, and three state/territory governments including Queensland under an Advance Queensland Knowledge Transfer Partnership grant. Most recently he has led the Electrify Strata project which has mapped 60,000 apartment buildings and their electrification progress across NSW and Gold Coast 4220. He has degrees in science, law, an MBA and is an accredited NABERS for apartment buildings assessor.

Ben Humphreys

Ben Humphreys is the Managing Director and founder of HumEnergy, established in 2014 to help businesses and strata communities reduce energy costs and transition to sustainable solutions. A qualified Mechanical Engineer, Ben brings over a decade of experience across solar, geothermal, biogas, and embedded energy systems. Under his leadership, HumEnergy has become a trusted provider of solar, embedded networks, utility billing, and energy efficiency services. Ben also led the acquisition of RMS Energy Management in 2016, expanding the company’s capabilities in energy optimisation and client support.

Andrew Latimer

Andrew Latimer leads business development for commercial solar and battery solutions at Nectr Solar & Battery, guiding small to medium enterprises and industrial clients toward energy independence and cost reduction. He excels at designing tailored solar-plus-battery setups that optimise revenue streams—such as load shifting and FCAS participation—and align with each organisation's unique energy usage profile. Through his client-focused expertise, Andrew helps businesses slash energy overheads while embracing sustainability, making solar adoption both financially sound and operationally strategic.