Episode Summary

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan, the host of the Solar Maverick Podcast, was interviewed by Mike "C-Roc" Ciorrocco on his podcast called "What Are You Made Of?."

Benoy speaks about current solar industry trends and his entrepreneurship and podcast experience.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies.  He has extensive project origination, development, and financial experience in the renewable energy industry and in the environmental commodities market.  

This includes initial site evaluation, permitting, financing, sourcing equipment, and negotiating the long-term energy and environmental commodities off-take agreements. He manages due diligence processes on land, permitting, and utility interconnection and is in charge of financing and structuring through Note to Proceed (“NTP”) to Commercial Operation Date (“COD”). Benoy composes teams suitable for all project development and construction tasks. He is also involved in project planning and pipeline financial modeling. He has been part of all sides of the transaction and this allows him to provide unique perspectives and value. Benoy has extensive experience in financial engineering to make solar projects profitable.

Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016.  He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. 

Benoy was the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners which is a national solar installer where he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects.  He also worked for Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund, where he analyzed potential investments in renewable energy projects and worked on maximizing the financial return of the projects in the portfolio.  Benoy also worked on the sale of all of the renewable energy projects in Ridgewood’s portfolio.  

He was in the Energy Structured Finance practice for Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young.  Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. He has a MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University.  Benoy was an Alumni Scholar at the Stern School of Business.  

Mike "C-Roc" Ciorrocco

Mike "C-Roc" Ciorrocco is the Co-Founder of the innovative tech platform blooprinted, the powerhouse behind the "What Are You Made Of?" podcast, and the best-selling author of ROCKET FUEL Convert Setbacks. Become Unstoppable.

He is a performance coach, author, dynamic public speaker, tech visionary and thought leader.

He has been featured by Yahoo! Finance as one of the Top Business Leaders to Follow in 2020 and is on a mission to build unstoppable people. He is consumed with the passion to help people break free from the confines of complacency and propel to untapped levels of success.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com 

LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Mike "C-Roc" Ciorrocco

"What Are You Made Of?" Podcast

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mike-ciorrocco/episodes/Beyond-Boundaries-Benoy-Thanjan-on-Success--Family--and-the-Jersey-Shore-e2bv210

We would like to thank Summit Ridge Energy for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

As the nation’s leading commercial solar company, Summit Ridge Energy merges financial innovation and industry-leading execution to deliver clean, locally generated energy. This has made Summit Ridge one of the fastest-growing energy companies in America.

Since launching in 2017, the company has deployed over $2B into clean energy assets and controls a development pipeline of more than 3GW that will provide solar power to homes and businesses nationwide. Learn more at srenergy.com and connect with us on LinkedIn.

https://srenergy.com/

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Jim Howard, President at Dudley Ventures, and Derek Gabriel who is the COO & Head of Originations at SunRocket Capital.  They speak about how their structured finance solution ensures access to construction funding and long-term financing for developers who want to preserve their equity in their projects.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies.  He has extensive project origination, development, and financial experience in the renewable energy industry and in the environmental commodities market.  

This includes initial site evaluation, permitting, financing, sourcing equipment, and negotiating the long-term energy and environmental commodities off-take agreements. He manages due diligence processes on land, permitting, and utility interconnection and is in charge of financing and structuring through Note to Proceed (“NTP”) to Commercial Operation Date (“COD”). Benoy composes teams suitable for all project development and construction tasks. He is also involved in project planning and pipeline financial modeling. He has been part of all sides of the transaction and this allows him to provide unique perspectives and value. Benoy has extensive experience in financial engineering to make solar projects profitable.

Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016.  He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. 

Benoy was the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners which is a national solar installer where he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects.  He also worked for Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund, where he analyzed potential investments in renewable energy projects and worked on maximizing the financial return of the projects in the portfolio.  Benoy also worked on the sale of all of the renewable energy projects in Ridgewood’s portfolio.  

He was in the Energy Structured Finance practice for Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young.  Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. He has a MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University.  Benoy was an Alumni Scholar at the Stern School of Business.  

Jim Howard

James D Howard, Jr. is the President of Dudley Ventures, LLC is an investment and advisory services firm specializing in congressionally sanctioned tax credits and other tax advantaged investments. DV has a 20+ year track record of success with the vision, staff and values to succeed. Dudley Ventures is a subsidiary of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY), one of the top 30 publically traded banks with $50B in assets,

A native of The Bronx, New York, Mr. Howard earned his degree from The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1980 and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1984.

Dudley Ventures was founded by Mr. Howard in 1996. Dudley Ventures has been an innovator in tax credit investment and Mr. Howard has authored numerous articles on tax credit investing and is a regular speaker at conferences. Dudley Ventures has invested and manages over $2 billion in tax credit investments.

Mr. Howard is a Board Member of the New Markets Tax Credit Coalition.

Derek Gabriel

With over 15 years of experience in the renewable energy sector, Derek is a passionate and driven leader who strives to make a positive impact on the environment and society through innovative and sustainable solutions. As the Chief Operating Officer at SunRocket Capital, Derek oversee the daily administrative and operational functions, as well as the origination, development, and financing of solar projects across various markets and segments. Derek leverage my extensive network of over 15 years in the solar industry, and my deep knowledge of solar policy, tax equity, and debt financing to create value for our clients, investors, and partners.

In his previous role as the Executive Vice President and Head of Originations at Sol-REIT, Derek was responsible for business development in providing debt and arranging tax equity for solar and renewable energy projects, ranging from C&I, community solar, portfolio transactions, to utility-scale. Derek engaged a team of solar lending analyst, underwriters, and established strong relationships with key stakeholders, such as EPCs, developers, off-takers, and lenders. Derek also contributed to the strategic direction and growth of the company, and supported the development of new products and services. Some of the skills that Derek applied and developed in this role include organizational development, business development, negotiation, risk management, and financial analysis.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com 

LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Jim Howard

Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesdhoward/

Dudley Venture Website:  https://www.dudleyventures.com

Derek Gabriel

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-g-a754a748/

Website:  https://www.sunrocketcapital.com

Press Release dated June 24, 2024

SunRocket Capital and Dudley Ventures Arrange to Provide $100+ Million to Monetize Tax Credits in Commercial, Industrial and Community Solar Developments

https://www.sunrocketcapital.com/news/sunrocket-capital-and-dudley-ventures-to-monetize-tax-credits

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Paul Grana who is Solar Software Leader and GM of HelioScope at Aurora Solar. Aurora’s cloud-based software transforms solar design, sales, and delivery. With just an address and electric bill, Aurora empowers you to generate a full, accurate, and customizable design for every customer.  Paul speaks about many interesting topics like how AI has impacted Aurora, listening to the customer has led to the company being cutting edge, and solar trends.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies.  He has extensive project origination, development, and financial experience in the renewable energy industry and in the environmental commodities market.  

This includes initial site evaluation, permitting, financing, sourcing equipment, and negotiating the long-term energy and environmental commodities off-take agreements. He manages due diligence processes on land, permitting, and utility interconnection and is in charge of financing and structuring through Note to Proceed (“NTP”) to Commercial Operation Date (“COD”). Benoy composes teams suitable for all project development and construction tasks. He is also involved in project planning and pipeline financial modeling. He has been part of all sides of the transaction and this allows him to provide unique perspectives and value. Benoy has extensive experience in financial engineering to make solar projects profitable.

Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016.  He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. 

Benoy was the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners which is a national solar installer where he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects.  He also worked for Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund, where he analyzed potential investments in renewable energy projects and worked on maximizing the financial return of the projects in the portfolio.  Benoy also worked on the sale of all of the renewable energy projects in Ridgewood’s portfolio.  

He was in the Energy Structured Finance practice for Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young.  Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. He has a MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University.  Benoy was an Alumni Scholar at the Stern School of Business.  

Paul Grana

Paul Grana is the Co-Founder and General Manager of HelioScope at Aurora Solar. HelioScope provides commercial solar installers with an intuitive cloud-based design platform that reduces design costs by 90%. It helps streamline solar design and sales, cuts soft costs, and accelerates project development. Before joining the team, Paul was the co-founder/CRO of Folsom Labs (which made HelioScope software and was acquired by Aurora Solar in 2021). Before that he was on the hardware side of the industry, leading Product Marketing at Tigo Energy. Lastly, he holds an SB in Mathematics from the University of Chicago, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com 

LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Paul Grana

Website:  https://aurorasolar.com

Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/pgrana/

Episode Summary

In this episode of Solar Maverick, Nathan Vasher discusses how Extra Space Storage is one of the biggest corporate users of solar energy and how they plan to continue growing their solar deployment and also employing energy-conscious initiatives.  Nathan also shares his path to solar, trends he’s excited about, and an energy future that looks very bright.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions.  

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Nathan Vasher

Nathan Vasher is the Manager of Solar at Extra Space Storage, a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Standard & Poor 500 (S&P 500).  It is a fully-integrated, self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust. Extra Space has properties in 40 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico, they own or operate over 1,800 stores comprising approximately 1.3 million units and 135 million square feet of rentable space.  Extra Space has become one of the largest corporate users of solar energy according to rankings realized by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).  The trade group ranked Extra Space in tenth place in terms of the number of solar installations.

Nathan has 7 years of professional client-facing experience working with public sector, non-profit and international clients through all phases of organization development; providing strategy, performance management, measures development, process improvement, change management, training and business process design services. He has experience providing technical support to advance health programs in the area of supply chain management working in multiple countries including The Netherlands, South Africa, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Cote D'Ivoire, and Switzerland.

Insights from this episode:

• Details on Nathan’s role as Manager of Solar at Extra Space, the history of the company’s solar program strategy, and how that strategy has advanced over the years.
• How Extra Space determines what properties to install solar.  
• How Extra Space runs RFP process with preferred vendors on properties to determine where to install solar.
• Why Extra Space has a preference toward owning the solar projects on their properties. 
• How Nathan uses Extra Spaces’ past successes to guide where they invest in new solar properties.
• Strategies to plan for the future when you are dealing with older properties and the inevitable repairs they will need.  
• Benefits of employing energy-saving initiatives including increased energy efficiency and cost-saving.
• Details on the step-down of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), how states are creating their own renewable energy incentives, and how that affects the viability of future solar development.

Quotes from the show:

• On the financial feasibility of solar projects: “That’s something that we are always looking at, how do we get the most value for the capital that we spend and solar, up to this point, has been a huge return on our investment.” – Nathan Vasher, Episode #64
• “Our wholly-owned [business] portfolio is really simple, if we see an opportunity to put solar on a property, we just move forward with it because we don’t need anyone’s permission.” – Nathan Vasher, Episode #64
• On creating partnerships to further the solar program at Extra Space: “We’re just in the nascent stages of really trying to figure out what is best for each of our partners and how we work together with them to do solar [projects].” – Nathan Vasher, Episode #64
• On preparing for the future of older properties: “We plan that in some point in the life of the solar [installation], the roof is going to have to be fully replaced.” – Nathan Vasher, Episode #64
• On the biggest challenge of older properties:  “Trying to find the right mix, on some of the older properties, of how we can really get the biggest bang for our buck without having to really bend over backward to configure the system.” – Nathan Vasher, Episode #64
• “One of the biggest challenges we have is getting the right-sized [solar] system for the property.” – Nathan Vasher, Episode #64
• “The biggest benefit to going solar is the cost savings of using solar and not having to pay [for energy].” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #64
• “We’re just going to keep going until we run out of roofs.” – Nathan Vasher, Episode #64
• “From where I sit, combining solar and storage is a huge opportunity … I think it’s going to be a trend, coupling power plus storage.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #64

Resources Mentioned:

Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC)

Request for Proposal RFP

The Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

Sponsor:

We would like to thank RadiantREIT for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

RadiantREIT is the first-ever investment trust to bring mortgage REITs to the solar energy market.

For the solar developers and EPC developers out there, financing with RadiantREIT’s solar mortgage REIT will transform how you think about the business of project development. With RadiantREIT financing, you can increase project cash flow and you can retain ownership of your projects.

The company’s cradle-to-grave financing package includes the entire capital stack. RadiantREIT arranges tax equity, 100% construction financing and up to 99% term financing at competitive rates with no upfront fees including legal and diligence!

Co-Founders Jim Spano and Jeff Just are solar and finance veterans who have brought together a team of experts to create and offer this innovative financing model enabling developers to capture the true value of their development. They are committed to addressing the financing gaps that exist in today’s market, especially for small and mid-sized developers. RadiantREIT will remove the stress of financing or refinancing, and allow you to maintain focus on your projects. Let them be your outsourced, structured finance department.

Visit www.radiantreit.com to learn more and to submit your expression of interest form today.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Nathan Vasher

Email: nvasher@extraspace.com

LinkedIn: Nathan Vasher

Website: Extra Space Storage

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

In this episode of Solar Maverick, Benoy and Li look into the future and define trends in solar energy.  Community Solar Programs will continue to rise in popularity along with energy storage and favorable state level renewable energy legislation.  Benoy and Li conclude the interview with a personal look toward 2020 and how they stay focused and mindful throughout the year.  

Benoy Thanjan 

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Li Wang

Li Wang is a life-long journalist and communications professional. He worked as an intern for the Philadelphia Daily News, during the summer of the O.J. trial, and has since had some fascinating jobs, from being a business reporter to an arts editor, to a film critic. He has since shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services, and now his company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing. 

Insights from this episode:

• Benefits from the cultural shift of society regarding renewable energy and climate change that is emerging.
• Defining the Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) and a how that is allowing significant development of solar
• Details on the risks associated with corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and opportunities that will exist in the future for smaller companies.
• Benefits of incentive programs and how they can help produce more solar energy. 
• Details on Green Tariff Programs that utility companies offer customers the ability to purchase green energy.
• Benefits of using bifacial solar modules
• How tariffs on solar panels impacted the solar market.
• Benoy and Li speak about mindfulness and mediation to help achieve their resolutions throughout the year.

Quotes from the show:

• “What we see is that it’s really big companies are taking advantage of the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) but we think there will be an opportunity for mid-size and smaller commercial and industrial [companies].” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #63
• On state solar programs and legislature: “There seems to be a focus on incentives to produce more solar energy.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #63
• “With all these states taking leadership in this position [on incentives] it’s going to lift up the entire industry just by mandating certain standards.” – Li Wang, Episode #63
• “There’s a lot of incentives in the pipeline to develop solar [energy] and [energy] storage, both stand-alone and together.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #63
• On Green Tariff Programs: “For small and mid-size businesses it could be an opportunity for them [to reach] their renewable energy goals.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #63
• “Politics do matter as far as how the policies reflect the industry, the Trump administration has not been supportive … on their attitudes toward policies that help renewable [energy]. ” – Li Wang, Episode #63
• “If you look at state legislation, a lot of states have really been aggressive with passing incentives because the federal government hasn’t passed any new incentives.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #63
• “What I have learned, through meditation, is that you can train your mind to become more present.” – Li Wang, Episode #63

Podcasts Mentioned: 

Episode 58: Residential Solar Financing and Other Interesting Topics - with Benoy Thanjan and Nathan Jovanelly

Resources Mentioned:

The Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)

Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs)

Solar Energy Industries Association

Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC)

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Li Wang

MJWangMedia.com 

Instagram: @liwang22

Sponsor:

We would like to thank Radiant REIT for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast.  

RadiantREIT is the first-ever investment trust to bring mortgage REITs to the solar energy market.

For the solar developers and EPC developers out there, financing with RadiantREIT’s solar mortgage REIT will transform how you think about the business of project development. With RadiantREIT financing, you can increase project cash flow and you can retain ownership of your projects.

The company’s cradle-to-grave financing package includes the entire capital stack. RadiantREIT arranges tax equity, 100% construction financing and up to 99% term financing at competitive rates with no upfront fees including legal and diligence!

Co-Founders Jim Spano and Jeff Just are solar and finance veterans who have brought together a team of experts to create and offer this innovative financing model enabling developers to capture the true value of their development. They are committed to addressing the financing gaps that exist in today’s market, especially for small and mid-sized developers. RadiantREIT will remove the stress of financing or refinancing, and allow you to maintain focus on your projects. Let them be your outsourced, structured finance department.

Visit www.radiantreit.com to learn more and to submit your expression of interest form today.

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube. 

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

This episode of Solar Maverick Podcast is a live panel discussion from the Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar held in Dallas, Texas from October 2019.  Lisa Brown from Johnson Controls, Susan Nickey from Hannon Armstrong, Benoy Thanjan from Reneu Energy and Todd Samson from Deloitte & Touche participated in a panel discussion on the role of renewable energy in real estate.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Lisa Brown

Lisa Brown joined Johnson Controls in 2003. As national director for municipal infrastructure and smart cities, Lisa is responsible for the growth of the local government market in North America, including the development of strategies, offerings, and innovations for local government service and systems markets. In 2015, Lisa created Johnson Controls' local government urban growth initiative, which combines smart city solutions with community outreach and workforce enhancement for midsize to large municipal customers. Lisa is consistently sought out to deliver keynote presentations and participate on smart city and IoT panels to discuss how data can assist cities to become "smarter" and its relation to climate resiliency, smart infrastructure, and economic growth.

Lisa was recently nominated to join the Women of Municipal Government committee for the National League of Cities and the Smart Communities Advisory board for the International City Managers Association. For the past three years, she has been the leader of the East Region Women's Resource Network of Johnson Controls and served as a global ambassador for International Women's Day. Lisa served 15 years with the Junior League of Montclair-Newark, four of those years as director of community development and outreach in Newark, New Jersey. Lisa currently is a board member of the Rumson-Fair Haven Education Foundation. In 2016, she was honored as a NY Women of Valor and received the Humanitarian Award from St. Francis Food Pantries and Shelters, which support 1.5 million food-disadvantaged New Yorkers annually.

Susan Nickey

Susan Nickey is a Managing Director at Hannon Armstrong, a leading provider of debt and equity financing to the energy efficiency and renewable energy markets. Susan has over 25 years of executive leadership in the energy and finance sectors. She has focused her efforts on proving that creative solutions and innovation can make the production of clean energy more profitable, competitive, affordable and mainstream. Most recently, she founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Threshold Power. Prior to working at Threshold, she served as Chief Financial Officer at ACCIONA Energy North America. She was named one of Women’s eNews’ 21 Leaders for the 21st Century for her leadership in sustainable development. Susan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.

Todd Samson

Todd Samson is a Certified Public Accountant and Tax Partner with Deloitte & Touche in the greater Chicago area.  Todd was the moderator for the Impact of Renewable Energy on the Future of Real Estate at the Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar in 2019 and has presented about renewable energy at the Deloitte 2017 Power & Utilities Fall Seminar. He graduated from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in 2003 with a master's degree in business and a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Insights from this episode:

• Details on how the role of renewable energy has changed and grown over the past several years and the future role renewables will play in the real estate market.
• Details on what is driving interest in renewable energy such as sustainability and concern for climate change.
• Strategies for addressing and overcoming concerns from government agencies regarding the implementation of renewable energy sources. 
• How software will be very important to monetize different energy technologies and storage through for example resiliency and demand reduction.
• Strategies municipalities are employing to create new revenue streams and monetize the renewable energy market.
• Details on where the most significant opportunities exist in real estate in regards to renewable energy. 
• How to overcome the challenges of financing renewables in real estate.
• Details on the United States renewable energy market versus the international renewable energy market and where innovation is going to come from in the future.

Quotes from the show:

• On the mission of Johnson Controls: “Building renewables into the fabric of our overall holistic projects is definitely a priority for us and we help owners and building developers really pivot toward being more environmentally conscious.” – Lisa Brown, Episode #62
• “Renewables are converging with energy efficiency and other technologies which is exciting to see.”  – Susan Nickey, Episode #62
• On solar power: “As a technology, people have gotten very comfortable with it in a very short period of time … so the conversations are a lot easier than they were.”  – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #62
• On people and businesses moving and working in urban areas: “They are demanding, as part of the mandate when they move in, that they need green [renewable energy] and that they are willing to pay higher for it.” – Lisa Brown, Episode #62
• “The world is watching what North America is doing so developers and municipal leaders … need to be progressive in order to survive.”  – Lisa Brown, Episode #62
• “Corporations have been the big drivers and they are forcing cities and states to open up the market to renewable energy.”  – Susan Nickey, Episode #62
• “It is very difficult for America, at least for the states, to be able to do sweeping innovation (across) the entire United States because we all adhere to different rules and different forms of government.” – Lisa Brown, Episode #62

Resources Mentioned:

2019 Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar

Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: Reneu Energy

Lisa Brown

LinkedIn: Lisa Brown

Website: Johnson Controls

Susan Nickey

LinkedIn: Susan Nickey

Website:  Hannon Armstrong

Todd Samson

LinkedIn: Todd Samson

Website: Deloitte LLP

Sponsor: 

We would like to thank Schwerd Consulting for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

Schwerd Consulting is a leading solar consulting firm dedicated to design, engineering, and owner representation in all areas of solar photovoltaics (PV) for the Commercial & Industrial and Utility markets.

At Schwerd Consulting they like to say that We Know Solar. We don’t just Do Solar. What sets them apart is their 100% focus on solar and understanding the business of their clients.  

In its 5 years of business, Schwerd Consulting has provided services for approximately 450 MW of PV across over 330 sites and 15 states plus the Caribbean. That total includes 300MW of completed designs and engineering, and 150MW of consulting and owner rep services. 

Let Schwerd Consulting take the burden off you and bring ease and expertise in all areas of Engineering & Design or help you navigate the technical world of solar.

If you are interested in learning more about Schwerd Consulting, you can call 215-219-6718 or email at admin@schwerdconsulting.  Schwerd Consulting’s website is www.schwerdconsulting.com.

Steve Schwerd who is the Owner of Schwerd Consulting was interviewed on Episode 17 and Episode 48 of the Solar Maverick Podcast and Episode 42 of which he was on panel discussion on How Solar Technology is Changing the World.

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

On this special episode of Solar Maverick, Benoy is a guest on The Formula with Timothy Roman.  Benoy divulges his criteria for investing in different ventures, how he interacts with the companies he’s invested into, and how the movie Back to the Future influenced one of the companies he’s currently working with.  Also discussed is the importance of networking, podcasting, and personal branding and Benoy reveals his favorite television show. 

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Timothy Roman

Timothy Roman is the founder and CEO of Roman Media Group, a passionate team of young entrepreneurs with a proven track record for helping businesses get from zero to 7 figures 100% on the backbone of digital marketing.  He was featured in Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk. Tim recently began his podcast The Formula where everyone from real estate titans to self-made entrepreneurs share their formula for success.

Insights from this episode:

• Details of Benoy’s progression into entrepreneurship and his interest in renewable energy.
• Strategies on how Benoy chooses what projects to invest in and the various roles he plays in each investment.
• How to determine if an investment is right for you and how to develop the ability to say no.
• Benefits yielded from networking, how that leads to new opportunities, and the synergy created between different investments.
• How to employ personal branding for product development and the impact video marketing can make.

Quotes from the show:

• On what it takes for Benoy to invest: “If you can trust the person, you can see their vision, you can see examples of that (vision) and them having a track record of success.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #61
• “I see so many business opportunities now because I have invested in several businesses and I would say 97% I say no to because it’s not the right opportunity.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #61
• “The restaurant industry is a lot harder than I ever imagined it to be.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #61
• On technology and Reneu Energy: “We are probably very tech-savvy for a solar energy company.  We take a lot of things that we’ve learned from other industries and incorporate it.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #61
• “The network of people is important.  It’s all about who you know.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #61
• “I learn from the entrepreneurs that I’m working with.  I’m learning about other industries and I’m incorporating some of the things I see into my own business.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #61
• The question Benoy starts his day with: “What are the things that are going to move the needle?” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #61
• “If I’m investing money into a business, I’m already accepting that I might not get that money back.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #61
• On determining a good opportunity: “I’m all about being direct, transparent, honest.  There are certain values I’m trying to look for.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #61
• On accelerator programs: “I’ve always been extremely curious about the atmosphere … it sounds like it not only creates amazing network opportunities, it’s also educated a lot [of people].” – Timothy Roman, Episode #61
• On evolving marketing techniques: “Written word has obviously taken the back seat a little bit, which is Search Engine Optimization ("SEO"), blogs, and things like that, but video and audio [formats] are the dominant ones.”   – Timothy Roman, Episode #61
• “I think everything is about building the personal brand.  People want to see a face that they trust.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #61

Resources Mentioned:

Startup Leadership Program

Podcasts mentioned:

Create Your Life Series by Kevin Y. Brown 

The School of Greatness by Lewis Howe

SMP 32: The New Jersey Solar Market with Benoy Thanjan and Suzanne Waters

Sponsor:

We would like to thank Schwerd Consulting for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

Schwerd Consulting is a leading solar consulting firm dedicated to design, engineering, and owner representation in all areas of solar photovoltaics (PV) for the Commercial & Industrial and Utility markets. At Schwerd Consulting they like to say that We Know Solar. We don’t just Do Solar. What sets them apart is their 100% focus on solar and understanding the business of their clients. In its 5 years of business, Schwerd Consulting has provided services for approximately 450 MW of PV across over 330 sites and 15 states plus the Caribbean. That total includes 300MW of completed designs and engineering, and 150MW of consulting and owner rep services. Let Schwerd Consulting take the burden off you and bring ease and expertise in all areas of Engineering & Design or help you navigate the technical world of solar. If you are interested in learning more about Schwerd Consulting, you can call 215-219-6718 or email at admin@schwerdconsulting. Schwerd Consulting’s website is www.schwerdconsulting.com.

Steve Schwerd who is the Owner of Schwerd Consulting was interviewed on Episode 17 and Episode 48 of the Solar Maverick Podcast and Episode 42 of which he was on panel discussion on How Solar Technology is Changing the World.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan 

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Timothy Roman

LinkedIn: Timothy Roman

Website:  Roman Media Group

Podcast: The Formula

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

In this episode Benoy Thanjan, Patrick Morand, and Victoria Zelin present about Developing Renewable Energy In Opportunity Zones at the Opportunity Zone Bootcamp hosted by Brownfield Listing Event in NJ in October 2019. Benoy presents a high-level recap of current federal solar incentive programs and the NJ solar market.  Patrick provides details on qualified opportunity zones investments and outlines project financing for solar investments. Victoria gives an in-depth overview on the success of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) and Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program financing in the renewable energy market.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Patrick Morand

Patrick practices in the area of energy regulatory law and renewable energy development. Mr. Morand counsels energy clients, including electric utilities, electric distribution companies, regional transmission organizations (RTOs), renewable energy developers, and financial institutions before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), state public utility commissions and other federal and state agencies.  Mr. Morand has extensive experience in a wide range of energy regulatory matters involving the Federal Power Act (FPA), Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA) and Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005). Mr. Morand also counsels clients in the development of power purchase agreements (PPA); engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreements; interconnection agreements; and other project development agreements.

Mr. Morand is a graduate of The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, and a graduate of Michigan State University.

Victoria Zelin

Victoria is the Co-Founder of the Center for Regenerative Community Solutions (CRCS) and Director of Development for New Jersey PACE (NJPACE). She speaks publicly and has been published on the subject of sustainability; “Who Will Be the Rock Stars of Corporate Sustainability?” Science, Wisdom, and the Future: Humanity’s Quest for a Flourishing Earth, Collins Foundation Press, 2012.

Most recently, she sold Deloitte’s sustainability consulting services to major corporations. Previously, she sold organizational change consulting services to F500 companies. She is masterful at  getting to the heart of the issue, articulating a compelling case for change, and inspiring people to take action. Earlier, she co-founded the Sustainable Leadership Forum, a peer network in Central NJ that empowers people in their own sustainability initiatives.

Victoria has an MBA from Yale’s School of Management with a specialization in organizational development and a BA in cultural anthropology from Duke University.

Insights from this episode:

• Details on Benoy's start in the solar industry, his role within Reneu Energy, and what types of projects Reneu Energy is working on.
• Benefits of current and upcoming solar incentive programs in NJ and the growth of community solar.
• Detailed overview on the solar industry, changes that are taking place, and the future of renewable energy.
• Benefits of qualified opportunity zone business.
• Details on safe harboring of solar panels to qualify for the 30 percent ITC.
• Details on how to structure tax benefits in the solar market. 
• Benefits of using a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program to fill in gaps in solar project financing. 
• Strategies on employing a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) in a qualified opportunity zone.
• Details on alternatives in states that do not offer Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing.
• Benefits to property owners when they employ Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing.  

Quotes from the show:

• On the Investment Tax Credit (ITC): “It’s very difficult, actually, to find solar panels because people are actually using that 5% harboring (of the Investment Tax Credit) for panels.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #60
• On state level incentives in New Jersey: “The great thing about New Jersey is that it has very high electricity costs … but it also has a very strong state-level incentive, the Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC).” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #60
• On safe harbors in qualified opportunity zones: “There’s something very critical to developing a renewable energy project … in particular a community solar project, that is helped by (those) safe harbors.” – Patrick Morand, Episode #60
• On Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing: “It’s really low-cost, long-term financing that is for renewables, energy efficiency, and in some states, resiliency.” – Victoria Zelin, Episode #60

Resources Mentioned:

Opportunity Zone Boot Camp on Oct 2019 in NJ

New Jersey Clean Energy Program

Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

Solar Energy Renewable Credit (SREC)

New Jersey Property Assessed Clean Energy

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)

Sponsor:

We would like to thank our sponsor for this podcast episode Infiniti Energy Services.

Infiniti Energy Services is a turn key solar development company with the focus on origination of opportunities between Maine and Virginia. They use their ability to structure financing and EPC projects as a value add with their partners. To learn more about Infiniti go to their web-site www.infinitienergyservices.net or contact Tom Loredo- Director of Project Origination at 732-370-2446

We interviewed Michael Kushner who is the President at Infiniti Energy Services on Episode 49 of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Patrick Morand

LinkedIn: Patrick Morand

Website: Duane Morris LLP

Email: PLMorand@duanemorris.com

Victoria Zelin

LinkedIn: Victoria Zelin

Website: NJPace

Twitter: @VictoriaZelin

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

We released today Solar Maverick Podcast-Episode 59: Lessons Learned from Clean Energy Entrepreneur Laura Taylor, CEO and Founder of Silverline Communications. Laura Taylor discusses the journey over the last ten years of her company, Silverline Communications, an integrated marketing and PR agency focused on clean and emerging tech. She also shares her perspectives on the importance of mentorship and diversity within the clean energy market, and why public relations and branding is vitally important for the renewable energy industry. Laura also talks about The Cleanie Awards, the first-of-its-kind industry award designed to recognize innovators in the clean energy community.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions.  

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Laura Taylor

Laura Taylor is Founder and CEO of Silverline Communications, a nimble, full-service integrated communications agency uniquely focused on the B2B technology sector. As CEO of Silverline, Laura counsels a wide portfolio of enterprises, crafting impactful communications programs tailored to engage and influence key stakeholders and ultimately, drive measurable growth.

Previous to Silverline, Laura co-founded and led global and national practice areas and served in management roles with regional high-growth ventures, accumulating over $1 billion in funding. During her tenure at Edelman, she was a founding leader of the agency’s award-winning global clean technology practice. In three short years, Laura led a team that grew the division from zero to a multi-million-dollar, international practice. A few years later, Laura built a clean technology division for Omnicom from the ground up. After establishing programs at the world’s largest and most prestigious public relations agencies, she founded Silverline Communications in 2009.

In addition to leading Silverline, Laura continues to innovate and seek opportunities to contribute to the clean energy sector. After realizing a severe shortage of clean tech industry award recognition, Laura launched The Cleanie Awards® in 2018 to highlight notable individuals and companies in the industry. She is a frequent Forbes contributor and serves as Chairwoman on myriad Boards, including Potential Energy DC, CleanTech Open Southeast, and Solas Nua Theatre Company. Past speaking engagements include the Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit and the Energy Storage Annual Conference and Expo.

Insights from this episode:

• Details of Laura’s passion to be an entrepreneur and how optimism has shaped her journey.
• Benefits of being a mentor and making an impact in the lives of other entrepreneurs. 
• Strategies Laura employed to win support for Silverline Communications in the company’s early days.
• How to brand companies as they mature in the clean technology market by changing focus and visibility.
• Secrets to successful branding, including marketing and production. 
• Details on how The Cleanie Awards grew to become one of the most prestigious awards in renewable energy. 

Quotes from the show:

• “If you think about the what ifs too long, you’re just going to sit in the corner, you’re never going to get it (your goals) done.” – Laura Taylor, Episode #59
• “I'm an external optimist who doesn't dwell on failure.  We plan for it, but we don't dwell on it.” – Laura Taylor, Episode #59
• ”I feel like very successful people are able to learn from failure and then adjust and adapt.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #59
• On the expansion of the solar market: “Everything is changing so quickly, and it is so globalized, there’s no real borders or boundaries.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #59
• On being a mentor: “I’m very interested in women and making sure that women feel supported within the clean energy community and outside of the clean energy community.” – Laura Taylor, Episode #59
• On working with clients over time: “It is so wonderful to see them (now) engaging in the Wall Street aspect, in the finance aspect.” – Laura Taylor, Episode #59
• On the urgent need to combat climate change: “How do we work within this global economy to keep things churning and not burning?” – Laura Taylor, Episode #59  
• “Personal branding is very important and people really want to see and listen to the people they are doing business with.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #59 
• “I think the Midwest (United States), for renewable energy, is one of the next big markets.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #59
• “That’s us (Silverline Communications) in a nutshell: just tech geeks.” – Laura Taylor, Episode #59
• On accomplishment: “You never say never … there’s always a little twist on the adventure.” – Laura Taylor, Episode #59

Resources Mentioned:

The Cleanie Awards

After noticing there was a severe shortage of industry recognition honoring the efforts of those making a positive impact, The Cleanie Awards was established to amplify innovation stories in cleantech and shine a spotlight on funders to global market movers shaping the industry. 

Sponsorship Information:

We would like to thank Silverline Communications for sponsoring this episode of the podcast.

Sillverline Communications, an integrated marketing and PR agency focused on clean and emerging tech, is headquartered in DC with satellite offices in Chicago and Salt Lake City. What defines them? They are: Independent. Agile. Absolutely invested in their clients and their teams. They are storytellers and connectors at heart, grounding programs with insights to achieve real business objectives and shape outcomes that influence markets and policy. They use every tool in the communication arsenal to translate complex ideas into breakthrough campaigns that drive stakeholder action. The team that gets it done? Silverline Communications. Strategic, smart professionals with unrivaled expertise in energy, policy and emerging technologies. In short: They know their stuff.

They believe in what they do. They believe in what their clients do. When their clients succeed, the world is a better place. To learn more about Silverline, go to teamsilverline.com. You can reach Silverline at 703-286-5500 or info@teamsilverline.com.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Laura Taylor

LinkedIn: Laura Taylor

Website: Team Silverline Communications

Twitter: @SilverlineComms

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube. 

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

In this episode of Solar Maverick, Nathan Jovanelly of IGS Solar, solar expert and thought leader, discusses his passion for bringing renewable energy to the low-to-moderate income (LMI) residential market, solar projects for non-profit organizations, and whether new legislation to keep the Solar Investment Tax Credit("ITC") at 30 percent will be passed.  Nathan talks in detail about the benefits of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), along with solar battery inverters, and all things solar.

Benoy Thanjan 

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions.  

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Nathan Jovanelly

Nathan Jovanelly is the Director of Business Development with IGS Solar and a thought leader in the solar industry.  As an intrapreneur, Nate assisted with launching IGS Solar for both residential and commercial customers.   IGS Solar started in 2014 has developed, owns, and operates more than 115MW of solar with another 25MW in construction. IGS Solar operates in 19 states, and has a booming residential division with more than 7,000 customers.  In just a few short years IGS has become the 5th Largest Solar Developer based on 2017 data from GreenTech Media. 

Insights from this episode:

• Details on Nathan’s mission within IGS Solar and his focus on low-to-moderate income (LMI) customers.
• Benefits of the cultural change happening in America in regards to how renewable energy is now viewed as a more viable energy option.
• Strategies used by non-profit organizations that allow them to use the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and how the credit may also be applied to energy storage.
• Details on financing solar projects in the low-to-moderate income (LMI) market.
• Benefits of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and the different ways they can be employed by business and residential consumers.
• Benefits of solar batteries and energy storage and the introduction of inverters to the renewable energy storage market.
• Details on what Nathan views as upcoming major trends in the solar industry.

Quotes from the show:

• “I believe that the next generation wants renewable energy, I think they are demanding renewable energy.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58
• “We have this huge thermonuclear reactor in the sky that gives us all the power we could ever need and all we have to do is tap into that and we could start solving energy problems globally.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58
• On the benefits of using Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs): “The appeal of the lease is that you have a flat payment.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58
• “I really think solar plus storage is going to be such a great innovation within the (solar) industry.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #58
• “Solar, to me, is a standard asset and very easy to understand, but once you couple it with storage, it takes it to another level and we are going to see a huge proliferation of solar plus storage in the near future.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #58
• One of Nathan’s favorite quotes (by Winston Churchill): “The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, while an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58 
• “If you really believe in something, to you it’s real. It’s tangible, you can feel it, you know it.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58
• On what it takes for someone to be successful: “Finding what your passion is, the value add, focusing on your strengths and just being tenacious. Taking the road less travelled.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58
• From the podcast Good by Jocko Willink: “Anything bad that happens in your life, there’s always good that comes from it … because you’re going to be put in a situation where you have to adapt.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #58 
• On being mindful in your life: “What we really only can control is the present.  We can’t change what happened in the past, we can’t do anything about the future.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #58
• “Success is the interest of hard work.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58

Podcasts Mentioned: 

SMP 20: The Solar Intrapreneur Story: How Nate helped IGS with Benoy Thanjan and Nathan Jovanelly

Good by Jocko Willink

Resources Mentioned:

The Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Atomic Habits by James Clear

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com 

Nathan Jovanelly

Website: IGS Solar

LinkedIn: Nathan Jovanelly, PE

Twitter: @NateJov

Email:  Nathan.Jovanelly@igs.com 

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

In this episode of Solar Maverick, Benoy shares what he learned from the Solar Power International conference, including solar trends, other speakers he met, and what the conference will be like in 2020.  Benoy talks about other conferences, past and present, he has been involved with and Benoy and Li also touch on how politics affects renewable energy projects, how legislation is affecting the outlook for solar, and how other countries treat renewable energy.  

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions.  

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Li Wang

Li Wang is a life-long journalist and communications professional. He worked as an intern for the Philadelphia Daily News, during the summer of the O.J. trial, and has since had some fascinating jobs, from being a business reporter, to an arts editor, to a film critic. He has since shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services, and now his company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing. 

Insights from this episode:

• Benefits of attending the Solar Power International conference and how it has changed over the years Benoy has been attending.  
• Details on the step-down of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and how that is affecting solar investments.
• Strategies for people who plan to attend the Solar Power International conference to allow them to have a better experience.
• Details on other conferences relating to solar power and renewable energy and the Reneu Energy holiday party.
• Strategies for people interested in investing in the hospitality industry.

Quotes from the show:

• “Don’t let what you can’t control affect you, only focus on what you can control.”  – Li Wang, Episode #57
• “When you go to other countries, their energy policy is on a national basis, but in the US (United States) it’s different.  It’s actually a state-by-state basis.”  – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #57
• “One of the reasons I got excited about solar was that it could make the United States energy independent with renewable energy resources.”  – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #57 
• On the outlook for solar: “Yes there’s challenges, but the industry has always been creative and unique to figure out how to be competitive.”  – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #57
• “The hospitality industry is a very competitive industry.”  – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #57
• Benoy’s advice on business investing: “The first thing is about trusting the partners that you’re either working with or investing with.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #57

Podcasts Mentioned: 

SMP 45:  Productivity Tips and Entrepreneurial Advice from the CEO and Founder of the Number 1 Millennial Platform Called Mogul with Benoy Thanjan and Tiffany Pham

SMP 44: Community Solar 201 With Benoy Thanjan and Suzanne Waters

Resources Mentioned:

The Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

Conferences Mentioned:

Reneu Energy Holiday Party

The Reneu Energy Holiday Party will be on Thursday, Dec. 5th from 6pm to 9pm at Hudson Hall in Jersey City. We will also be celebrating the holidays and the 50th episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast which is one of the most popular podcasts in solar. The cost to attend the event is $10 and food will be served.

Reneu Energy's CEO Benoy is also a co-owner of the event venue, Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse.

Solar Power International Conference

2019 Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar

Mogul X Conference

Opportunity Zone Boot Camp & Pitch Competition - Newark, New Jersey October 17

National Brownfields Conference Coming to Los Angeles, California December 11-13

Sponsor:

We would like to thank our sponsor for this podcast episode Infiniti Energy Services.

Infinity Energy Services is a turn key solar development company with the focus on origination of opportunities between Maine and Virginia. They use their ability to structure financing and EPC projects as a value add with their partners. To learn more about Infiniti go to their web-site www.infinitienergyservices.net or contact Tom Loredo- Director of Project Origination 732-370-2446

We interviewed Michael Kushner who is the President at Infiniti Energy Services on Episode 49 of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Li Wang

MJWangMedia.com 

Instagram: @liwang22

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

In this episode, Benoy and Suzanne celebrate Suzanne’s 10th podcast episode with the Solar Maverick Podcast and talk about the upcoming Reneu Energy Holiday Party. They also update us on the New Jersey Community Solar Pilot Program and recap some previous Solar Maverick podcasts before covering energy consumed by cannabis grow facilities and the inevitable inclusion of renewable energy.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Suzanne Waters 

Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with an unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.

Insights from this episode:

• Details on what it is like to be on a podcast, upcoming Solar Maverick podcasts, and what to expect from Solar Maverick in the future.
• Strategies on applying for the New Jersey Community Solar Pilot Program.
• Benefits of sophisticated grow facilities and how they work.
• Details on specific energy usage of cannabis cultivation.
• Benefits of the integration of two growing industries, solar and cannabis.

Quotes from the show: 

• On the cannabis industry: “It’s a huge growth area in the solar industry, especially as cannabis gets legalized in more and more states throughout the United States.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
• The way that Reneu Energy is different from other developers: “ We believe that solar is not the only solution.  That it is a multi-prong solution.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #55
• On indoor grow facilities: “You know you’re yielding a better product which will give you better revenue.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
• “Most people in the cannabis industry are about, obviously, using less electricity and, obviously, renewable forms of electricity.”   – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #55
• On Benoy touring MMD Shops: “It sounds very intricate, actually. I feel like there’s a lot of details behind-the-scenes that you don’t realize go into actually growing the plants.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
• “I’m still stuck on the amount of power that goes into running these facilities.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
• “It will just be interesting to see how these industries, solar and cannabis, … it will be interesting to see how they grow and progress, complimenting one another.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
• On the outlook of solar and cannabis industries: “Both industries are growing exponentially and both will be growing for a very long time.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #55

Podcasts Mentioned: 

SMP 42: Live Event - How Solar Technology is Changing the World

SMP 45: Productivity Tips and Entrepreneurial Advice from the CEO and Founder of the Number 1 Millennial Platform Called Mogul with Benoy Thanjan and Tiffany Pham

Resources Mentioned:

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC)

Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance (SIAA)

Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Industries Association (MSSIA)

Can solar help the legal marijuana growing industry?  by Kelly Pickerel - Solar Power World Online

Greentours.com

Can solar help the legal marijuana growing industry? by Benoy Thanjan - Solar World Online

Achieving Affordable, Clean Energy Goals Through Off-Site Corporate PPAs - Renewable Energy World by Benoy Thanjan - Renewable Energy World

'A model of sustainable commerce': carbon footprint, grid concerns push SoCal weed industry to be more green by Melissa Daniels - Desert Sun

Conferences Mentioned:

Reneu Energy Holiday Party

The Reneu Energy Holiday Party will be on Thursday, Dec. 5th from 6 pm to 9 pm at Hudson Hall in Jersey City. We will also be celebrating the holidays and the 50th episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast which is one of the most popular podcasts in solar. The cost to attend the event is $10 and food will be served.

Reneu Energy's CEO Benoy is also a co-owner of the event venue, Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn:Benoy Thanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Suzanne Waters

Email: suzanne@reneuenergy.com 

LinkedIn: Suzanne Waters

Website: www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Sponsor:

We would like to thank our sponsor for this podcast episode Infiniti Energy Services.

Infinity Energy Services is a turn key solar development company with the focus on origination of opportunities between Maine and Virginia. They use their ability to structure financing and EPC projects as a value add with their partners. To learn more about Infiniti go to their web-site www.infinitienergyservices.net or contact Tom Loredo- Director of Project Origination 732-370-2446

We interviewed Michael Kushner who is the President at Infiniti Energy Services on Episode 49 of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

In this episode Benoy is speaking with Mishka and Steve Ashbel, brothers and owners of MMD Shops of California, on the intricacies of entrepreneurship in the cannabis industry, the important role passion plays in growing your business, and the future of the cannabis industry across the country.  They discuss the power consumption of cannabis cultivation, how that growing industry will create an opportunity in renewable energy, and the inevitable integration of solar and cannabis industries.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Mishka and Steve Ashbel

MMD owners and brothers, Steve and Mishka Ashbel, opened their first medical marijuana dispensary in North Hollywood, California in 2006, and have been at the forefront for advocating for safe and legal access to cannabis for over a decade.  

They currently have four shops in California and are a leading resource for cannabis entrepreneurship across the country.  They are currently pursuing the idea of taking MMD Shops public.

Insights from this episode:

• The origins of MMD Shops and entrepreneurship in the cannabis industry, including licensing and legal challenges.
• A brief history of legal cannabis and the issues early cannabis entrepreneurs faced paving the way for a new and growing industry.
• How the continued normalization of cannabis will affect the landscape of retail competition.
• The energy consumption involved in cannabis cultivation and the role of solar power and renewable energy will play in replacing traditional power sources.
• How the thriving cannabis industry will create an increased demand for solar power and lead to an integration of profitable, growing industries.  

Quotes from the show:

• On solar power in the cannabis industry: “...they are inevitably bound to make a marriage together, that’s going to happen.” – Mishka Ashbel, SMP #54
• “It is becoming such a big and real industry that it’s not just for people who love consuming cannabis, it is developing as an industry” – Steve Ashbel, SMP #54
• On discussing partnerships in new cannabis markets: “If it happens to be that somebody, in wherever they’re listening, and cannabis is new and emerging and they are looking for a strategic partner that has license operational experience, we are very much open to those discussions.” – Mishka Ashbel, SMP #54
• “The right to choose your health and wellness and what you put into your body is incredibly important and we’re incredibly passionate about that.” – Mishka Ashbel, SMP #54
• On using cannabis to alleviate illness symptoms: “We never say it’s a cure.  We say it’s about the quality of life.” – Mishka Ashbel, SMP #54
• “We very much encourage that everybody get into the licensed cannabis space.  Don’t go into the illegal trade. Those days are over. We need to move on and turn this into an industry.  It needs to be taxed, it needs to be regulated.” – Mishka Ashbel, SMP #54
• On the normalization of cannabis: “We are not competing with other cannabis retailers, we are competing with Starbucks.” – Steve Ashbel, SMP #54
• “I think a lot of people are scared of failure, but failure is the best teacher in life.  That’s where you learn to adapt.” – Benoy Thanjan, SMP #54
• “Cannabis producers use way too much energy; it’s not efficient, it’s not efficient at all.” – Mishika Ashbel, SMP #54

Podcasts Mentioned: 

Tiffany Pham

SMP 45:  Productivity Tips and Entrepreneurial Advice from the CEO and Founder of the Number 1 Millennial Platform Called Mogul with Benoy Thanjan and Tiffany Pham

Event Announced:

Resources Mentioned:

Interim Control Ordinances (ICOs)

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Mishka and Steve Ashbel

Website: MMD Shops 

Instagram: MMD Long Beach

LinkedIn: Mishka Ashbel

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary.

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Josh Goldberg who is Co-Founder and CEO of Sunstone Credit.  Sunstone Credit provides flexible financing solutions for businesses of all sizes, offering solar loans with borrower-friendly terms and an efficient application process.  Josh speaks about many interesting topics like how higher interest rates has impacted lending,  how Sunstone is more innovative on C&I solar financing compared to banks, and which states are the best for C&I solar financing.  .

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies.  He has extensive project origination, development, and financial experience in the renewable energy industry and in the environmental commodities market.  

This includes initial site evaluation, permitting, financing, sourcing equipment, and negotiating the long-term energy and environmental commodities off-take agreements. He manages due diligence processes on land, permitting, and utility interconnection and is in charge of financing and structuring through Note to Proceed (“NTP”) to Commercial Operation Date (“COD”). Benoy composes teams suitable for all project development and construction tasks. He is also involved in project planning and pipeline financial modeling. He has been part of all sides of the transaction and this allows him to provide unique perspectives and value. Benoy has extensive experience in financial engineering to make solar projects profitable.

Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016.  He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. 

Benoy was the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners which is a national solar installer where he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects.  He also worked for Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund, where he analyzed potential investments in renewable energy projects and worked on maximizing the financial return of the projects in the portfolio.  Benoy also worked on the sale of all of the renewable energy projects in Ridgewood’s portfolio.  

He was in the Energy Structured Finance practice for Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young.  Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. He has a MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University.  Benoy was an Alumni Scholar at the Stern School of Business.  

Josh Goldberg

Josh has spent the past 15+ years founding and operating businesses in the solar installation, development and financing space including Astrum Solar and Sunlight Financial. He also co-founded Legends of Learning. Having been a solar installer and business owner himself, Josh is passionate about supporting both Sunstone’s solar developer partners, and the commercial customers they serve, through Sunstone’s mission. Josh started his career as an M&A lawyer.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com 

LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Josh Goldberg

Email:  Josh.Goldberg@sunstonecredit.com

Website:  https://www.sunstonecredit.com

Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuamgoldberg/

We would like to thank our sponsor Schwerd Consulting for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

Schwerd Consulting is a leading solar consulting firm dedicated to design, engineering, owner representation and technical consulting in all areas of solar photovoltaics and energy storage for the Commercial & Industrial and Utility markets.  At Schwerd Consulting we like to say that We Know Solar. We don’t just Do Solar. What sets us apart is our 100% focus on solar, while having an extensive background in building and utility engineering, and understanding the business of our clients. We are involved with the trends, technologies, vendors, policies, utilities, codes, and financial considerations for the industry. Therefore, value add for us is not just a slogan, it’s what we practice in order to have loyal customers and gain trust.

In its 9 years of business, Schwerd Consulting has provided services for approximately 1 GW of PV across over 800 sites and 17 US states plus the Caribbean.  Let Schwerd Consulting take the burden off you and bring ease and expertise in all areas of Engineering & Design or help you navigate the technical world of solar.  If you are interested in learning more about Schwerd Consulting, you can call 215-219-6718 or email to admin@schwerdconsulting.  Schwerd Consulting’s website is www.schwerdconsulting.com.

Episode Summary

For the first time on the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy is discussing permitting in the solar industry with Allison Rohrs while at the Solar Power International Conference ("SPI").  They delve into the details of the process of permitting, why permitting is necessary, and possible problems that might interfere with permitting.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Allison Rohrs

Allison Rohrs has joined SWCA’s Pittsburgh office as Senior Renewable Energy Project Manager, contributing to the continuing development of SWCA’s work in renewable energy throughout the central and eastern U.S. Allison joins SWCA from the Saint Francis University Institute for Energy, where she was the Executive Director for nearly seven years, overseeing a wide range of energy related initiatives in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Her unique and diverse work experience spans operations and maintenance of electric (wind) generators, renewable energy site development, energy policy research, and community outreach. 

Allison has well established relationships with renewable energy developers, investors, manufacturers, policy makers, and other key stakeholders. She studied Environmental Science at the University of Colorado and received her master’s degree in Energy and Mineral Engineering from Penn State. Allison is also a Certified Energy Manager by the Association of Energy Engineers.  

Insights from this episode:

• What permitting is and why it is important for the solar industry.
• The possible effects of energy projects on cultural and natural resources through Critical Impact Assessment ("CIA").
• The specifics of types of permitting required and how they can be impacted by different factors.
• The benefits of applying for applications early and having a plan of action for your project.
• How solar projects can be affected because of regulations varying from state to state.

Quotes from the show:

• Talking about the tiny house tour in Pennsylvania: “We could show that, even on cloudy days or days it was raining, that we are still making electricity here.  And that is really powerful when you’ve been talking to a community that has only seen coal for the last hundred years. “ – Allison Rohrs, Episode #53

• “Anyone in the solar/renewable energy space is an entrepreneur in their own way.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #53

• “As an industry I think that we should be, and we are, in the business of doing good things for the environment and … I think regulation kind of ensures that is what is happening.”  – Allison Rohrs, Episode #53

• On the permitting process: “Start these processes early because they take a lot of time and a lot of energy and very often they can stop a project.” – Allison Rohrs, Episode #53
• “Be prepared that you might run into issues.” – Allison Rohrs, Episode #53
• On attending the Solar Power Initiative ("SPI") conference: “I was blown away with how many people are exhibiting and how packed the convention center is.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #53

• Talking about the book Ego is the Enemy: “We are all biased toward our perspective.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #53

• “We think Pennsylvania is one of the next big markets for solar.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #53

Events Mentioned:

Reneu Energy Holiday Party

Podcasts Mentioned: 

Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu

Lewis Howes Podcasts

Books Mentioned: 

High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard

Ego is the Enemy and Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday

Resources Mentioned:

SWCA “Sound Science, Creative Solutions”

Solar Power International Conference

Sept. 23 - Sept. 26, 2019 Salt Lake City, Utah

All Solar Power Events are produced by SEIA and SEPA, including the development of cutting-edge educational programs offered at each show. What sets Solar Power Events apart from other conferences is the support of these two organizations. All proceeds from the events go straight back into the industry.

National Geographic

State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO)

US Army Corps of Engineers

Influencer 2019

Oct. 10 - Oct. 12, 2019 San Diego, California

INFLUENCER Magazine presents the first-ever conference exclusively for up-and-coming influencers, by experienced influencers, on how to grow your personal brand, monetize your content, reach more people, and dramatically scale your business.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Allison Rohrs

Email: allison.rohrs@swca.com

Website: SWCA

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

In this episode, Benoy and Li discuss Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), their effect on solar industry financing, and what benefits long-term solar investments can provide to businesses and homeowners in the growing solar industry.  In addition, Benoy talks about upcoming conferences and events he will be attending.  

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Li Wang

Li Wang is a life-long journalist and communications professional. He worked as an intern for the Philadelphia Daily News, during the summer of the O.J. trial, and has since had some fascinating jobs, from being a business reporter, to an arts editor, to a film critic. He has since shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services, and now his company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing. 

Insights from this episode:

• Details on upcoming conferences that Benoy will be attending.
• Books and podcasts that have influenced Benoy and Li and the Solar Maverick Podcast.
• The crucial role customer service plays in business and how you represent your brand.
• The details on Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and how they are affecting financing and the development of the solar pipeline.

Quotes from the show:

• “We are firm believers that if you own a brand you have the right to express how you want to carry that culture.” – Li Wang, Episode #52
• “Personal branding is so huge.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #52
• On news that US Utility Solar Pipeline has hit a new high: “It shows you that people are confident about what is happening in the solar industry.  Not all these projects in this pipeline are going to get developed, but it shows you that people are confident about what is happening in the solar industry.”  – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #52
• “But, really, just get involved in the industry. We think all parts of the industry are going to grow.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #52
• “The real value that we are seeing from a career perspective is a project developer.“ – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #52
• “Any investment involves risk, but combined with the federal incentives and the terms I’m looking at it seems like accessibility to financing is pretty good for those who do want to get involved in solar.” – Li Wang, Episode #52
• “In the past, there were a lot of good projects and not enough financing.  Now there is so much financing and not a lot of good projects.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #52

Quoted by Benoy: “Ultimately, there's one investment that supersedes all others: Invest in yourself.  Nobody can take away what you've got in yourself, and everybody has potential they haven't used yet.” - Warren Buffett 

Podcasts Mentioned: 

SMP 45:  Productivity Tips and Entrepreneurial Advice from the CEO and Founder of the Number 1 Millennial Platform Called Mogul with Benoy Thanjan and Tiffany Pham

SMP 42: Live Event - How Solar Technology is Changing the World

SMP 43:  2019 Energy Storage Trends with Benoy Thanjan and Li Wang

SMP 47: Solar Financing 101 with Benoy Thanjan and Li Wang

Lewis Howes Podcasts

Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu

Books Mentioned:

High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard

Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Resources Mentioned:

Mogul App

Rush Order Tees

The Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

PV Magazine; Off-site, In Mind 

SEIA Model Leases and PPAs

Conferences Mentioned:

Mogul X Conference

Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 New York, New York

Benoy was the Dean of the Hustle Track at the Mogul X innovative conference; made up of transformative classrooms, immersive experiences, and networking opportunities – all of which dive into the key aspects of a Mogul’s life including Failures, Work, Relationships, Health & Wellness, Travel, Finance, and Entrepreneurship. Each class is taught by the best of the best: world-class CEO’s, top executives, celebrities, and professors – taking their lifetime of learnings and expertise and turning it into actionable lessons for you.

Solar Power International Conference

Sept. 23 - Sept. 26, 2019 Salt Lake City, Utah

2019 Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar

Oct. 2 - Oct. 4, 2019 Dallas, Texas

Benoy spoke at the Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar on Friday, October 4 in a panel on “Impact of renewable energy on the future of real estate” with Lisa Brown from Johnson Controls and Susan Nickey from Hannon Armstrong.

Influencer 2019

Oct. 10 - Oct. 12, 2019 San Diego, California

INFLUENCER Magazine presents the first-ever conference exclusively for up-and-coming influencers, by experienced influencers, on how to grow your personal brand, monetize your content, reach more people, and dramatically scale your business.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Li Wang

MJWangMedia.com 

Instagram: @liwang22

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

In this episode, Benoy and Suzanne provide a general overview of the Community Solar program in various states and have a high-level discussion about the Community Solar initiative in New Jersey, including a deep-dive into tax credits and how they affect the development of solar projects.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Suzanne Waters 

Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with an unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.

Insight from this episode:

• The basics of the Community Solar initiative, including how it is defined by SEIA.
• The differences in the New Jersey pilot program versus other Community Solar programs.
• How Community Solar programs are growing and what challenges are facing those programs.
• How the SREC and ITC may affect the future of these programs and customers. 
• Specifics on the New Jersey incentives and their effect on other markets. 

Quotes from the show:

• “Community Solar is one of the next big things in solar.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #51 
• “Seems like financiers of community solar projects are getting comfortable with having a substantial number of the customers as residential and there is no long-term contracting.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #51 
• “Politicians love community solar because it provides access to people who would not normally have solar.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #51
• Referring to the SREC: “What’s been challenging, actually, for developers who have been trying to develop projects in New Jersey for Community Solar is that they’re not sure they’ll get approved for the project and for the projects built, if they’ll qualify for that 5.1%.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #51
• “The word mediocre stings a little bit when you hear it.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #51  
• “If you really want to do big things, you have to be uncomfortable.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #51   
• “Carpe Solum.  For those of you that don’t know, it means: seize the sun” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #51 

Benoy’s quote of the day: “If you don’t dream big, you’ll only ever be mediocre.”

Podcasts Mentioned:

SMP 23: Community Solar 101 with Benoy Thanjan and Suzanne Waters

SMP 44: Community Solar 201 with Benoy Thanjan and Suzanne Waters

SMP 19: Customer Acquisition and Billing in Community Solar with Benoy Thanjan and Eric Dahnke

Resources mentioned: 

Solar Renewable Energy Credit

Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) - Community Solar

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Suzanne Waters

Email: suzanne@reneuenergy.com 

LinkedIn: Suzanne Waters

Website: www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary

In this milestone 50th episode of the Solar Maverick Benoy and Li discuss getting started in podcasts, read and reply to listener feedback, and recap some previous episodes. Benoy shares his thoughts on climate change and its effect on the solar industry, what part solar recycling might play in the future, and the shape of solar panels in regards to efficiency.  Most importantly, this episode is a HUGE THANK YOU to our listeners.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Li Wang

Li Wang is a life-long journalist and communications professional. He worked as an intern for the Philadelphia Daily News, during the summer of the O.J. trial, and has since had some fascinating jobs, from being a business reporter, to an arts editor, to a film critic. He has since shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services, and now his company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing. 

Insights from this episode:

• Why the first podcast is the hardest and how you can get to 50 episodes.
• What kind of an investment you need to make in podcast technology.
• How climate change is affecting the solar industry and panel recycling.
• The effects of technology on the shape of solar panels and increases in efficiency.
• The impact of these podcasts and the future of Solar Maverick.

Quotes from the show:

• “I always prefer doing the interviews in person because I feel like the dynamics are a lot better, but, you know, there are some people that we would like to interview, but we can’t in person.“ – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #50

• “It’s just amazing every month the number of downloads are getting bigger and bigger and larger and larger  “ – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #50

• “It is just amazing to me how many people listen to the podcast. “ – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #50 

• “Solar energy is a way of combating climate change.  Obviously, we are seeing a proliferation of solar coming online and in record amounts.“ – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #50

• “The future is pretty bright and it’s amazing.“ – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #50

• “I think in the future there has to be some kind of hat that I can wear that’s going to turn that absorption into energy.” – Li Wang, Episode #50

• “Benoy is humble, but he is widely connected.” – Li Wang, Episode #50

• On the book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie:

“If you can distill down your decision-making process, mostly based on the facts and not your own self-induced stress, then your efficiency in turning around and going forward in decisions is going to be a lot faster.” – Li Wang, Episode #50

• To our listeners “Thank you, we couldn’t have done it without you.” – Benoy Thanjan & Li Wang, Episode #50

Podcasts Mentioned: 

The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes 

Entrepreneurs on Fire with John Lee Dumas

Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn

SMP 42: Live Event - How Solar Technology is Changing the World with Benoy Thanjan and panel of guests

SMP 13: How to develop a great solar project and many other interesting topics about solar and entrepreneurship with Jim Spano from Spano Partners with Benoy Thanjan and Jim Spano

SMP 41:  Solar Entrepreneur Perspective on Development of Solar and Storage Projects with Benoy Thanjan and Ben Levy

Books Mentioned: 

Millionaire Fastlane by MJ Demarco

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

Resources Mentioned:

SmartFlower

Podcast Laundry

Podcast Movement

ZoomRooms Video Conferencing

SolSuntech, Inc.

Solar Backpacks

Solar Hats

SoSol Hats

BlinkList

Audible

www.podknife.com

Benoy will be speaking at the Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar on Friday, October 4 in a panel on “Impact of renewable energy on the future of real estate” with Lisa Brown from Johnson Controls and Susan Nickey from Hannon Armstrong.

2019 Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar

October 2-4, 2019 | Dallas, TX

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Li Wang

MJWangMedia.com 

Instagram: @liwang22

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

Episode Summary 

In this episode, Michael and Benoy discuss how consultative approach to solar development and financing add the most value to the customer to make the best decision.   In addition, they discuss the importance of transparency and close relationships in success in business.   

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Michael Kushner

Michael is responsible for Operations at Infiniti Energy Services.  He leads the project management staff to ensure all initiatives are completed on time and on budget, while focusing on the safety of all construction team members and quality of all installations.  He is involved in project strategy formulation during project development, as well as strategy implementation through completion.

Michael has more than 10 years of experience in managing operations in the residential, commercial and renewable energy sectors.  Before joining Infiniti Energy Services, Michael held an east coast regional operations manager position with SunEdison, where he successfully managed the development, execution and installation of more than 50MW in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland and Georgia.  He also held the position of Director of Construction at Pro-Tech Energy Solutions, LLC for two and a half years. During this time, he oversaw a project management and construction staff of twenty, while they successfully installed and interconnected over 120MWs of commercial and utility projects throughout the East Coast.  

Insights from this episode:

• What separates Infiniti Energy Services from competitors and what markets they are focused on.
• How PPAs and the difficulties of financing can affect potential projects.
• How a background in real estate development can make it easier to develop solar projects and mitigate perceived risk. 
• How educating customers adds value to projects and being transparent creates stronger relationships and better business. 
• The benefits of the pilot program in New Jersey and how similar programs going forward will affect the industry.
• What entrepreneurship in solar means and ways to succeed in business ownership by developing a loyal staff.
• Different methods used to successfully balance life and business, such as meditation and turning off notifications.

Quotes from the show:

• • “Sometimes when you are so close to it you don’t necessarily take a moment to step back to see the strides you’ve already made because you’re focused on the strides you want to make.” – Michael Kushner, Episode #49
  • “You’re basically customizing solutions that add the most value to the customer. Whereas other parties might try to push a solution that might not necessarily be a good fit.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #49
  • “We like to be able to bring creative solutions to folks who want to move forward with potential projects. ” – Michael Kushner, Episode #49
  • In regards to financing solar “It shouldn’t be as complicated, I think, as some other finance companies make it. ” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #49
  • “When you conduct business transparently and openly, there is so much time that you can save. ” – Michael Kushner, Episode #49
  • “Beyond business, it’s just human interaction. ” – Michael Kushner, Episode #49
  • On creating a business team “It isn’t only about are they right for my company, but is my company right for them. ” – Michael Kushner, Episode #49
  • Regarding approach to success in entrepreneurship “You always have to think strategically.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #49

• “Everyone’s path is different, right?  We’re all the same, but different ” – Michael Kushner, Episode #49

Resources Mentioned:

New Jersey Clean Energy Program

Headspace - meditation and sleep app

Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency®

Benoy spoke about Steve Raeder who is CEO of Summit Ridge Partners and he is also SunEdison alumni like Micheal who was interviewed in Episode 26 of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Michael Kushner 

Email: infinitiES@optimum.net 

Facebook: Infiniti Energy Services

Website: Infiniti Energy Services

Twitter: @InfinitiEnergy

LinkedIn: Infiniti Energy Services

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

 Episode Summary

In this episode of Solar Maverick we recap  the How Solar Technology is Changing the World live event with Steve Schwerd while covering Steve’s top three    things to look for in a business partner. In addition, Steve and Benoy cover the misrepresentation of solar efficiency in comparison to other resources and the benefits of recycling and reusing solar panels.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Steve Schwerd

With over 25 years in Consulting Engineering, Mr. Schwerd has proven accomplishments in engineering design; project, client, staff and financial management; business development; engineering operations; and firm leadership. Experience ranges from creating small MEP (Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing) departments to a Principal/Shareholder role as the engineering leader for a large multi-office, international full service Architectural & Engineering firm.

With energy and sustainable design a key focus for years, Steve then became involved in renewable energy and design in 2008 as Solar PV became an increasingly viable option.  He developed and led a full-service engineering team that emerged as a nationally recognized engineering leader for solar, having completed over 350 projects and 300MW across 25 states prior to his departure.  Upon establishing Schwerd Consulting, Steve can now follow his passion for renewable energy and be fully committed to and active in the Solar industry. 

Insights from this episode:

• What three things you want in a business partner.
• Why proven results are a must.
• The benefits to business of interacting socially and professionally.
• How to build strong relationships with customers. 
• How recycling solar panels can further the strong idea of renewable energy.
• What trends may be affecting the solar industry.
• How the efficiency of solar transfer is perceived.

Steve Schwerd’s three things you want in a business partner:

1: They have to have proven results in their field.  

2: They have to be able to develop business.  

3: They have to be someone you want to have a beer with.  

Quotes from the show:

• “Clients and customers they don’t pay for your skills, they don’t pay for your knowledge, they pay for the application of that result. ” – Steve Schwerd, Episode #48
• “You need to be able to enjoy their company socially because it can be challenging enough professionally.” – Steve Schwerd, Episode #48 
• “These are huge points that anyone can use in any type of partnership.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #48
• “I think that people are looking for people that are authentic, that are themselves. I think people appreciate it.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #48
• “Quality and value is first and foremost, but we want everybody involved in the process to be comfortable.  You have to have a likeability factor because at the end of the day people are putting their trust in you. ” – Steve Schwerd, Episode #48 

• “Don’t let the business overwhelm you.” – Steve Schwerd, Episode #48 

• “The sun is there everyday.  We are going to be wasting it if we’re not taking that and converting it to electricity. ” – Steve Schwerd, Episode #48

• “Is there ever business as usual?” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #48

Resources Mentioned:

Schwerd Consulting LLC

SEIA - Solar Industries Energy Association

Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency®

www.podknife.com

2019 Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar

October 2-4, 2019 | Dallas, TX

Benoy will be speaking at the Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar on Friday, October 4 in a panel on “Impact of renewable energy on the future of real estate” with Lisa Brown from Johnson Controls and Susan Nickey from Hannon Armstrong.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Steve Schwerd

Email: admin@schwerdconsulting.com

Facebook: Schwerd Consulting

Website: Schwerd Consulting LLC

Twitter: @schwerdsolar

LinkedIn: Schwerd Consulting

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com) 

SMP 47: Financing Solar 101

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Solar Maverick we dive into Benoy’s finance origin story going back as far as his 7th grade stock/finance class. In addition we also learn about Benoy’s parents influence on his entrepreneurial path, secrets to financing solar projects and upcoming tax incentives for solar investing.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Li Wang

Li Wang is a life-long journalist and communications professional. He worked as an intern for the Philadelphia Daily News, during the summer of the O.J. trial, and has since had some fascinating jobs, from being a business reporter, to an arts editor, to a film critic. He has since shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services, and now his company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing. 

Insights from this episode:

• The benefits and importance of early financial education
• How internships shape your future
• The importance of mentors and relationships 
• How and why video helps to establish trust
• Secrets to financing Solar Projects
• The blueprint to solar financing 101
• Insight to solar tax incentives and upcoming changes 

Quotes from the show:

“The ITC has created hundreds of thousands of jobs, sparked more than 150 billion in private investment and helped grow solar deployment by more than 10,000 percen”t – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #47

“The reason I push people to do video is it helps establishes trust.” – Li Wang, Episode 

#47

“Fortunately or Unfortunately more people prefer to watch videos than to read” – Li Wang, Episode 

#47

“I have 10 years of experience in the solar industry, I don't consider myself just a financing person because I’ve been on all sides of the transactions and on all of the development aspects of it and even on the construction side” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #47 

“It’s interesting because 10 years of experience in the solar industry, you’re considered a veteran because it’s such a new industry.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #47

Resources Mentioned:

Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency®

Solar met 2.7% of U.S. electric demand during the first half of 2019

How a battery can be eligible for the ITC today and possibly in the future

Model Leases and PPA

www.podknife.com

Benoy will be speaking at the Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar on Friday, October 4 in a panel on “Impact of renewable energy on the future of real estate” with Lisa Brown from Johnson Controls and Susan Nickey from Hannon Armstrong.

2019 Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar

October 2-4, 2019 | Dallas, TX

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Li Wang

MJWangMedia.com 

Instagram: @liwang22

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean and youtube.

Episode Summary

In this episode, Benoy interviews Dan French, the Founder and CEO of Brownfield Listings. Dan discusses opportunity zones and brownfields, explaining how these topics intersect with solar advancement. Dan also discusses his experiences in creating Brownfield Listings and shares his entrepreneurial advice.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Dan French

Dan French is the Founder and CEO of Brownfield Listings. Dan is a trained attorney and transaction expert with domestic and international experience. His U.S. practice has focused on real estate transactions, environmental risk transfer and redevelopment. Long a student of the deal his watchword is ‘due diligence’, which helps explain why Dan has been trusted to lead transaction support initiatives for some of the largest companies in the world. His transactional experience encompasses thousands of properties of all conditions across two dozen states, with more than a billion dollars of property and environmental liability successfully transacted.

He has received an LL.M. in Business Law from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, a J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law, and a B.A. in history from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dan is leading a redevelopment renaissance within the larger real estate revolution—a technological, civic, social and market-based movement lifting the form and function of humanity’s built-environment to new heights, taking the health and wealth of our communities with it. He believes proactive due diligence is the difference in successful real estate transactions and in life.

Insights from this episode:

• Strategies on understanding opportunity zones
• Strategies to understanding brownfields
• Secrets to solar market mixers
• How to make a market when it does not already exist
• Strategies on how brownfields can help the solar industry

Quotes from the show:

“Brownfield listing is a property market place and project marketplace for real estate with reuse challenges. Dan [French] is a trained attorney and transaction expert with domestic and international expertise. His U.S. practice is focused on real estate transactions, environmental risk transactions, and redevelopment.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #46

“Solar is one of our biggest segments. We have a tag, or species, in our taxonomy… called brightfield, so you can tag your site as a brightfield, which [tells] the market that you’re interested in pursuing solar development… You can be a greenfield… We have greyfields. It’s a rainbow of opportunities on the property side and professional side.” – Dan French, Episode #46

“We built a great educational program with speakers, public and private sector folks, along the two tracks tilted towards our different segments of the audience. So we had the solar, developer, and vendor track, and then the land owner and community track… and our idea is to coach them up and then throw them in the solar market mixers.” – Dan French, Episode #46

“I think the market mixers are a great idea. I mean as a speaker of the event, meeting with the different land owners, you are really able to build a relationship with them. And you know it’s a lot easier to follow up with them once they’ve met you, and they’re a lot more responsive than say… if it was a cold sort of call or… they received some sort of letter.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #46

“A brownfield is a real estate parcel that may or may not be contaminated, so it’s land that has been previously developed. We’re not quite sure what was there before, sometimes you know for sure, but sometimes you don’t. It may have been a factory a hundred years ago.” – Dan French, Episode #46

“If you’re selling commercial real estate or industrial property, you need to undertake an environmental investigation before you buy it, or you may step into the chain of liability. So if you buy a brownfield, and do not do your environmental homework, then you may be partly liable, even if you didn’t actually do the pollution yourself.” – Dan French, Episode #46

“There needed to be a place that you could be in your pajamas at midnight. Like it was really hard! How do we get our environmental liabilities out there in a way that the market can understand? Get in front of a lot of people at once? There was no market, there was no simple place to list in five minutes. That’s what the kernel of Brownfield Listings was, and from that we grew into this ecosystem.” – Dan French, Episode #46

“We’re doing that again [the Opportunity Zone Boot Camp and Pitch Competition] actually, in Newark, New Jersey at NJIT on October 17th. We run on the same format. There is going to be a great educational program in the morning through midafternoon, and then a pitch competition in the early evening, and that reception in the evening we’ll announce the winners.” – Dan French, Episode #46

Resources Mentioned:

Learn more about the Opportunity Zone Boot Camp & Pitch Competition Coming to Newark, New Jersey October 17

Learn more about the National Brownfields Conference Coming to Los Angeles, California December 11-13

Benoy was on webinar with Dan French called Powering up Brightields 

Benoy speaks about the Virginia Solar Market and Dan speaks about the opportunity to redevelop brightfields with solar.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Dan French

Email: info@brownfieldlistings.com

Call: 312-988-0256

Website: https://brownfieldlistings.com/

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes and Podbean

Episode Summary

In this episode, Benoy interviews Tiffany Pham, the Founder and CEO of Mogul. Tiffany describes how she runs her business successfully from the inside out, and how she’s able to handle the stress that comes with it. She discusses her key company values and her main strategies for maximum productivity and efficiency.  

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Tiffany Pham

Tiffany Pham is the Founder and CEO of Mogul, a global platform and mobile app that provides tools to individuals and organizations, to achieve optimal productivity and growth. Disrupting the $30 billion productivity tech market, Mogul provides an ecosystem, including their Mogul app & platform, that enables top diverse talent to reach their goals and realize their full potential. Mogul then partners with top workplaces worldwide to attract and advance their top diverse talent — from rising talent to the most senior women worldwide — through their technology products. With the revenue they earn, Mogul provides free educational resources to women in need through international partners such as the United Nations.

Tiffany Pham is the author of several books including You Are a Mogul: How to Do the Impossible, Do It Yourself, and Do It Now, and Girl Mogul: Dream it. Do it. Change the World. In Girl Mogul, she speaks directly to teens and young adults, sharing insights from her own life as well from the lives of the most incredible and inspiring women on Mogul. Tiffany Pham has proven that with the right attitude, the right people, and the right vision, there’s nothing girls can’t do.

Insights from this episode:

•     Strategies to being productive and efficient
•     How to stay in the present
•     How to manage your time
•     Strategies to finding future talent and consumers
•     How to have a healthy company environment
•     How to use Dale Carnegie’s advice

Quotes from the show:

“If you’re not familiar with Mogul, Mogul is a global platform reaching millions of women across 196 countries and 30,470 cities, disrupting the $30 billion productivity technology market. Mogul is enabling users world-wide to achieve their goals and realize their full potential.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #45

“I did get inspired to attend Yale and Harvard Business School from watching movies. As an immigrant, here in the U.S. I couldn’t help but be influenced by movies, because that’s how I ended up learning English when I was younger. I watched movies and watched t.v. shows, listened to the radio, and soon I would have been listening to podcasts, had I been at this time growing up.” – Tiffany Pham, Episode #45

“As a B to B software company, we partner with other companies to create incredible technology that they can subsequently license in order to attract, and retain, and advance the talent from within our ecosystem into their workplaces as well. And as a result, increase their diverse workforce by 74.4% per year on average, and ultimately create a more equal work force.” – Tiffany Pham, Episode #45

“Despite all the big impact that Mogul is having now, it all started initially with one person. My grandmother. She was this big inspiration for me. Such a role model, such an amazing maverick of her time. She ran newspapers across Asia. She ran other businesses that always ultimately provided others in need with information and opportunities.” – Tiffany Pham, Episode #45

“On October 15th, there will be a refresh across the ecosystem, across our app, across our web and mobile app platform, to unify it all; so as, to be cohesive across every part of our ecosystem, so that you can access all your to-do’s, all your goals, no matter which channel you’re on, across our web, mobile web, or the app.” – Tiffany Pham, Episode #45

“[The] final key thing is staying present in the moment, and over-delivering on that moment. In any moment that I’m in, I’m concerned on over-delivering on that moment alone. I do not think back about that past moment. I do not think about what’s going to happen next.” – Tiffany Pham, Episode #45

“The biggest book that had an impact on me was How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. And my dad actually gave it to me, when I was seventeen years old, because I [was] actually running division one track on a track scholarship, and then I got a serious knee injury. Where basically, I didn’t have that opportunity anymore. But that book really helped me as far as setting myself up for success.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #45

“Talent today is different than talent has ever been before in previous generations. Talent today, Millennials, Gen Z, look at a company to really understand: what is its social impact? What are they doing in terms of diversity and inclusion? What are they doing in terms of work-life integration and learning development? They care so much about these four and more aspects that that’s ultimately how a company can find its future talent and its future consumers.” – Tiffany Pham, Episode #45

Resources Mentioned:

You can:

Download the Mogul App

Read You Are Mogul and Girl Mogul by Tiffany Pham

Buy a ticket to the Mogul X Conference

Read How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Tiffany Pham

Instagram: @tifftpham @onmogul

Twitter: @tifftpham @onmogul

LinkedIn: @onmogul

Facebook: @tiffanypham @onmogul

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes and Podbean

SMP 44: Community Solar 201

Episode Summary

In this episode, Benoy and Suzanne talk about community solar and how it’s one of the fastest-growing areas of solar. They discuss the benefits and trends of community solar, and they go into the four different business models through which community solar projects get done. They also discuss legislation to keep the Investment Tax Credit at 30%.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Suzanne Waters

Suzanne Waters is the Vice President of Business Development at Reneu Energy. She is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution. Additionally, she collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects.

Insight from this episode:

• Strategies to understanding community solar trends
• Secrets to community solar business models
• How to make community solar accessible to LMI customers
• Strategies on federal incentives for solar
• Strategies to keeping the Investment Tax Credit at 30 percent

Quotes from the show:

“Obviously the question you’re all asking, if you’re listening to this episode is ‘what is community solar?’... According to SEIA community solar is a situation where a center solar array is built either by utility, municipality, or some other third party owner.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #44

“Today many American households and businesses don’t have access to solar because they rent, live in multi-tenant buildings, have roofs that are unable to host a solar system, or experience some other type of mitigating factor.” – Suzanne Waters, quoting from SEIA Episode #44

“Community solar expands access to solar for all, including, in particular, low to moderate-income customers most impacted by a lack of access, all while building a stronger distributed and more resilient electric grid.” – Suzanne Waters, quoting from SEIA Episode #44

“So what we’re finding is that financing communities are slowly getting more comfortable in having customers that are 100% residential. Where there’s no long-term contract. Where there’s no penalty if the customer opts out.” - Benoy Thanjan Episode #44

“So right now, what the investment tax credit is, it’s a credit on your taxes for 30% of the cost of the [solar] system. There’s actually a step down over the next couple of years, so till the end of 2019 it’s 30%, come 2020 it will be 26%, in 2021 it’s a 22% credit, and then in 2022 it’s 10%. – Suzanne Waters Episode #44

“If you want to take advantage of the 30% tax credit you have to have 5% of the [community solar] project procured by the end of 2019. And the biggest thing we see is that people will buy and secure the panels for their project.” – Suzanne Waters Episode #44

“The most common [business model for community projects] is a Special Purpose Entity, which is the SPE model… In this approach individuals or companies join in a business enterprise to develop a community solar project… Organizations may take advantage of incentives and tax credits that are available, that are unavailable to utilities.” - Benoy Thanjan Episode #44

Resources Mentioned:

For more information on community solar:

Listen to Episode #23: Community Solar 101

Listen to Episode #19: Customer Acquisition and Billing in Community Solar

Listen to Episode #42: How Solar Technology Is Changing the World!

Benoy referred to the eBook titled “Community Solar: What You Need To Know” created by Standard Solar.  The link to the eBook is below.

https://www.standardsolar.com/standard-solar-releases-ebook-offering-critical-insight-executing-successful-community-solar

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

Suzanne Waters

suzanne@reneuenergy.com

www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-waters-01bb6077/

www.reneuenergy.com

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes and Podbean

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Mike Hall who is CEO of Anza Renewables. Anza helps solar module and energy storage equipment buyers optimize and accelerate their buying process.  Mike speaks about many interesting topics like Effective $/Watt and total value, when most solar developers will be able to take advantage of the domestic content adder, and what storage technology is most popular.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies.  He has extensive project origination, development, and financial experience in the renewable energy industry and in the environmental commodities market.  

This includes initial site evaluation, permitting, financing, sourcing equipment, and negotiating the long-term energy and environmental commodities off-take agreements. He manages due diligence processes on land, permitting, and utility interconnection and is in charge of financing and structuring through Note to Proceed (“NTP”) to Commercial Operation Date (“COD”). Benoy composes teams suitable for all project development and construction tasks. He is also involved in project planning and pipeline financial modeling. He has been part of all sides of the transaction and this allows him to provide unique perspectives and value. Benoy has extensive experience in financial engineering to make solar projects profitable.

Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016.  He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. 

Benoy was the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners which is a national solar installer where he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects.  He also worked for Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund, where he analyzed potential investments in renewable energy projects and worked on maximizing the financial return of the projects in the portfolio.  Benoy also worked on the sale of all of the renewable energy projects in Ridgewood’s portfolio.  

He was in the Energy Structured Finance practice for Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young.  Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. He has a MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University.  Benoy was an Alumni Scholar at the Stern School of Business.  

Mike Hall

Mike Hall currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and board member at Anza. Mike began his career in renewable energy in 2002 when he co-founded Borrego with his brother, Aaron, and his ultimate frisbee teammate Chris Anderson. Mike’s 21-year career at Borrego included serving as the company’s CEO from 2009 to 2023. Borrego built several successful downstream solar and storage business lines during that time. One of the businesses was a leading middle-market solar, storage, and distributed wind developer. Energy Capital Partners bought that business in 2022, now New Leaf Energy. In 2020, Mike and his brother Aaron developed the initial Anza business strategy after observing Borrego’s IPP customers’ challenges in managing a rapidly changing module supply environment. Today, Mike’s focus is working with the Anza team to help the entire solar and storage industry achieve superior project outcomes. He is passionate about building high-performing teams, developing leadership, and maintaining a lean philosophy of continuous improvement—in all things related to renewable energy. Before joining Borrego, Mike worked as a Process Engineer for Applied Materials in Santa Clara. Mike holds an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California Santa Barbara.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com 

LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Mike Hall

Website:  https://www.anzarenewables.com

Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/natejov/

We would like to thank our sponsor Schwerd Consulting for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

Schwerd Consulting is a leading solar consulting firm dedicated to design, engineering, owner representation and technical consulting in all areas of solar photovoltaics and energy storage for the Commercial & Industrial and Utility markets.  At Schwerd Consulting we like to say that We Know Solar. We don’t just Do Solar. What sets us apart is our 100% focus on solar, while having an extensive background in building and utility engineering, and understanding the business of our clients. We are involved with the trends, technologies, vendors, policies, utilities, codes, and financial considerations for the industry. Therefore, value add for us is not just a slogan, it’s what we practice in order to have loyal customers and gain trust.

In its 9 years of business, Schwerd Consulting has provided services for approximately 1 GW of PV across over 800 sites and 17 US states plus the Caribbean.  Let Schwerd Consulting take the burden off you and bring ease and expertise in all areas of Engineering & Design or help you navigate the technical world of solar.  If you are interested in learning more about Schwerd Consulting, you can call 215-219-6718 or email to admin@schwerdconsulting.  Schwerd Consulting’s website is www.schwerdconsulting.com.

SMP 43: 2019 Energy Storage Trends

Episode Summary

In this episode, Benoy and Li talk about energy storage and how it’s a huge game changer. They go into the many benefits and trends in energy storage.  They also discuss legislation to keep the Investment Tax Credit at 30%.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer, and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar, as well as utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity transactions. 

 Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity, to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Li Wang

Li Wang is a life-long journalist and communications professional. He worked as an intern for the Philadelphia Daily News, during the summer of the O.J. trial, and has since had some fascinating jobs, from being a business reporter, to an arts editor, to a film critic. He has since shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services, and now his company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing. 

Insight from this episode:

• Discuss energy storage trends
• Discussion on federal incentives for solar
• Potential Extension of Investment Tax Credit at 30 percent
• How to control your ego

Quotes from the show:

•  “So prices are going down, capacity and efficiency is increasing. So has that recent combination of factors, sort of accelerated the advancement of [energy] storage?” - Li Wang Episode #43  “Definitely!” - Benoy Thanjan Episode #43

•  “I guess the best way to look at [energy storage] is like landlines and cellphones. You know, you need the infrastructure with the landline, and then basically what energy storage allows is you can be decentralized vs. having a central network and connecting it.” - Benoy Thanjan Episode #43

•  “You know we are seeing more blackouts. If anyone was in New York three weeks ago on a Saturday, from midtown to… on the west side, there was a power outage… and you would think ‘wow 2019. How is that kinda still happening?’”- Benoy Thanjan Episode #43

•  “Energy storage is a great way to help with bringing energy back into the grid. It’s a lot faster for energy to come from an energy storage unit that having a peak or natural gas plant.” - Benoy Thanjan Episode #43

•  “I think one thing that I didn’t realize about the Tesla [electric car] is it’s also performance wise and safety wise so incredible too.  You know, one of the features in a crash, it has a lot of capacity to absorb damage… so when I shop for cars, you know I have young kids, so I’m thinking safety. So that hugely impresses me.” – Li Wang Episode #43

• “It’s been exciting actually what happened in the past few days. The House and Senate introduced legislation for a 5-year extension of the solar investment tax credit… you know, please reach out to your representative and lawmakers to pass this critical legislation.” - Benoy Thanjan Episode #43

•  “So [energy storage] is huge for, you know, countries that don’t have already electricity infrastructure. You know, particularly in emerging countries, and then obviously in the U.S. we haven’t upgraded the transmission and distribution grid in a long time.” - Benoy Thanjan Episode #43

Resources Mentioned:

Gary Vaynerchuk, Youtube Channel

Featured Book:

 Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday

Featured Quote:

“Since 2005, when ITC was first passed by the Republican led congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush. The ITC has created hundreds of thousands of jobs. Sparked more than $40 billion in pride investment and helped solar grow by more than 10,000 percent.” – Abigail Ross Hopper, CEO of Solar Energy Industry Association

Featured Link:

Benoy spoke about the Energy Storage Midyear Snapshot by Nikola Power

https://nikolapower.com/blog/2019/7/1/energy-storage-midyear-snapshot

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

Facebook: Reneu Energy

www.reneuenergy.com

Li Wang

MJWangMedia.com 

Instagram: @liwang22

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes and Podbean

Episode Summary: 

Led by Suzanne Waters, VP of Business Development at Reneu Energy, Benoy Thanjan joins three other solar industry leaders on a panel called How Solar Technology is Changing the World hosted by Reneu Energy and JCTech Meetup. The panel discusses solar energy, how it’s affecting us, what the future looks like, and how it’s impacting Jersey City. Coming from different sectors, each panelist offers their unique knowledge base to create a thorough picture of the field. Topics include industry growth, incentives, solar energy careers, obstacles & threats, community solar projects, and more. 

About the Guests: 

Suzanne Waters: Suzanne Waters is the Vice President of Business Development at Reneu Energy. She is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution. Additionally, she collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion dollar projects.

Steve Schwerd: Steve Schwerd is the owner of Schwerd Consulting, LLC. Schwerd Consulting is dedicated to design, engineering, representation, and support in all areas of solar photovoltaics. He has nearly 30 years in Consulting Engineering and an extensive background in Electrical Engineering. He became involved in renewable energy and design in 2008 and formed Schwerd Consulting in 2014 to allow for 100% dedication to the solar sector. 

Juan Truyol: Juan Truyol works as a Project Estimator at Strata Solar, LLC. He is an experienced estimator with a background in estimating, procurement, and a demonstrated history working in civil construction as well as the renewables and environment industry. Truyol earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering and M.S in Construction Infrastructure and Management from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He’s skilled in construction engineering, project estimation, construction, and scheduling. 

Chris Grablutz: Chris Grablutz is the Director of Business Development at PV Pros, Inc. He entered the solar industry in 2010 and has experience in engineering, project management, and operations. Grablutz joined PV Pros in 2017 and assists clients with owner’s engineering, testing, maintenance, and repair solutions. He’s passionate about solar energy and views his career as an exciting chain of challenges that continue to prevail. 

Benoy Thanjan: Benoy Thanjan, Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, advises several solar startup companies about investment and development. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer. The company focuses on developing commercial, industrial, and utility scale solar, plus storage projects. Additionally, the company sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions. 

Insights from Episode:

• What technology goes into solar energy 
• Why building owners and land owners should use solar energy
• The incentives and benefits of using solar energy 
• How solar energy has changed in the last 10 years and where it will be in 30 years 
• How to enter the solar energy field as a career 
• The downsides and threats to solar energy
• Resources to learn more about solar energy 
• What community solar is and how people can benefit from it 
• How solar panels are recycled and reused

Quotes from the Show:

When asked about the technology that goes into solar energy… “In terms of technology, really just capturing data, having it, knowing how to sort it, and then knowing how to use it and evolve from it in the future is a tremendous resource for operations and maintenance of PV systems.” Chris Grablutz, Episode #42 

Why should building/land owners look into going solar? “Building owners should definitely look into solar in New Jersey, it’s a way of saving money and going green. There’s green incentives for solar energy. There’s the 30% investment tax credit. There’s also solar depreciation.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #42

“Landowners should look at (solar energy) because you could potentially have a solar field and could receive rent or someone could buy land as they develop a project.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #42

What advice would you give to people looking to break into the solar industry? “The industry is great, so if you’re thinking about it, my first suggestion would be- do it. It’s a great industry, you’ll find many great people.” Chris Grablutz, Episode #42 

“Our industry the cost goes down every year and other industries go up- steel, copper, aluminum. Solar goes down, so it will be the cheapest, most cost effective form of energy in the future.” Juan Truyol, Episode #42 

“With energy storage, with policies continuing to drive the proliferation of solar, what it means for the benefit of the environment is fossil fuel plants will be shut down in large scales. Even PSEG recently announced their goal is by 2046, they will have no fossil fuel plants except for two of the newest natural gas plants.” ” Steve Schwerd, Episode #42 

“Do not feel intimidated to come into the solar industry. We were all somewhat hesitant in the beginning and it turned out ok. No, for real, it’s not intimidating and there’s a lot of good people. There’s ups and downs like any industry, but overall 70/30, it’s good people wanting to teach you, mentor, and just have more cool people to work with ultimately.” Juan Truyol, Episode #42 

Stay Connected: 

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

www.linkedin.com/in/bthanjan/

www.reneuenergy.com

Suzanne Waters 

suzanne@reneuenergy.com

www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-waters-01bb6077/

www.reneuenergy.com

Juan Truyol

jtruyol@stratasolar.com

www.linkedin.com/in/juan-truyol-4995b958/

https://stratasolar.com/

www.facebook.com/strata.solar/

www.twitter.com/StrataSolar

www.youtube.com/channel/UCx9ml4yKbGoaDkJxNyXfQMQ

Steve Schwerd

www.schwerdconsulting.com/

admin@schwerdconsulting.com 

www.linkedin.com/company/schwerd-consulting/about/

www.linkedin.com/in/steveschwerd/

www.facebook.com/Schwerd-Consulting-744150758955130/

www.twitter.com/schwerdsolar

Chris Grablutz

https://pvpros.com/

info@pvpros.com

www.linkedin.com/in/cgrablutz/

www.twitter.com/PVProsInc

Jersey CIty Tech Meetup

We would like to thank you to Jersey City Tech Meetup for partnering with Reneu Energy on this great solar event.  For more information on Jersey City Tech Meetup. Please follow the links below.

https://jctechmeetup.com

https://www.meetup.com/Jersey-City-Tech-Meetup/

SMP 41:  Solar Entrepreneur Perspective on Development of Solar and Storage Projects 

Episode Summary

Solar entrepreneur, Ben Levy joins Benoy on the podcast this week to talk about his passion for solar and his company Round Trip Energy. Ben has a diverse background and unique perspective on what it means to be a solar developer and consultant. Their conversation spans topics such as the Washington DC solar market, dealing with massive shut downs like what happened with the hurricane in Puerto Rico, Ben’s experience and advice as an entrepreneur, and current trends and projections in the larger solar community. 

About our Guest:

Benjamin is the Founder and Executive Director of Round Trip Energy, a growing renewable energy consulting and development startup, specializing in the development, financing, operation, and management of commercial and utility-scale solar, wind, energy storage, and energy efficiency projects. The company develops world-class greenfield and behind-the-meter projects that are optimized for performance and speed to deploy with Round Trip’s proprietary cost-risk-mitigation development approach.

Benjamin is a project developer, engineer, and construction manager with experience in cradle-to-grave development of world-class renewable power generations facilities across the US and Caribbean. His career in construction of sustainable projects also includes 5 years in energy efficiency project development at military bases and other Federal government campuses as well as success with leading HVAC, lighting, water, building envelope, and water treatment retrofit projects. Mr. Levy was previously a manager of Project Development at Constellation Energy and Sr. Manager of Engineering and Construction at Sonnedix, both developer-owners of large-scale power generation facilities and pioneers in the utility-scale renewable space. He led the design and construction of the 58MW solar, 22MW energy storage Oriana Solar Park, the largest solar plant in the Caribbean.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Insight from this episode:

• What Round Trip Energy does, what makes them different, and why Ben started the company.
• The underserved areas of the solar business  
• Ben’s take on the DC market and what makes it uniquely challenging
• What it’s like to work on projects in Puerto Rico including the impact of hurricanes and managing a crisis of that magnitude
• The potential of energy storage projects in the future and which markets are strong for this opportunity 
• Suggestions and advice for people looking to be an entrepreneur in a world that enforces the “stable 9-5 employee” job structure 

Quotes from the show:

“There’s a lot of companies doing off grid residential, and  there’s a lot of suppliers providing PCS and batteries together, but there’s not a lot of companies that are integrating and providing the full permitting and analysis and implementation scope.” Ben Levy, Episode #41 

“What’s different about D.C. is we have a true confinement of the supply of SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Certificates). That’s because D.C. is essentially a 9 mile by 9 mile grid that’s totally packed with residential houses and commercial office buildings. There’s very limited space to add solar.” Ben Levy, Episode #41 

“The investors that win projects are the ones that are comfortable with taking a certain portion of merchant SREC risk.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #41 

“Financiers and investors are willing to take a little bit more merchant risk than they used to be and that is a product of who are the tax equity and sponsor equity investors and what’s their comfort and risk level.” Ben Levy, Episode #41 

“I believe over the next 3 or 4 years regulators, policy makers, utilities, and local jurisdictions are going to be catching up and creating structures where developers and builders out there will be able to connect the real technology with the clients who need them.” Ben Levy, Episode #41 

“Our bills especially here on the east coast are shifting to being more demand heavy than energy heavy because they’re realizing that they need to incentivize people to get their demand down in the times where it’s quite congested.” Ben Levy, Episode #41  

“It’s a lot easier to get power back onto the grid from the storage devices.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #41 

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan:

info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Ben Levy 

www.roundtripenergy.com 

info@roundtripenergy.com

LinkedIn - Round Trip Energy

Facebook: Round Trip Energy 

Episode Summary

Li Wang, Director of Marketing at Reneu Energy, returns to the podcast as co-host. Listen as he and Benoy catch up about current events and discuss some hot topics in solar right now including solar energy projects in low income areas.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Li Wang

A life-long journalist and communications professional, Li Wang was hooked on the news as an intern at the Philadelphia Daily News during the summer of the O.J. trial. He has been a business reporter, arts editor and film critic. He has shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services. His company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing. 

Insight from this episode:

• Thoughts on the topic of India becoming a leader in solar with their tariff exemption. 
• The state of solar business in other countries and how it compares to solar in the US. 
• Low income housing and solar opportunities in the New York market. 
• The benefits of solar projects in low income communities. 
• A review of current state of solar industry including state and federal level legislation, tariffs, jobs, and the investment tax credit.
• The normalization and social acceptance of solar as it is becoming more mainstream. 

Quotes from the show:

“The perception has been that solar, at least in the US, is just for the wealthy.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #40

“Community solar is one of the fastest growing types of solar in the US but states are requiring that a certain percentage of it be low income.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #40

“You’re providing solar and energy to a population that doesn’t have it, and also promoting renewable energy, allowing people to lower their carbon footprint, and allowing people who would not normally receive solar to get solar energy and be involved in the process.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #40

“After the initial investment it’s been shown to actually be able to lower utility bills which is significant.”  Li Wang, Episode #40  

“Solar has an opportunity now to become more accepted in the mainstream instead of a privilege for the rich.” Li Wang, Episode #40  

Resources Mentioned:

Shark Tank 

Grant Cardone 

Book:

The Power of Broke by Daymond John 

Sponsors for Recent Reneu Energy Events 

Infiniti Energy Services 

Spano Partners 

Schwerd Consulting 

CBL Markets 

To request a media kit send an email to info@reneuenergy.com 

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Li Wang 

MJWangMedia.com 

Instagram: @liwang22 

Episode Summary

Reneu Energy’s Benoy Thanjan and Suzanne Waters talk in detail about what landowners need to know about going solar. They discuss the reasons why a landowner should look into going solar for generating income through a utility scale or community solar project, a description of different incentives available, and logistically how they would go about doing it. 

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Suzanne Waters 

Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and  a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.

Insight from this episode:

• The many benefits of leasing your land for solar projects.
• Federal incentives for solar systems owner such as the investment tax credit.
• The effects of the investment tax credit and the current safe harboring trend on the availability of solar panels. 
• The difference in the residential vs. the commercial investment tax credit percentage drop-down. 
• Other federal incentives such as MACRS (“Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System”) 
• The impact of state level incentives.  
• Infrastructure and types of systems for solar farms.
• How landowners would go about qualifying their land and what makes a location ideal for utility scale solar projects
• The importance of accessibility and proximity to transmission infrastructure 

Quotes from the show:

“The system owners can recover their costs up front instead of over a 20-25 year period which is pretty much the life of the system. So, that’s something that definitely makes the projects more attractive to system owners.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #39  

“The cost of panels have decreased. The efficiency of the panels are going up. It makes the whole situation a win-win” Suzanne Waters, Episode #39  

“The federal incentives make up 50-60% of the cost of the project and that doesn’t include the state level incentives. If you have strong state level incentives it really helps” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #39 

“In states that have better incentives the land owners are going to benefit from that” Suzanne Waters, Episode #39 

Upcoming Event discussed on the podcast:

Summer Solar Special:  How Solar Technology is Changing the World

Reneu Energy is partnering with JC TechMeetup.  It is on Tuesday, July 30 from 6:30 to 9 at Surf City in Jersey City.

Benoy Thanjan who is the CEO and Founder of Reneu Energy will be moderating.  The other panelists are Suzanne Waters from Reneu Energy, Chris Grablutz from PV Pros, Steve Schwerd from Schwerd Consulting, and Juan Truyol from Strata Solar.

The event is free to attend and you can RSVP in the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/Jersey-City-Tech-Meetup/events/262598987/ 

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Suzanne Waters

suzanne@reneuenergy.com 

Linkedin: Suzanne Waters

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Episode Summary

Suzanne Waters, Vice President of Business Development at Reneu Energy, returns to the show to talk with Benoy about why commercial and industrial building owners should go solar. This episode serves as an excellent primer for building owners who are potentially looking to go solar as Benoy and Suzanne cover topics such as the benefits of solar, types of systems, and financial opportunities for building owners.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Suzanne Waters 

Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and  a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.

Insight from this episode:

• The benefits of going solar. 
• Different types of systems, their pros and cons, and who they’re best suited for. 
• Three major financing methods and tax incentives for solar. 
• The rise of offsite solar, how it is structured, and opportunities it’s creating. 
• Community solar as a potential revenue opportunity for building owners. 

Quotes from the show:

“If You’re going to go solar, you’re definitely going to reduce your electrical cost.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #38  

“Most solar systems can live between 20 and 30 years so you’re going to have a relatively short return on your investment for an asset that you’re going to have for a really long time.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #38   

“The fixed electric pricing definitely makes is easier to forecast and budget plan so you can hedge against electricity price volatility and inflation.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #38

“Customers and employees are looking for companies that can say that they’re sustainable and they’re making sustainable efforts.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #38

“As solar becomes more acceptable as an asset to finance, the returns are getting lower and lower.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #38 

“Last year there was 6.53 gigawatts of corporate renewable deals, both wind and solar, and it was actually the highest ever.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #38

Resources mentioned: 

Solar + Roofing Episode #11

For more detailed information or questions about topics from this episode email info@reneuenergy.com

Upcoming Event discussed on the podcast:

Summer Solar Special:  How Solar Technology is Changing the World

Reneu Energy is partnering with JC TechMeetup.  It is on Tuesday, July 30 from 6:30 to 9 at Surf City in Jersey City.

Benoy Thanjan who is the CEO and Founder of Reneu Energy will be moderating.  The other panelists are Suzanne Waters from Reneu Energy, Chris Grablutz from PV Pros, and Steve Schwerd from Schwerd Consulting.

The event is free to attend and you can RSVP in the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/Jersey-City-Tech-Meetup/events/262598987/ 

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Suzanne Waters

suzanne@reneuenergy.com 

Linkedin: Suzanne Waters

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

About our Guest:

As the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, Benoy Thanjan took his passion for sustainability and renewable energy and turned it into a company that has traded $27 billion in solar renewable energy credits (SREC). He attributes his success to his time working as a SREC trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, a company that merged with Tesla in 2016. With a BS in finance and economics from the Stern School of Business and an MBA in finance from Rutgers University, Benoy has an extensive financial background. Having previously worked as the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners, he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects. In addition, Benoy used his financial expertise while working for Ridgewood Renewable Power, Deloitte and Touche, Ernst & Young, and D.E. Shaw and Co. His current company Reneu Energy provides consultation for other companies looking to save money, modernize their energy use, and implement solar energy practices. 

Episode Summary 

Alternative energy sources have been gaining in popularity over the past several decades. However, public knowledge still lags behind when it comes to clean energy such as solar. Many people are unaware of the substantial benefits, including a reduction in financial burden, that result from switching to renewable energy. Benoy Thanjan, a juggernaut in the solar energy world, explains how he decided to make the leap to entrepreneurship, creating a company that combines his passion, his knowledge of finances, and his goal of making an impact in the world.

Insight from this episode:

• How to build passive income streams while succeeding at your primary job.
• Strategies for continuing to evolve as an entrepreneur. 
• How to add additional value to your company.
• Strategies for strengthening relationships with clients.
• Why giving back and community are so important for entrepreneurs.
• How to take a more proactive approach to goal setting.
• Benoy’s strategies for deciding what projects demand his time and attention.

Quotes from the show:

“Not getting overconfident. Continue to be humble. Continue to develop myself. Continue to add value to our clients.” - Benoy Thanjan, on being successful as an entrepreneur, Episode 134

“If I never tried starting my business, there would always be a regret in my life. Even if I failed, there would always be the regret of never trying.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 134

“I feel like entrepreneurship’s a lot about instincts and gut feel.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 134  

“When you wait on people, you give your power away.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Episode 134

“They’re not willing to make the sacrifice and the discipline and put the work and take the failure. They don’t realize how much failure. They see the outside and they don’t see behind the scenes.” - Benoy Thanjan, on the misconception about starting a business, Episode 134  

“A lot of times in entrepreneurship, you can’t control a lot of things that are happening. It’s a journey and it’s mentally controlling yourself. And mentally realizing what you can control and what you can make the difference. And there’s a lot of things you can’t control. And that makes a huge difference on being successful or not in life.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 134 

“We’re focused on progression, not perfection.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Episode 134

Resources Mentioned:

• Apple hardware
• Google apps
• Google Voice
• Google Calendar
• Gmail
• Headspace app

Favorite Book:

• • The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

• How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

Favorite Quote: 

• “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” - Reinhold Niebuhr
• “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” - Vince Lombardi

3 keys to Create Your Best Life:

• Do what you’re passionate about, because that’s your true self

• Accept failure

• Never give up

Stay Connected:

Create Your Life Series:

https://www.facebook.com/cylseries/ 

https://www.instagram.com/cylseries/

Kevin:

www.kevinybrown.com

www.instagram.com/kevinybrown

www.twitter.com/kevinybrown

www.facebook.com/kevbrown001

Benoy Thanjan:

www.reneuenergy.com

www.linkedin.com/in/bthanjan/

info@reneuenergy.com

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on  itunes, google play, stitcher and www.createyourlifeseries.com/podcast

Episode Summary

Li Wang returns to the podcast as co-host for this week’s episode. Li is the Director of Marketing at Reneu Energy, founder of MJ Wang Marketing, and also Benoy’s publicist. The two of them catch up with a chat about branding and marketing practices and then go on to discuss in depth the current state of solar. Also, included are recommended resources for anyone interested in solar energy.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions. 

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Li Wang

A life-long journalist and communications professional, Li Wang was hooked on the news as an intern at the Philadelphia Daily News during the summer of the O.J. trial. He has been a business reporter, arts editor and film critic. He has shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services. His company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing. 

Insight from this episode:

• The importance of branding and ways Reneu Energy is working to establish their brand identity and recognition. 
• Why you absolutely must be using video in your marketing efforts. 
• Podcast sponsorship opportunities. 
• The state of the solar industry in Q1 including current trends and the implications of recently imposed tariffs on solar.
• Detailed explanation of the solar investment tax credit and how to qualify. 
• Investment incentives for renewable energy relative to fossil fuel incentives. 

Quotes from the show:

“If you do create content for your company or brand, video packs a huge punch. not only with engagement you’re actually speaking to an audience literally, but also in search.” Li Wang, Episode #36  

“Always remember that YouTube is the #2 search engine behind Google” Li Wang, Episode #36  

“If you’re going to put your effort into one thing, and you can and you feel comfortable, I encourage you to do video.” Li Wang, Episode #36  

On the value of podcast sponsorships: “One of keys to why our sponsorships are effective is because of the distinct audience that our podcast reaches.” Li Wang, Episode #36  

“Solar keeps growing exponentially. We keep seeing the cost of solar going down and the efficiencies of panels increasing.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36 

“What we’re seeing is that solar companies are trying to build as quickly as possible to qualify for this 30% because it’s a huge part of the economics of the project.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36 

“The issue with the incentives going down is that potentially solar might not be as cost effective.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36 

“There was a time when there were a lot of good projects but not a lot of financing.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36

“A lot of real estate developers are telling me, ‘Hey, we’re developing projects in opportunity zones can we pull solar in it?’” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36 

“The rise of the corporate PPAs has allowed a lot of development of renewable energy.”  Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36 

Resources Mentioned:

Podcast Laundry 

Create Your Life Series Podcast 

PV Magazine 

Renewable Energy World 

UtilityDive.com

Book:

Relentless by Tim S. Grover 

Sponsors for Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Event 

Infiniti Energy Services 

Spano Partners 

Schwerd Consulting 

CBL Markets 

To request a media kit send an email to info@reneuenergy.com 

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Li Wang 

MJWangMedia.com 

Instagram: @liwang22 

Episode Summary

DG Energy Partners founder Michael DellaGala joins Benoy to talk about his path to being a provider of development capital. They cover a lot of ground including what DGEP does, his partnership with Metropolis Capital, his experience in project development, and how the market is in need of this type of capital.

About our Guest:

Mike DellaGala, is the Founder and Managing Partner of DG Energy Partners (DGEP) and leads the firm's Project Finance and Advisory Groups. Mike has been financing and advising on projects in the clean and renewable energy space since 2008. Areas of expertise include solar, wind, biomass and carbon/emission technologies.

During his career, Mike has structured, advised on and financed more than 35MW of distributed generation solar, totaling more than $200MM. He has 5 years of experience in fixed income and interest rate derivatives sales,trading and risk management.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Insight from this episode:

• How to make investors comfortable in the early stage with a binary risk and how to protect the project.
• DGEP’s practical and thoughtful approach to the investment cycle.
• How Mike vets and builds relationships with developers.
• The methodology for determining the sharing of the development fee and what goes into that process.
• How to scale development capital in early stage projects.
• Mike’s experience and the decisions and conditions that led to him pivoting from being an advisory firm, then to a principal position, and now providing development capital.
• Reasons why Mike became interested in solar over other renewable energy assets.
• Current trends in financing in the solar industry.

Quotes from the show:

“Not every project will work, especially that early, which creates an opportunity in the marketplace.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #35

“There’s not a lot of people that are providing development capital that early which gives you an advantage, meaning seeing a lot of projects.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #35

“Solar is almost like the Wild Wild West. Even as the market gets more sophisticated and mature, there are a lot of players coming into the market and everyone says they are a developer.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #35

“We’ve talked about the merits of the project but the merits of the developer are probably just as important, if not more so.” Mike DellaGala, Episode #35

“When it comes to development capital the dollar stretches pretty far. So, we feel like we’ll run out of deals before we run out of capital.” Mike DellaGala, Episode #35  

“It’s a really good thing that there’s more capital here and that it’s moving early on. It just goes to show that the risk and the macro assumption of this asset within the overall investment community is something meaningful.” Mike DellaGala, Episode #35

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Michael DellaGala

mike@dgepm.com

http://www.dgenergypartners.com/

www.metromezz.com/

Episode Summary

Juan Truyol is a former co-worker of Benoy and Suzanne’s and they reunite on this week’s episode to discuss Juan’s current role as project estimator at Strata Solar, one of the top 5 turnkey EPC solar contractors in the US. They get into what exactly a project cost estimator does and why they are important to the solar industry.

About our Guest:

Juan Truyol’s experience includes the role of Director of System Design and Turnkey Estimating for Vanguard Energy Partners. Mr. Truyol received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Master of Science in Infrastructure and Construction Management from NJIT, Newark New Jersey. Juan has over 12 years of experience in heavy construction, primarily as field level site civil (five years) and his last seven years in solar design and estimating. Juan represents the C&I department of Strata Solar, one of the top 5 turnkey solar EPC contractors in the US.

Through his years at The Conti Group and Cruz Construction, his site civil experience includes utility projects, concrete dam reconstruction, micro-tunneling, airport runway, environmental remediation sites, and demolition in subways. In the early days of Vanguard’s history, Juan’s comprehensive knowledge of construction means and methods and pre-construction procurement enhanced Vanguard’s professionalism in regards to construction practices and protocols. His latter responsibilities at Vanguard had required him to interact daily with a wide assortment of subcontractors and equipment suppliers. Such interaction has allowed Juan to become a very familiar player in the Mid-Atlantic regional territory.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Suzanne Waters

Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and  a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.

Insight from this episode:

• What a project estimator is and what they do exactly
• How volatility and fluxuations in pricing of materials is handled in cost estimating
• What types of projects Strata Solar works on and what services they offer
• How the job of project estimator for the solar industry has changed over the last 10 years
• How to vet subcontractors and equipment suppliers
• How working for smaller companies helped Juan with his role at the larger Strata Solar
• What got Juan interested in solar after a long career in construction
• Some of the solar industry trends Juan is seeing right now

Quotes from the show:

• “We have to build the jobs in our head, do our due diligence go through the RFP (request for proposal), make sure everything protects the company as far a requirements, and put a budget together that’s going to be a qualified budget, that wins the project but also protects the company and the owner from any hiccups.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34  

• “When you put your budget together, you say the budget is based on the couple of services that the owner required the contractor to bid, and you have qualifiers (inclusions/exclusions) that protect the owner and the contractor from unpleasant exchanges in the future. So, the tarifs would be qualifiers.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34  

• “Some countries will pick the middle bidder to avoid the chance for change orders. In the US it’s more popularly the lowest qualified bidder. It’s not just the cheapest guy but its the lowest qualified guy” Juan Truyol, Episode #34  

• “Ultimately the owner wants to make sure the contractor will do a seamless project with no change orders, in time, and in budget. That’s the goal. And that’s the goal of the contractor as well, a good contractor.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34  

• “A lot of the utilities, as hard as they’re pushing, they can’t get to every single site. So some of the larger EPCs will develop a site and act as a developer and provide the site as they develop it and potentially the EPC contract.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34   

• “One of the main factors for cost estimates is wages” Juan Truyol, Episode #34   

• “You want to protect your company by asking all the tough questions to the potential subcontractor upfront.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34   

• “For all the cost estimators and anybody that prices any job in construction make sure you have a safety budget.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34  

• “Safety first. Safely always. Safety budget.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34   

• “Some CEO’s and CFO’s role up their sleeves and they execute, but getting the full spectrum of views from everybody can give you a better perception of the solar industry truly is.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34   
• Suzanne, Juan, and I actually worked at Vanguard Energy Partners and spent late nights doing these public RFP’s, printing out 5-10 copies, racing to the public bid.
• On the changes in technology for communicating (email, etc) in the last 10 years: “You’re saving trees but it’s more efficient and saves time for all of the parties.” “...and as you know, on the public RFP’s, it’s like a race. Basically the lowest bid usually tends to win.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #34
• On working with Juan: “Juan was very educational in explaining it which was great because I think that’s not very typical for estimators to do.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #34
• When you spend time with Juan you will see his passion for solar. He gets very excited about it.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #34
• “We try to get all facets of the industry. When we thought of estimating, we thought of Juan.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #34

Resources Mentioned - Episode 30 of Solar Mavericks

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Suzanne Waters

suzanne@reneuenergy.com

Linkedin: Suzanne Waters

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Juan Truyol

https://stratasolar.com/

LinkedIn: Juan Truyol

jtruyol@stratasolar.com

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Paul Warley who is the CEO of Ascent Solar Technologies which is manufacturer of innovative, high performance, flexible thin-film solar panels for both existing and emerging agrivoltaic, space, and aerospace applications.  Paul talks about how thin-film solar will play a vital role with the renewable energy transition specially in space and agrivoltaics and the rapid rise of solar power in space.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies.  He has extensive project origination, development, and financial experience in the renewable energy industry and in the environmental commodities market.  

This includes initial site evaluation, permitting, financing, sourcing equipment, and negotiating the long-term energy and environmental commodities off-take agreements. He manages due diligence processes on land, permitting, and utility interconnection and is in charge of financing and structuring through Note to Proceed (“NTP”) to Commercial Operation Date (“COD”). Benoy composes teams suitable for all project development and construction tasks. He is also involved in project planning and pipeline financial modeling. He has been part of all sides of the transaction and this allows him to provide unique perspectives and value. Benoy has extensive experience in financial engineering to make solar projects profitable.

Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016.  He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. 

Benoy was the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners which is a national solar installer where he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects.  He also worked for Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund, where he analyzed potential investments in renewable energy projects and worked on maximizing the financial return of the projects in the portfolio.  Benoy also worked on the sale of all of the renewable energy projects in Ridgewood’s portfolio.  

He was in the Energy Structured Finance practice for Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young.  Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. He has a MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University.  Benoy was an Alumni Scholar at the Stern School of Business.  

Paul Warley

Prior to Ascent, Warley was president of Warley & Company LLC, a strategic advisory firm from 2015 to 2022 – providing executive management services, capital advisory, and M&A to middle-market companies in the service, construction, technology, oil & gas, clean energy, food, retail and green-building sectors.

While at Warley & Company from 2018 to 2019, he was engaged as chief executive officer and CFO of 360Imaging, a provider of products and services for implant surgery and digital dentistry.

From 2011 to 2015, Warley served clients in the alternative energy industry as a managing director and chief compliance officer with Deloitte Corporate Finance.

From 1997 to 2011, Warley was managing director and region manager for GE Capital.

From 1984 to 1997, Warley served as senior vice president with Bank of America and Bankers Trust.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com 

LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Paul Warley

Website:  https://ascentsolar.com/

Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-warley-015203a/

Our Sponsor:

We would like to thank Schwerd Consulting for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

Schwerd Consulting is a leading solar consulting firm dedicated to design, engineering, owner representation and technical consulting in all areas of solar photovoltaics and energy storage for the Commercial & Industrial and Utility markets.  At Schwerd Consulting we like to say that We Know Solar. We don’t just Do Solar. What sets us apart is our 100% focus on solar, while having an extensive background in building and utility engineering, and understanding the business of our clients. We are involved with the trends, technologies, vendors, policies, utilities, codes, and financial considerations for the industry. Therefore, value add for us is not just a slogan, it’s what we practice in order to have loyal customers and gain trust.

In its 9 years of business, Schwerd Consulting has provided services for approximately 1 GW of PV across over 800 sites and 17 US states plus the Caribbean.  Let Schwerd Consulting take the burden off you and bring ease and expertise in all areas of Engineering & Design or help you navigate the technical world of solar.  If you are interested in learning more about Schwerd Consulting, you can call 215-219-6718 or email to admin@schwerdconsulting.  Schwerd Consulting’s website is www.schwerdconsulting.com.

Episode Summary

Benoy and Suzanne discuss past and upcoming shows and the top downloaded episodes of the Solar Maverick Podcast! Where New York is in their renewable energy initiative and where their future plans are heading.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Suzanne Waters

Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and  a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.

Insight from this Episode

• Where New York is ranked among other states for solar.
• Updates on how state and company renewable energy goals are progressing.
• The importance of consumer understanding.
• What solar contracts are available to New York consumers.
• The challenges of solar in New York City.

Quotes from the show:

• On solar for consumers "There has to be an education within the community.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #33.
• When she came to work with Benoy: "It had been a while since I had had that same passion about my job" Suzanne Waters, Episode #33
• “I love going the down to the fundamentals, the basics.” Suzanne Waters Episode #33.
• “Companies and both states are having these 100% renewable energy goals." Benoy Thanjan, Episode #33
• On New York Solar " The development hasn't been as much as people initially thought” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #33
• "New York you are not getting as high incentive levels.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode 33

Resources:

Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Party

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

www.reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Suzanne Waters:

suzanne@reneuenergy.com

Linkedin: Suzanne Waters

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Episode Summary

Benoy and Suzanne discuss upcoming shows, how they came to work together at Reneu Energy, and discuss the NJ Solar Market in detail.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Suzanne Waters

Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and  a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.

Insight from this Episode

• Where New Jersey is ranked among the states for solar.
• Strategies to stay ranked where they are.
• What Governor Christie did to fix the over supply of SRECS in the state in 2012x.
• What changes are coming to the  New Jersey market.
• How these changes will affect the market as we know it today.

Quotes from the show:

• On coincidences "Life is, I don't think it's very randon.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #32.
• New Jersey changes in the market "It will be a great transition into the community solar pilot” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #32
• “Perception is that only the wealthy can afford solar but there should be an opportunity with community solar where it's open to everyone.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #32.
• “The state tells companies that are generating in that state that a certain amount of it has to be in renewables and a certain amount has to actually be in solar” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #29.
• "There's a race to build projects in NJ to get to that 5.1%” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #32
• On finding balance "Balance is very difficult and it's something I'm still working on.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode 32.
• Her favorite hashtag "#Carpe Solem it means seize the sun.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #32

Resources:

Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Party

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

www.reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Suzanne Waters:

suzanne@reneuenergy.com

Linkedin: Suzanne Waters

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Episode Summary

Benoy and Amanda discuss the importance of operations & maintenance in the solar industry.  Why Amanda started the cooperative? How she ensures that each company in the cooperative is bringing something to the table to elevate the cooperative?  And the future of the cooperative in the solar industries and trends she is seeing in solar operations & maintenance.

About our Guest:

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Amanda Bybee

Amanda has worked in the solar industry since 2003. Her entrée was promoting renewable energy policy in Austin, TX at Public Citizen, where she served as the coordinator of the Solar Austin Campaign. The campaign worked closely with Austin Energy to establish the first solar rebate program in Texas in 2004. Amanda then went on to work at Meridian Energy Systems, a solar EPC company.

Amanda joined Namasté Solar in January 2006 as an early member of the team. She held numerous roles over her 11 years there, from technical sales & design to business development. While there, she worked to obtain a federal charter for a unique financial institution that funds clean energy products and services: Clean Energy Credit Union (www.cleanenergycu.org). This was only the 17th federal charter issued since 2010, and the first in the state of Colorado for over 30 years. She continues to serve as a volunteer on the Supervisory Committee of the credit union.

In 2016, she helped earn an award from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to found the Amicus O&M Cooperative (www.AmicusOM.com). The O&M Cooperative brings together a network of providers across the country to provide coordinated services for geographically distributed portfolios. She now serves as its CEO, and is committed to the mission "to ensure that solar PV fulfills its promise as a responsible and reliable energy source, for generations to come." She obtained a BA in English and French from the University of Texas at Austin, and through solar, has found her "inner engineer."

Insight from this Episode

• What the intention of the cooperative is.
• How Clean Energy CU is helping make solar accessible to everyone.
• What makes the cooperative successful.
• The importance of each role within the cooperative.
• The 4 core values of Amicus O & M Cooperative.
• Benoy’s thoughts on why there have been changes on the investment side of the solar market.

Quotes from the show:

• • On making repairs: “A big part of keeping O&M cost effective is trying to reduce travel time.” Amanda Bybee, Episode #31.

• “When we work together through the cooperative to elevate everyone’s game we all win.” Amanda Bybee, Episode #31

• “The name of the game is efficiency” Amanda Bybee, Episode #31.
• “The real heros of O&M are the technicians” Amanda Bybee, Episode #31.
• “O&M and solar is relatively new, we don’t have a lot of experience of long life assets” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #31.
• On working with installers and asset owners: “At the end of the day those services are being sold to the asset owner” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #31.
• About discussing O&M with clients ‘It’s really about adding value to our client” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #31.
• On O&M price differences: “People really didn’t understand what the true cost was.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #31.
• Why there are lower ROIs now: “We’ve seen a lot of investors come into the market that have a lower investment requirement.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #31.

Resources

Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Party

Clean Energy Credit Union

Benoy Thanjan

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

info@reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Amanda Bybee

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandabybee

abybee@amicusOM.com

Amicus O&M Cooperative

Tags: solar energy, renewable energy, reneu energy, Benoy Thanjan, Operations & Maintenance, Namaste, Amicus O&M Cooperative, Clean Energy CU, quality, elevate

Episode Summary

Benoy and Dominick discuss safety guidelines in solar and how Pro Circuit Electrical ensures safety for all of it’s employees.  What got Dominick originally interested in working with solar, trends they are seeing in the market and advice for any new entrepreneurs.  Also, Dominick talks about how to construct a great solar project.

About our Guest:

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Dominick Matinelli:

Dominick is a founding partner at Pro Circuit Electrical.  He and his partner started the company back in 2011 but Dominick’s interest in solar started back when he was working with a company that didn’t actually do any solar.  From there he went to Vanguard Energy Partners LLC where he was the Director of Electrical Services and then started Pro Circuit Electrical in 2011 with his partner Josh Nierman.

Insight from this Episode

• Strategies to make safety a number one priority of a solar company.
• What hazards are unique to the solar projects from other construction projects.
• What Dominick really thought solar was when he first learned about it.
• Keys to success and how to implement them.
• Advice to new entrepreneurs.
• Benoy’s take on upcoming changes in the market

Quotes from the show:

• • On his partnership with Josh “ Our strengths and weaknesses definitely counter balance each other and it was just inevitable that this was going to happen.” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30.

• “Everybody gets to come home safely no matter what.” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30

• On successful partnerships: “It’s all about people that are honest and transparent” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #30.
• On Dominick and Josh’s working relationship “I’m good at spreadsheets and Josh is good at everything else” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30.
• “Safety is paramount in a successful operation.” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30.
• “Don’t underestimate the power of your own integrity” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30.
• “Reputation is everything and if you can’t make it by doing the right thing and doing right by all of your business associates then don’t even bother.” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30.
• “Make sure every deal you cut, that both sides are a winner.” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30.
• “Community solar is one of the fastest growing areas of solar” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #30.

Benoy Thanjan

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

info@reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Dominick Matinelli:

Pro Circuit Electrical Contracting

operations@procircuitec.com

LinkedIn: Pro Circuit Electrical Contracting

LinkedIn: Dominick Matinelli

Facebook: Pro Circuit Electrical Contracting

Episode Summary

Benoy and Suzanne discuss Reneu’s Energy’s Summer Solstice Party and Benoy moderating a community solar panel at the NY Solar Summit while giving a SRECs 101 tutorial. SRECs is an environmental commodity that different states have created to incent development of renewable energy.  Reneu Energy has brokered $28 million in SREC transactions and manage 12MWs of solar project with SREC asset management. Reneu Energy also has created SREC research on different states.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Suzanne Waters

Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and  a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.

Insight from this Episode

• What SRECs are and how they work.
• How SRECs are a volatile market and fluctuate in value.
• Where and how SRECs are traded.
• What states are currently using the SREC incentive.
• Future of SRECs

Quotes from the show:

• “At Reneu Energy we have a lot of experience in SREC’s and we have brokered about 28 million.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #29.
• On the decrease in value:  “NJ had the Solar Energy Act in 2012 where they increased the demand” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #29
• “The demand is created by the state.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #29.
• “The state tells companies that are generating in that state that a certain amount of it has to be in renewables and a certain amount has to actually be in solar” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #29.
• “It’s not a tradeable commodity where you can go on an exchange” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #29.
• “If you sign a long term contract and then you might be able to sell the SRECs on the spot market for much more than you signed that long term contract for.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #29.
• “The SACP is almost like a fine they have to pay if the renewable portfolio standard isn’t met.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #29.

Resources:

CBL Markets is connecting buyers and sellers to trade multiple environmental products on one screen.  CBL Markets Exchange is spot marketplace for RECs. If you are interested in learning more about CBL Markets, contact Sean Barwin Phone (US): +1 212 520 2935 and Email: sean.barwin@cblmarkets.com.  Let Sean from CBL know that you heard about them through the Solar Maverick Podcast.

http://www.cbourses.com

Intercontinental Exchange builds, operates and advances global markets through information, technology and expertise.  An exchange that you can buy and sell SRECs.

https://www.theice.com/index

Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Party

Benoy Thanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

www.reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Suzanne Waters:

suzanne@reneuenergy.com

Linkedin: Suzanne Waters

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Episode summary: Benoy and Li talk about Benoy’s meeting with former President Barack Obama. Benoy talks about the Virginia’s solar market and how companies goals of 100% percent renewables is leading to a lot of development of utility scale projects in Virginia.  Benoy talks about the benefits of having solar on brownfield and landfills. Li and Benoy discuss what podcasts motivate them and books to purchase and live by.

About our Guest:

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions. Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Li Wang

A life-long journalist and communications professional, Li Wang was hooked on the news as an intern at the Philadelphia Daily News during the summer of the O.J. trial. He has been a business reporter, arts editor and film critic. He has shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services. His company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing.

Insights from this episode:

• Conversations between Benoy and former President Barack Obama
• The possibility of Benoy running for President in 2020?
• Industry updates on the Virginia Solar.
• How and why large companies have adopted the 100% renewable goals and how that is leading to solar development in Virginia.
• Upcoming speaking engagements of our hosts.

Quotes from the show:

• “I’m all about diversification and passive income.” -Benoy Thanjan, Episode 28
• “Focus on right now.” - Li Wang, Episode 28
• “You create your own luck” - Li Wang, Episode 28
• “It’s all about building your network and building strong, genuine, transparent relationships.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 28
• On implementing what you learn “It’s huge to put it into practice” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 28
• On utilizing what you learn : “It’s one thing to read it but to put it into practice” - Li Wang, Episode 28
• On going after what you want: “If there’s something you want, what is the worst that can happen?” - Li Wang, Episode 28

Resources Mentioned:

Reneu Energy Resources

Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Party

Toastmasters International

Podcasts:

Kwik Brain with Jim Kwik

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Chasing Excellence

Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu

Books:

Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

Stay connected:

Benoy Thanjan www.reneuenergy.com info@reneuenergy.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/bthanjan/

Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22

Episode summary:

Benoy and Li reflect on the Pacific Gas & Electric bankruptcy and its effect on the solar industry.  The reason why PG&E is in bankruptcy due primarily to the liability from California wildfires. Benoy talks about current projects on the horizon, Colombia’s failed renewable energy auction, and the upcoming Summer Solstice party.  Benoy also discusses passive income and what he looks at when he invests in different opportunities.

About our Guest:

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Li Wang

A life-long journalist and communications professional, Li Wang was hooked on the news as an intern at the Philadelphia Daily News during the summer of the O.J. trial. He has been a business reporter, arts editor and film critic. He has shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services. His company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing.

Insights from this episode:

• How the climate is affecting the economy
• How wildfires have a  large effect on California utilities
• Why the Colombian Renewable Energy Auction Failed?
• Tips for young people getting into solar energy.

Important Links:

Reneu Energy’s Summer Solstice Party

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reneu-energys-summer-solstice-party-tickets-60983558465

Quotes from the show:

• Advice to young people in solar: “I think working at a solar company will be a huge opportunity.” -Benoy Thanjan, Episode 27
• Advice to young people in solar:“It’s all about getting real world experience”  -Benoy Thanjan, Episode 27
• “It’s very important to build different passive income streams”  -Benoy Thanjan, Episode 27
• “Luck is a creations, you create your own luck.” - Li Wang, Episode 27
• “You never know where a connection could come from” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 27
• “Open your mind, open your eyes, listen to people and never judge people” - Li Wang, Episode 27
• “For opportunity to come your way you must ask” - Li Wang, Episode 27
• “It’s all about living life to it’s fullest.”  - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 27

Stay connected:

Benoy Thanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

info@reneuenergy.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bthanjan/

Li Wang:

MJWangMedia.com

Instagram: @liwang22

Episode summary:

In this episode, Steve Raeder sits down to talk about the opportunities and challenges of solar over the past 10 years.  Steve also discusses Summit Ridge’s focus on community solar and offering solar to the residential community and their initiatives throughout multiple states.  Also, Summit Ridge is working to overcome the financing through the lenders to bring the solar option to more residential customers. Steve talks about the next phase of the company which is to own all the projects that they develop and co-develop.

About our Guests:

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Steve Raeder

Steve Raeder CEO and Founder of Summit Ridge. In the beginning, the company’s focus was commercial customers, cities and federal agencies that Steve had worked with for years, but over time, Summit Ridge Energy changed to working with communities and developing community solar. They developed a nearly 7-megawatt community solar project in Maryland, and the company is heavily invested across Illinois. He was previously the managing director of Northeast Business Development a Sun Edison.

Insights from this episode:

• Challenges of using solar power
• Bringing solar power to the residential customer
• Initiatives throughout the states
• How trends are changing toward the future in solar power.
• How to survive a competitive market.

Quotes from the show:

• “There is a time, call it in the next 10 years where this will be the cheapest resource.” - Steve Raeder
• “I’m a believer in the inevitability of what we’re doing.” - Steve Raeder Episode 26
• “Know your space, I think timing is somewhat natural” - Steve Raeder Episode 26
• “I knew what I wanted to do and I thought I knew how to do it.” - Steve Raeder Episode 26
• “Stay small, you can do a lot in the space. You don’t need 95 bodies” - Steve Raeder Episode 26
• “It became a very lucrative incentive and people at that time weren't sure” - Benoy Thanjan Episode 26

Stay connected:

Benoy Thanjan

https://www.reneuenergy.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bthanjan/

info@renewenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Summit Ridge

linkedin.com/company/summitridgeenergy/

http://www.srenergy.com/

Steve Raeder

linkedin.com/in/steve-raeder-5283a0?trk=org-employees_mini-profile_cta

Episode Summary

Benoy goes deep into Kumar’s experience of evolving from his finance background into developing distributive energy projects in the U.S. and the new innovations in customer acquisition and financing that have allowed Kumar to become successful with his company. In addition, Kumar share strategies to investing and why Kumar likes to invest during the seed round of companies that he believes in Cleantech.

About Our Guests:

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Kumar Aiyer

Kumar is the founder and Managing Partner of Blue Flame Energy Finance LLC, a start-up company in Carlsbad, CA focused on the commercial and industrial energy sector. Since 2011 he has served as the Managing Partner of CleanFin LLC., a structured-finance advisory firm focused on the sustainability sector. Prior to his career in clean energy finance, he was a portfolio manager and strategist on Wall Street in the residential mortgage and asset backed securities industry. He was a senior portfolio manager at ZAIS Group, a structured credit asset management firm in Red Bank, NJ from 2006 to 2011, working on residential mortgage securities and whole loans. He has also served in senior research strategy roles at Banc of America Securities, Credit Suisse, and Paine Webber.

PhD, Electrical Engineering from University of Rochester

MS, Renewable Energy Systems from Loughborough University

Insight from this episode:  

• The challenges related to developing small scale solar projects
• BlueFlame’s technology platform called Hyperqual to assist developers and installers with financing their projects
• Tips on how to procure and scale businesses
• Strategies to streamline and finance a distributed energy portfolio
• How to recognize needs in a market
• Tips to use prior knowledge in other industries on our current endeavors
• In depth explanation of C-Pace- Commercial Property as a Solar Energy
• Strategies to finding product market fit
• Secrets to recruiting great team members

Kumars suggestions for being an entrepreneur

1. Be passionate about what you do
2. Do research to make sure there is adequate funding for your business to grow

Quotes from the show:

• “What we found is practice is very different from theory.”- Kumar Aiyer Episode 25
• “I am very passionate about climate change and renewables at a high level. ”- Kumar Aiyer Episode 25
• “We are working with a lot of greenhouses that grow organic lettuce and things like that, that are also big energy consumers and they need innovative financing” - Kumar Aiyer Episode 25
• “Right now C-Pace is limited to certain states and jurisdictions” - Benoy Thanjan Episode 25
• “I put money where my mouth is” - Kumar Aiyer Episode 25
• “Our focus is very simple, we want to bring in the cheapest cost of financing to these projects for our customers” - Kumar Aiyer Episode 25
• “Identify the segment that you are looking to finance make sure there is adequate funding for your business plan to go 1-3 years and grow”  - Kumar Aiyer Episode 25

Resources Mentioned:

https://apifortress.com/

Stay Connected:

Solar Maverick Podcast:

solarmaverickpodcast.com

Benoy Thanjan

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Kumar Aiyer:

info@bfef.biz

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kumaraiyer/

Episode Summary

Benoy and Li reflect on the success of the Solar Maverick Podcast and share their expertise. Li explains the importance of branding through website design, providing key tips for converting observers to clients. Benoy explains the economics behind solar energy and he discusses trends that he is seeing in the solar and energy storage industry.  Benoy talks about opportunity zone investment in the new tax code and how it can be an opportunity for solar.

About Our Guests:

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Li Wang

A life-long journalist and communications professional, Li Wang was hooked on the news as an intern at the Philadelphia Daily News during the summer of the O.J. trial. He has been a business reporter, arts editor and film critic. He has shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services. His company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing.

Insight from this episode:  

• Li shares his three questions for evaluating a marketing strategy:
  • So what?
  • Who cares?
  • Why you?
• How to revamp your website by eliminating stock photos
• Strategies for improving your business by prioritizing your website
• Benoy talks about Massachusetts solar incentive program.
• Discussion on Federal Solar Incentives.
• Benoy talks about how returns on solar projects are getting lower due to increased competition from investors.
• Benoy talk about the tax code changes with opportunity zones and it could be a great opportunity with solar power.

Quotes from the show:

“The biggest mistake that people make is adding stock photos.” - Li Wang Episode 24, on website branding and marketing

“The biggest takeaway about your website is to simplify, use high quality images, and make your messaging succinct.” - Li Wang Episode 24

“Even if you are a business that’s referral-based, some of those referrals may not be converting as easily or as quickly.” - Li Wang Episode 24, on the importance of having a well-constructed website

“Building a marketing presence and branding are huge differentiators especially with people in the same marketplace.” - Benoy Thanjan Episode 24

“The solar economy is one of the fastest growing sectors of the US economy.” - Benoy Thanjan Episode 24

“Energy storage is a game changer and once energy storage become economically it is going to be huge.”-Benoy Thanjan Episode 24

“Some Investors are taking development risk to get higher return on solar projects.”-Benoy Thanjan Episode 24

Resources Mentioned:

2019 is going to be a great year for Solar and the 2018 Year in Review! by Benoy Thanjan

Stay Connected:

Solar Maverick Podcast:

solarmaverickpodcast.com

Benoy Thanjan

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

info@reneuenergy.com

www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Li Wang:

MJWangMedia.com

Instagram: @liwang22

li@reneuenergy.com

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on  itunes, and solarmaverickpodcast.com   

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Nathan Jovanelly who is the CEO and Founder of SunRaise Capital.  Nate talks about his new company SunRaise Capital which provides affordable and accessible renewable energy options to homeowners.  Nate talks about how transferability of the tax credit from the Inflation Reduction Act(“IRA”) will lead to a lot more solar deployment and allow solar installers to own their projects. 

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies.  He has extensive project origination, development, and financial experience in the renewable energy industry and in the environmental commodities market.  

This includes initial site evaluation, permitting, financing, sourcing equipment, and negotiating the long-term energy and environmental commodities off-take agreements. He manages due diligence processes on land, permitting, and utility interconnection and is in charge of financing and structuring through Note to Proceed (“NTP”) to Commercial Operation Date (“COD”). Benoy composes teams suitable for all project development and construction tasks. He is also involved in project planning and pipeline financial modeling. He has been part of all sides of the transaction and this allows him to provide unique perspectives and value. Benoy has extensive experience in financial engineering to make solar projects profitable.

Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016.  He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. 

Benoy was the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners which is a national solar installer where he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects.  He also worked for Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund, where he analyzed potential investments in renewable energy projects and worked on maximizing the financial return of the projects in the portfolio.  Benoy also worked on the sale of all of the renewable energy projects in Ridgewood’s portfolio.  

He was in the Energy Structured Finance practice for Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young.  Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. He has a MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University.  Benoy was an Alumni Scholar at the Stern School of Business.  

Nathan Jovanelly

Jovanelly LLC is a problem solver in the solar industry.  Nathan, the CEO, has a proven track record of simplifying complex issues and helping solar companies:   

Develop business strategies and tactics to gain a competitive advantage; 

Connect to affiliates, partnerships, and vendors to scale faster; 

Gain access to project and growth capital; 

Increase market share through operational efficiency; and 

Coach and mentor sales leadership.  

We are not just another consulting firm.  Jovanelly LLC works side by side with your team to identify the gaps that are holding you back from reaching your business goals.  We develop an implementable plan structured to optimize your current resources, and stick with you all the way through completion. We become part of your team and are invested in your success.  Jovanelly LLC focuses on helping your company reach its full potential; making your solar business limitless.

Nate is the CEO and Founder of Sunraise Capital’s mission is to provide affordable and accessible renewable energy options to homeowners, while reducing carbon footprints and creating a sustainable future for generations to come. They achieve their mission by partnering with industry leading solar installers to provide our customers with the best possible solar experience at competitive rates.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: info@reneuenergy.com 

LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Nathan Jovanelly

Email:  nate@jovanellyllc.com

Website:  https://jovanelly.io/

SunRaise Capital Website:  https://www.sunraisecapital.com/

Limitless Podcast:  https://jovanelly.io/limitless-podcast

Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/natejov/

Nate’s other interviews on the Solar Maverick Podcast

Solar Maverick Episode 147:  RE+ Takeaways

https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-147-re-conference-takeaways/

Solar Maverick Episode 139: Opportunities and Challenges with the PJM Solar Market

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u14GHBkqcqo

Solar Maverick Episode 134: 2023 Solar Predictions

https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-134-2023-solar-predictations/

SMP 131:  How Technology and Software are innovating the Solar Industry?

https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-131-how-technology-and-software-is-innovating-the-solar-industry/

SMP 100: US Residential Solar, Storage, and Electric Vehicle Trends

https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-100-us-residential-solar-storage-and-electric-vehicles-trends/

SMP 74: Impact on COVID-19 on Residential Solar

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/smp-74-impacts-of-covid-19-on-residential-solar/id1441876259?i=1000475840259

SMP 58:  Residential Solar Financing and Other Interesting Topics

https://podcasts.apple.com/tc/podcast/smp-58-residential-solar-financing-other-interesting/id1441876259?i=1000459212910

SMP 20:  The Solar Intrapreneur Story:  How Nate helped IGS become one of the biggest solar asset owners in the US

https://podcasts.apple.com/tc/podcast/smp-20-solar-intrapreneur-story-how-nate-helped-igs/id1441876259?i=1000432329129

We would like to thank Schwerd Consulting for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

Schwerd Consulting is a leading solar consulting firm dedicated to design, engineering, owner representation and technical consulting in all areas of solar photovoltaics and energy storage for the Commercial & Industrial and Utility markets.  At Schwerd Consulting we like to say that We Know Solar. We don’t just Do Solar. What sets us apart is our 100% focus on solar, while having an extensive background in building and utility engineering, and understanding the business of our clients. We are involved with the trends, technologies, vendors, policies, utilities, codes, and financial considerations for the industry. Therefore, value add for us is not just a slogan, it’s what we practice in order to have loyal customers and gain trust.

In its 9 years of business, Schwerd Consulting has provided services for approximately 1 GW of PV across over 800 sites and 17 US states plus the Caribbean.  Let Schwerd Consulting take the burden off you and bring ease and expertise in all areas of Engineering & Design or help you navigate the technical world of solar.  If you are interested in learning more about Schwerd Consulting, you can call 215-219-6718 or email to admin@schwerdconsulting.  Schwerd Consulting’s website is www.schwerdconsulting.com.

Episode Summary

Benoy and Suzanne discuss Community Solar and why this is an exciting area for renewable energy. From the challenges of contract tenure to providing access for low to moderate income housing, this is an area you should expect to see significant expansion. Expect to gain real insight and understanding of community solar.

About our Guest:

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Suzanne Waters

Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and  a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.

Insight from this Episode

• How to share in the benefits of community solar projects without owning or developing your own project.
• Why community solar should get everyone excited about solar.
• How community solar is becoming more readily available for low to moderate income households.
• How community solar has been affected by different challenges.
• How community solar, net metering and credits work together.

Quotes from the show:

• ·In regard to 100% renewable energy goals, “I think what we’ve seen are the challenges related to policy that’s able to move as quickly as the goals of the state.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #23.
• “Community Solar is one of the fastest growing sectors of the industry.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #23.
• “Community solar allows you to buy credits through virtual net metering from a solar project…it’s definitely access to provide solar in a way that hasn’t been there before.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #23.
• “The challenge for community solar has been finding financing parties that are comfortable with the lesser tenure of a contract.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #23.
• In regard to different structures of community solar: “The most popular structure is the subscription-based model, which is easier to structure and less expensive.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #23.
• “Virtual net metering is what allows a household or business to receive the net metering credits associated with a net metering project that they don’t actually share an electricity meter.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #23.
• “You don’t have to own the project to share in the credits.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #23.
• “Community Solar is taking solar to the next level, where it really should be available to the masses. So if community solar doesn’t get everyone excited about solar, I don’t know what will!” Suzanne Waters, Episode #23.
• “Carpe Solem (Seize the Sun)” Suzanne Waters, Episode #23.

Benoy Thanjan

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

info@reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Suzanne Waters:

www.reneuenergy.com

info@reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

suzanne@reneuenergy.com

Linkedin: Suzanne Waters

Episode Summary

Lauren and Benoy share knowledge on topics from how the industry has seen new trends take effect because of the increase and decrease in tariffs, how the solar market continues to grow and create openings for niche companies, and how to approach not just becoming an entrepreneur but also being a female entrepreneur in a male dominated industry.

About our Guest:

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

Lauren Carson

Lauren Carson, with over 8 years of experience in the solar industry, is the CEO of Kinect Solar, the leader of liquidation and wholesale business for electrical components and power generation equipment, transformers, electrical cable, and generators. They work with local installers and manufacturers to move excess inventory to their customers that span the globe from local installers in Austin to farmers in Belize and hotels in Fiji.

Insight from this episode:

• How the business market is affected by tariffs.
• How businesses can be impacted by local, state and federal policy.
• How supply and demand can affect the import market, pricing and drive new trends.
• Why tariffs affect where businesses start to pop up or move to.
• How to approach being a female entrepreneur in a male dominated industry.
• Strategies for finding a niche in the market.
• Reasons to start small and slowly scale as an entrepreneur.

Quotes from the show:

• “Our mantra is ‘We solve inventory problems’” Lauren Carson, Episode #22.
• “The solar panel market really is a commodity so supply demand dynamic impacts by local, state and federal policy are very very apparent.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22.
• “I’m seeing as well in the development cycle, everyone is adjusting their engineering to take advantage of these more efficient panels to get higher production from their solar systems to get a higher return.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #22.
• “There’s been a massive jump in efficiency, I think there’s still a lot of people sitting on the older wattage panels and I think we’re going to continue to see those prices go down for the more legacy wattage panels.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22.
• “It’s extremely stressful at times; there are financial stresses and there are personnel stresses but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I think my favorite thing about having my own company is getting choose the people I work with.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22.
• Tips for entrepreneurs: “Staying scrappy and focusing on one little piece of what you do and also finding one customer that’s willing to pay you for something, and then growing off of that success, and just being patient.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22.
• “I think you mentioned a great point; everyone feels like they need to have this structure set up but obviously business is about generating revenue and adding value to your clients. Sometimes people get lost in all that other stuff rather than focusing on what’s important.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #22.
• “People are willing to help, and it’s all about adding value. It’s almost like mentorship in a sense…mentorship has been very important for me and developing my business.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #22.
• “In regard to being a female entrepreneur in a male dominated industry: “You have to let it roll off your back; if you hold onto that and think about how it’s setting you back then I think it starts to become a reality.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22.
• In regard to being a female entrepreneur in a male dominated industry: “In general, we have a great industry with great people and I have looked at it as a positive.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22.

Recommended Books:

• “The Grid” by Gretchen Bakke
• “Ego is the Enemy” by Ryan Holiday
• “Traction” by Gino Wickman
• “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

info@reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Lauren Carson:

www.kinectsolar.com

Linkedin: Kinect Solar

info@kinectsolar.com

Episode Summary

Benoy and John discuss the how the exciting industry of solar and renewable resources has been impacted by large utility projects becoming smaller and more distributed. John emphasizes the importance of people to any industry and how vital the trust between business partners and clients is to the success of any project, relationship or business.  

About our Guest:

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.

Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.

John Chaimanis

Mr. Chaimanis co-founded Kendall Sustainable Infrastructure (KSI) in 2012.  KSI is an innovative private finance company with over $150M AUM, that owns and operates distributed renewable energy and other sustainable infrastructure projects.  He is a well respected leader in the industry with over 15 years of experience and innovation.  Prior to Kendall, he worked with a subsidiary of Edison International in California where he was part of a team that developed and acquired over $500M of energy projects and installed 250MW of utility scale wind assets.  Prior to working in infrastructure, Mr. Chaimanis was a founding member of an inner-city charter school.  Mr. Chaimanis holds an M.B.A. from Babson College (where he currently is an adjunct professor), a B.S. in Finance from Villanova University and has earned the Sustainable and Responsible Certification from US SIF.

Insight from this episode:

• Why solar plus storage is such an important and positive trend.
• How to add value as a partner.
• Why trusting your clients and partners is vital to your business.
• How to build a successful future with a partner during the first deal.
• Why it’s vital to compare the duration of an incentive to the duration of the asset
• The importance of working side by side with clients during the developmental process
• The importance of perseverance in entrepreneurship
• How personal experience can be more important to your success than education

Quotes from the show:

• “We are seeing that more common in the industry as well, where developers are looking for help from financial providers to provide value in the development process and life cycle” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #21.
• “As an investor you need to look at the industry you’re investing in and figure out how are you going to have an edge; what are you going to do better than any other financier in the industry?” John Chaimanis, Episode #21.

• “What I learned is that number one has to be respect and trust” John Chaimanis, Episode #21.
• “What I found is that it’s really great when you’re sitting in the boardroom figuring it out (contracts and agreement details) but almost every deal I’ve been a part of; within 5 days of signing that paper something comes up that you didn’t think of in that contract and that’s when you find out who people really are.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21.
• “In the long run, we want to treat people with dignity and respect, and we want the same on our side” John Chaimanis, Episode #21.
• “Development in my opinion – it’s very difficult to be a great developer all over the nation. It is a very regional game.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21.
• “It’s very common for the local developers acquisition costs for customers to be a lot lower than the national provider because they have that relationship and they’re in that area so people know who they are” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #21.
• “I love solar, I love being part of this industry. It is one of the most exciting and quickly evolving. People are motivated and energized and so many folks in the industry really believe in what we’re doing” John Chaimanis, Episode #21.
• “As an industry, I think it would be good for us to have a more mature understanding of the way power prices are actually established.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21.
• “It’s going to be a huge opportunity that’s going to go for years and years...the next 50-75 years especially when we reach grid parity in most states and you’re not dependent on incentives will be a gamechanger.”  Benoy Thanjan, Episode #21.
• In regard to starting a business; “It was slow, very slow like any entrepreneur will tell you. There were bits in the beginning where I had to fill with consulting work and other things.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21
• In regard to recommendations for other entrepreneurs; “My path was that I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur and I knew what industry I wanted to be in but I didn’t have the knowledge so I worked for a while first. And I think that’s not a bad idea for somebody that - to go out and start an advertising company cold might be a little hard but if you work in the ad space for a while and learn as much as you can, there is incredible value in that. There’s even more value in that than going to school.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21
• In regard to recommendations for other entrepreneurs; “The second thing is perseverance. You really need to - every day - put your hardest work in, and everyday be a better you as you’re going through it.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21
• “You need dreamers and people who are willing to push the envelope.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #21.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan

www.reneuenergy.com

info@reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

John Chaimanis:

http://kendallinvestments.com

Twitter: @Ksienergy

Linkedin: Kendall-Investments