Power Players by Origis®

Topic: Insuring Solar Project Bankability

Moderator: Michael Eyman, Managing Director, Origis Energy Services    

Guest: Carol Stark, Managing Director for Aon’s North America Renewable Energy Practice

In Episode 24 of Power Players by Origis®, host Michael Eyman and Carol Stark, Managing Director for Aon’s North America Renewable Energy Practice, discuss strategies to reduce insurance costs for large-scale solar projects.   

Three key takeaways to reduce overall insurance costs developers should consider: 

1. Location, Location, Location – geography, geology and meteorology can require specific risk mitigation strategies to keep insurance costs manageable.  
2. Pay me now or pay me later – by picking quality equipment like panels, trackers and racking along with reputable contractors, such as EPC and O&M firms, developers and owners could spend slightly more on upfront costs but reduce their insurance costs over the life of the project considerably.  
3. Timing is everything – by engaging early and often with insurance partners, developers can mitigate risks by making projects more resilient, improve overall premiums, and make the entire solar project more bankable.  

Topic: Powerful Partnerships: Community Engagement for Renewable Energy Projects

Moderator: Glenna Wiseman, Head of Marketing and Communications for Origis Energy 

Guest: Joe Rand, Energy Policy Researcher in the Energy Markets and Policy Department at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

In Episode 23 of Power Players by Origis®, host Glenna Wiseman, Head of Marketing and Communications for Origis Energy, and Joe Rand, Energy Policy Researcher in the Energy Markets and Policy Department at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, discuss engaging communities when developing renewable energy projects.

Three key takeaways: 

1.  Community opposition is not a fringe or minor concern and must be addressed by developers.

2.  Developers who see the bigger picture and engage with local communities improve the landscape for themselves for later projects and others in additional communities to help the U.S. meet renewable energy goals. 

3.  Robust engagement strategies can help improve the bottom line for developers.

Topic: Shedding Light on Solar Underperformance 

Moderator: Michael Eyman, Managing Director, Origis Services   

Guest: Rhone Resch, President and Chief Revenue Officer, Solarlytics

In Episode 22 of Power Players by Origis®, host Michael Eyman discusses some of the causes of solar asset underperformance and how to address it with Rhone Resch, President and Chief Revenue Officer of Solarlytics.  

During their conversation, Resch and Eyman discussed some of the causes of solar asset underperformance and how to address it.  

Three key takeaways:   

1. Owners, especially those of older assets, are concerned about underperformance at the DC level, which can be caused by string imbalance, voltage collapse or lack of data. 
2. Underperformance is costing the solar industry billions of dollars in unrealized production, and reputational harm when investors do not realize promised project ROI.  
3. The tech solutions required to mitigate underperformance are rarely accounted for in a typical O&M contract but should be to maximize asset performance. 

Topic: Securing Solar Assets from Cyber-Attacks 

Moderator: Michael Eyman, Managing Director, Origis Services   

Guest: Henry Sienkiewicz, senior information technology executive and Georgetown University professor 

In Episode 21 of Power Players by Origis®, host Michael Eyman discusses cybersecurity in renewable energy and best practices for improving it with Henry Sienkiewicz, senior information technology executive and Georgetown University professor.   

During their conversation, Sienkiewicz and Eyman discussed securing solar assets from cyber-attacks.

Three key takeaways:   

1. Critical infrastructure in the United States is fairly secure, but there is always room for continuous improvement. 
2. Best practices cybersecurity include plans for prevention, detection and responding to cyber-attacks.  
3. The future of security and resiliency in the grid could be helped with artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and creating a digital twin to model a more secure environment. 

Topic: Storing the Energy Transition – Episode 20 of Power Players by Origis®

Moderator: Christine Grey, Senior Director of Business Development for Origis Energy 

Guest: Jordan Cole, Chief Commercial Officer at Hydrostor 

In Episode 20 of Power Players by Origis®, host Christine Grey, Senior Director of Business Development for Origis Energy and Jordan Cole, Chief Commercial Officer at Hydrostor discuss developing the long duration storage market.   

Three key takeaways: 

1. Long duration storage is key to the energy transition. 
2. Different storage solutions are necessary for a variety of use cases to meet energy transition goals.  
3. The United States needs clear goals and incentives that are not technology specific for the industry to mature to meet the storage capacity needs of the future.  

Topic: Creating the Future of Renewables – Episode 19 of Power Players by Origis® 

Moderator: Michael Eyman, Managing Director Origis Services  

Guest: Dean Solon, Founder, CEO, and President of Create Energy

In Episode 19 of Power Players by Origis®, host Michael Eyman discusses the future of renewable energy and how to build it with Dean Solon, the founder, CEO, and President of Create Energy. 

During their conversation, Solon and Eyman discussed the future of renewable energy and how to build it. Three key takeaways:  

1. A labor shortage has created an opportunity for innovation in the renewable energy sector. 
2. The commitment to build back the American manufacturing sector has created an opportunity for innovation.  
3. Innovation and automation will bring more opportunities, quality and investment to the renewable energy sector.  

Topic: Merging Pathways to Net Zero – Episode 18 of Power Players by Origis®

Moderator: Janice Loppe, Director of Sustainability for Origis Energy 

Guest: Dr. Charles Sims, Director for the Center for Energy, Transportation and Environmental Policy at the University of Tennessee Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs

In Episode 18 of Power Players by Origis®, host Janice Loppe, Director of Sustainability for Origis Energy, discusses the recently released “Valley Pathways Study” with Dr. Charles Sims, Director for the Center for Energy, Transportation and Environmental Policy at the University of Tennessee Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs. 

Three key takeaways:

1. Consistent with national data, the transportation sector is the largest source of emissions in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) seven state region.
2. Electrifying the transportation sector will get the biggest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. 
3. Consensus and transparency are the keys to adoption of any new policies, technologies or behaviors. 

Topic: Scaling Big Solar – Episode 17 of Power Players by Origis®

Moderator: Michael Eyman, Managing Director, Origis Services 

Guest: Alex Au, Chief Technology Officer and a co-founder at Nextracker

In Episode 17 of Power Players by Origis®, host Mchael Eyman discusses ways to scale big solar, with Alex Au, Chief Technology Officer and a co-founder at Nextracker. 

Three key takeaways:

1. Installations that adapt to the terrain through technology, rather than adapting the terrain to the installation, are more efficient. 
2. Many of the varied weather patterns around the country can be addressed with both hardware engineering and software learnings. 
3. Finding the best solution to the demand curve created by renewable energy creates exciting possibilities for future growth. 

Topic: Right Sizing Solar Risk – Episode 16 of Power Players by Origis®

Moderator: Michael Eyman, Managing Director, Origis Services 

Guest: Jason Kaminsky, co-founder and CEO of kWh Analytics 

In Episode 16 of Power Players by Origis®, host Michael Eyman discusses the history and future trends of risk assessment and allocation for solar assets with Jason Kaminsky, co-founder and CEO of kWh Analytics. 

During their conversation, Kaminsky and Eyman discussed right sizing risk allocation. Three key takeaways: 

1. Risk for solar assets is being spread to more parties. It’s no longer just origination bankers and developers, but also insurance companies, O&M operators and tax equity buyers. 
2. Historically, solar projects have needed protection from physical damage and underperformance, leading to financial losses. New provisions in the IRA create a blending of these risks that have buyers demanding better models for production forecasts. 
3. More data on weather risk mitigation and asset production are improving those forecast models and creating an overall more reliable and resilient solar asset.  

Topic: Energy Triangle: Pressure and Possibility – Episode 15 of Power Players by Origis® 

Moderator: Michael Eyman, Managing Director, Origis Services 

Guest: Cristin Lyons, partner and head of ScottMadden’s energy practice 

The energy market faces both new pressure and possibility as the U.S. integrates more renewables into the grid. In Episode 15 of Power Players by Origis®, host Mchael Eyman discusses the pressures on the generation and demand side of the equation with Cristin Lyons, a partner and head of ScottMadden’s energy practice. 

During their conversation, Lyons and Eyman discussed the pressures on generation and transmission during this transition. Three key takeaways: 

1. It’s no longer enough for utilities to provide reliable and affordable electricity. Customers are increasingly demanding clean energy. 
2. Customers have a bigger voice in generation and policy than they historically have. 
3. To meet the rapidly increasing demand for electricity, all stakeholders must find ways to work together, meaning current regulatory models may need to change.