Solar Maverick Podcast

By Benoy ThanjanBusiness Science Careers Natural Sciences

Solar Maverick Podcast episodes

July 02, 2019SMP 35: Development Capital Funding for Early Stage Solar Projects
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
[email protected]
LinkedIn.com/bthanjan
www.reneuenergy.com
Facebook: Reneu Energy

Michael DellaGala
[email protected]
http://www.dgenergypartners.com/
www.metromezz.com/
34 min
June 25, 2019SMP 34: The importance of solar estimating in the construction of a solar project
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
[email protected]
LinkedIn.com/bthanjan
www.reneuenergy.com
Facebook: Reneu Energy

Suzanne Waters
[email protected]
Linkedin: Suzanne Waters
www.reneuenergy.com
Facebook: Reneu Energy

Juan Truyol
https://stratasolar.com/
LinkedIn: Juan Truyol
[email protected]
32 min
June 18, 2019SMP 33: The New York Solar Market
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
[email protected]
www.reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan
Facebook: Reneu Energy
Suzanne Waters:
[email protected]
Linkedin: Suzanne Waters
www.reneuenergy.com
Facebook: Reneu Energy
36 min
June 11, 2019SMP 32: The NJ Solar Market
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
[email protected]
www.reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan
Facebook: Reneu Energy
Suzanne Waters:
[email protected]
Linkedin: Suzanne Waters
www.reneuenergy.com
Facebook: Reneu Energy
37 min
June 04, 2019SMP 31: Why Operations & Maintenance is so important for the useful life of the solar project
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
[email protected]
Facebook: Reneu Energy
Amanda Bybee
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandabybee
[email protected]
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
46 min
May 28, 2019SMP 30: How to construct a great solar project
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
[email protected]
Facebook: Reneu Energy
Dominick Matinelli:
Pro Circuit Electrical Contracting
[email protected]
LinkedIn: Pro Circuit Electrical Contracting
LinkedIn: Dominick Matinelli
Facebook: Pro Circuit Electrical Contracting
42 min
May 21, 2019SMP 29: SREC 101
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: [email protected]. 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
[email protected]
www.reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn.com/bthanjan
Facebook: Reneu Energy
Suzanne Waters:
suzanne@reneuenergy.com
Linkedin: Suzanne Waters
www.reneuenergy.com
Facebook: Reneu Energy
40 min
May 21, 2019SMP 28: The Virginia Solar Market
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 [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/bthanjan/
Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22
41 min
May 07, 2019SMP 27: How Climate Change has impacted the Economy? The PG&E Example.
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

Why did the Colombian Renewable Energy Auction fail? By Francisco Sanclemente, CFA-Energy and Infrastructure Investment Banking Associate at Bancapital S.A.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/way-forward-francisco-sanclemente-cfa/

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
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bthanjan/

Li Wang:
MJWangMedia.com
Instagram: @liwang22
35 min
April 30, 2019SMP 26: A Developer's Perspective on the US Solar Market
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/
[email protected]
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
46 min

About Solar Maverick Podcast

From the publisher's feed

The Solar Maverick Podcast is the insiders guide to where the solar and energy markets meet entrepreneurship and trailblazing. Hosted by Benoy Thanjan - a serial entrepreneur and founder of Reneu…