Solar Maverick Podcast

By Benoy ThanjanBusiness Science Careers Natural Sciences

Solar Maverick Podcast episodes

December 04, 2018SMP 05: Common Myths of Solar Energy
About our Hosts:
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.
Episode Summary:
Benoy unpacks the prevailing myths about solar energy and solar panels. He discusses it all, from the economics, maintenance and operation of solar panels down to the changing public perception of the aesthetic of solar panels on buildings.
Insights from this episode:
How to pitch solar as a smart economic choice
Insights on the various federal and state incentive programs that make solar even more economical
Strategies for businesses looking to purchase a solar array
How solar could transform electricity acquisition in post-hurricane communities
Secrets about Benoy’s next projects in solar, including reaching low-income communities with solar energy technologies

Quotes from the show:
“As long as the sun is shining, no matter whether it’s cold or hot, the panels will be generating energy.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 5
“One of the great things about solar is the biggest cost is related to the installation and then there’s ongoing operations and maintenance, but it’s pretty low.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 5
“Before it used to be there were a lot of good projects and not a lot of money, and now there’s a lot of money chasing a very small amount of projects.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 5
“To see companies, corporations, who are willing to basically buy renewable energy as part of their corporate strategy has been huge.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 5
“You have to get started somehow.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 5

Stay connected:

Benoy Thanjan
LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan
Facebook: Reneu Energy
www.reneuenergy.com
[email protected]

Li Wang:
MJWangMedia.com
Instagram: @liwang22
25 min
November 27, 2018SMP 04: Strategies to Acquire Commercial & Industrial Solar Customers and the NJ Solar Market with Alex Rivera from Vanguard Energy Partners
About our Guest:
Alex Rivera is the senior vice president of business development for Vanguard Energy Partners. He is a member of the New Jersey Alliance for Action Energy Committee, the Solar Energy Industry Association and serves on the steering committee for the Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy. He has worked in the solar energy industry for over 15 years, working with commercial and industrial clients to retrofit their facilities and support a more renewable energy economy.

Episode Summary:
Alex talks about working with commercial and industrial clients on solar array projects, especially within the context of the changes facing the solar incentive program in New Jersey. He also talks about past growth of solar energy in New Jersey and looks ahead to the industry’s future.

Insights from this episode:
Strategies to get commercial clients on board with solar
How to construct a sound proposal for your client
The secrets behind New Jersey’s solar success
Thoughts on navigating the changes coming to solar energy in New Jersey
Why you should be optimistic about the trajectory of solar
Tips on what to look out for as energy storage technology becomes more common and more necessary
Why understanding the regulations around solar is paramount to pitching the technology to clients

Quotes from the show:
“North America chose tax credits, federal tax credits, as the currency to foster investment confidence from the marketplace, and therefore if you’re going to be involved in originating and nurturing in these relationships, you first must understand your client’s tax situation.” - Alex Rivera, Episode #4
“I would not want to be involved in solar anywhere for the foreseeable future than in the Northeast.” - Alex Rivera, Episode #4
“I think the first thing a newcomer to the industry should understand is energy itself.” - Alex Rivera, Episode #4
“Solar energy in New Jersey is very different than solar energy in California in how it is incentivized. You must know that.” - Alex Rivera, Episode #4
“You need to understand the different programs in order to be able to convey the benefit to your client.” - Alex Rivera, Episode #4

Stay connected:

Benoy Thanjan
LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan
Facebook: Reneu Energy
www.reneuenergy.com
[email protected]

Li Wang:
MJWangMedia.com
Instagram: @liwang22

Alex Rivera:
[email protected]
43 min
November 20, 2018SMP 03: Innovative Solar Financing Solution with Abinash Tiwari from Blue Flame Energy Finance
About our guest:
Abinash Tiwari is the CIO of BlueFlame Energy Finance, a startup company based in California that focuses on financing energy projects for commercial building owners. He has over 15 years of experience in the solar energy industry, including in energy finance, project development, origination and business development. He has worked on projects totalling 250 megawatts of solar energy and invested one billion in solar PV, storage and other Distributed Generation projects. Before he joined BlueFlame, he was the director of renewable business development at Constellation NewEnergy.
Episode summary:
Abinash speaks from 15 years of experience creating innovative ways to finance solar energy projects and navigating the dynamic nature of working in a relatively new industry. He says learning on the job and constantly evolving with the technology makes his job fun.
Insights from this episode:
Abinash’s secrets to innovating ahead of PACE(“Property Assessed Clean Energy “) financing programs instead of waiting around for those programs to catch up
How you can be the value added on a project – quality over quantity when building relationships
His thoughts on the trends to look out for in solar technology (hint: it’s not energy storage)
Quotes from the show:
“I always thought power has more value than SRECs fundamentally, because power is something people need. SRECs is something which is created by regulators.” - Abinash Tiwari, Episode 3
On BlueFlame’s financial model versus the national financing initiative PACE: “The beauty of this is we can go to any state, any jurisdiction, and actually still finance fairly small projects.” - Abinash Tiwari, Episode 3
“As a small business, as a startup, you are always looking at how the market reacts to what you’re trying to do and then change course. And you have to do that super quickly because you don’t have the liberty and the stability of a very large business. Pretty much you learn as you go, and actually that is pretty exciting.” - Abinash Tiwari, Episode 3
“The tailwinds are there behind solar and energy distribution in general fundamentally, and it is not going to go away.” - Abinash Tiwari, Episode 3
“The question is do you want stability or do you want to join the fun?” - Abinash Tiwari, Episode 3
“It’s all about adding value, being honest and transparent.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 3
Stay connected:

Benoy Thanjan
LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan
Facebook: Reneu Energy
www.reneuenergy.com
[email protected]

Li Wang:
MJWangMedia.com
Instagram: @liwang22
Abinash Tiwari
blueflameenergyfinance.com or hyperqual.com
Twitter
LinkedIn
36 min
November 13, 2018 SMP 02: Solar with Sports Teams with Benoy and Li
About our Hosts:

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.

Episode Summary:

Benoy Thanjan and co-host Li Wang are big football fans. Benoy’s team is the New York Giants and Li’s team is the Philadelphia Eagles. In this episode, Benoy and Li and talk about solar power in sports facilities. Benoy’s company is Reneu Energy and they recently opened offices in Los Angeles and San Diego, both in California. Benoy says that California is the number one state for solar energy, and that the governor of California signed legislation to have 100% renewable energy by 2045. Li and Benoy talk at length about the future of solar energy and especially its use in sports stadiums.

Insights from this Episode:

✺ Why Reneu Energy expanded their market to California
✺ The reasons football stadiums in the Northeastern United States use solar panels
✺ Exploring possibilities and advantages for sports facilities to implement solar energy
✺ Information about the panel that Benoy moderated at Solar Power International called “Market Forces: C&I's Role in Transforming Utility-Scale Procurement” in September in Anaheim, California and cutting edge companies who will be on the panel
✺ Tips to navigate tariffs imposed on the solar industry
✺ How Solar Energy in Europe is leading the way for change in the world. Germany has had two days this year where it was powered by 100% renewables.
✺ How “Greenies” as a carbon energy offset are used as solar energy
Quotes from the Show:

✺ “California is the most progressive state in the fifty states, and actually is the number one state for solar, and they recently passed legislation to increase that.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode #2
✺“The East Coast doesn’t seem like it’d be the most solar-friendly region of the country, yet, we have our three NFC teams leading in solar.” - Li Wang, Episode #2
✺ “Greenies are a renewable energy carbon offset that’s basically based on stringent consumer
Environmental standards in North America, and it’s certified from a green-powered, renewable energy facility, basically.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode #2
✺ “One Greenie equals one MegaWatt hour of energy.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode #2

Stay connected:

Benoy Thanjan
LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan
Facebook: Reneu Energy
www.reneuenergy.com
[email protected]

Li Wang:
MJWangMedia.com
Instagram: @liwang22
23 min
November 10, 2018SMP 01: Introduction to the Solar Maverick Podcast with Benoy and Li
About our Hosts:
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.
Episode Summary:
In the first episode of the series, Hosts Benoy Thanjan and Li Wang introduce themselves and tells us what we can expect to learn about the Solar industry and how the world around us is changing for the better. Benoy also talks about his background and how he started in the solar industry. He continues to discuss the pros of solar power and the services his company has to offer. At one point in the interview, he talks about his experience as a 9/11 survivor and how that shaped his life as an entrepreneur. This is a podcast community that you definitely want to be apart of.

Insights from this Episode:
Introducing the Solar Maverick Podcast series which discusses solar energy, renewable energy, energy storage and the role of entrepreneurship within that industry.
How Benoy’s work experiences led him to start his own company.
Tips on how to run a business: adding value to customers, building strong relationships, listening and learning from failure.
Passion is a motivating factor.
How solar energy helps humanity.
Reneu Energy is a top solar energy company.
Quotes from the Show:
“Sales is everything in having a business: you can have a great idea, but if you can’t sell it, then there’s no point.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode #1
“One thing that’s probably helped with your sales is your enthusiasm and confidence for solar energy.” - Li Wang, Episode #1
“I’m doing something that I’m passionate about, that I love - renewable energy and sustainability.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode #1
“I really try to live each day like it’s the last; I don’t take anything for granted.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode #1

Stay connected:

Benoy Thanjan
LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan
Facebook: Reneu Energy
www.reneuenergy.com
[email protected]

Li Wang:
MJWangMedia.com
Instagram: @liwang22
28 min

About Solar Maverick Podcast

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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…