The REM Podcast - Renewable Energy Movement

In this episode of the REM Podcast, Tom speaks with Nikolaos Karagiovanidis, Director of Project Development at Chint Green Energy, about what it really takes to build successful solar and battery projects across multiple European markets.

Nikolaos shares lessons from a career that’s taken him from EPC work in Greece and Turkey to leading development across the Balkans, Baltics, and Nordics , including why local team structure, grid access, and cultural fit matter so much in this industry.

They discuss:

• The shift from EPC to full project development and what that changed for him
• Why Chint’s vertical integration helps them move faster and cheaper than competitors
• How lean teams can outperform large teams if you hire the right people
• Why grid congestion is now the biggest bottleneck in Europe
• How collocated BESS (battery + solar) is the best solution to the grid bottleneck

If you’re operating across multiple markets, managing development teams, or navigating grid constraints, this episode is packed with sharp insights from someone building at scale.

Connect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomessex/

Connect with Nikolaos: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolaoskaragiovanidis-executive/

In this episode of the REM Podcast, Tom sits down with Filippo Ricci, General Manager Italy at Recurrent Energy (subsidiary of Canadian Solar), to talk about what really drives success in renewable energy: projects and people.

They cover:

- Why “projects and people” are the two real assets in renewable energy

- How M&A experience shapes leadership and commercial decisions

- What growing a team from 30 to 60 people taught him about culture and capability

- What’s on the horizon for the Italian market

- Why the energy transition must be cost-competitive, in addition to ESG compliant

If you're thinking about how to scale responsibly, build the right team, or focus your pipeline, this one’s worth a listen.

Connect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomessex/

Connect with Filippo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riccifilippo/

In this episode of the REM Podcast, Tom sits down with Luca Marini, CEO of LIO DC - the data centre platform of LIO Factory, a real estate holding company investing in infrastructure, renewables and beyond.

Luca shares why LIO is one of the few platforms in Italy designing renewables and data centres together from day one, rather than treating them as separate industries. He talks about what it means to build infrastructure from the land up, and why being involved from the very first step (land and local execution) is what sets them apart.

This episode covers:

• Why the AI revolution demands renewables and data centres grow hand in hand
• The value of developing from 0 to 0.2 instead of trying to do everything
• How Lio is attracting long-term foreign capital to Italy
• Why doing fewer projects, but doing them better, is a winning strategy

If you’re interested in early-stage infrastructure, the intersection of energy and digital, or what real long-term value creation looks like in practice - this one’s worth a listen.

Connect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomessex/

Connect with Luca: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariniluca/

Disclaimer

This was our first in-person recording, so we ran into a few minor technical issues. The audio quality is a bit variable - both mics were affected, but Tom’s more noticeably.

The video also cuts out near the end, though the full conversation was captured in audio.

We felt the insights were too valuable not to share, so we hope you enjoy the conversation nonetheless!

In this first ever in-person episode of the REM Podcast, host Tom Essex speaks to Rodolfo Bigolin, CEO of Innovo Group - a true serial entrepreneur who’s built multiple infrastructure companies across renewables, EV charging and data centres.

He explains why his team took construction in-house, how they managed to deliver 11 solar plants at once, and why retention and culture have been key to scaling sustainably.

This episode covers:

• What different European markets taught him, and where the next opportunities are
• Why they acquired an engineering firm to control risk and delivery quality
• How they scaled while maintaining almost zero staff turnover
• Why fast-growth playbooks don’t work in long-term infrastructure
• How they’re applying lessons from solar to adjacent markets like EV and data

If you want to understand what it really takes to build energy infrastructure that lasts, this episode is packed with real-world insight from a team that’s doing it at scale.

Connect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomessex/

Connect with Rodolfo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodolfo-bigolin-24333115/

In this episode of the REM Podcast, Tom speaks with Carlo Toic, Co-Founder and COO of SOL-R Global Infrastructures, a real estate platform specialising in land strategies for renewable energy projects.

Carlo makes a bold case: IPP ownership of land is bad finance. From tax inefficiencies to illiquidity, he explains why mixing real estate and energy assets on the same balance sheet hurts returns, complicates exits, and inflates project risk.

They talk about:

• Why leasing land instead of owning it creates a cleaner, more scalable project structure
• How to separate real estate and energy assets to improve liquidity and resale value
• What solar can learn from the telecom industry’s tower aggregation model
• Why 20% of projects are rejected by IPPs- and how Carlo’s firm targets them profitably
• What makes a project exit-friendly, especially in early-stage development

This episode is packed with deep insight for developers, investors, and operators navigating land risk, exit timing, and long-term portfolio value.

Connect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomessex/

Connect with Carlo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drazen-toic/

In this episode of the REM Podcast, host Tom speaks with Laurens van Ochten, Head of BESS at R.Power, a fast‑growing European renewable energy developer specialising in large‑scale solar and battery storage.

Laurens shares deep insights into the challenges of scaling battery storage across multiple countries, while managing market differences, grid bottlenecks and team structure. He also explains why R.Power chose to centralise their entire BESS team.

They talk about:

• Why easy grid access in Germany backfired, and what other countries can learn from it
• How “paper projects” are hurting hiring, planning, and long-term confidence
• Why Portugal is ahead of other markets when it comes to hybridisation
• What makes a BESS project actually work in real-life conditions
• And why bureaucracy isn’t always a bad thing when it comes to project quality

Connect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomessex/

Connect with Laurens: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurensvanochten/

In this episode of the REM Podcast, host Tom Essex speaks with Francisco Díez Quiralte, former Global Head of Business Development at Zelestra.

Francisco’s career spans three continents, having originated large-scale renewable energy projects across Spain, Germany, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, India and more.

They talk about:

• How he built a 100+ person team across Latin America from scratch
• Competing with global players like Enel and ENGIE, winning hybrid auctions
• Why India is years ahead of Europe in designing truly dispatchable renewables
• What Spain could have learned from Chile’s early grid failures
• What he misses about the chaos of a global career, and what he’s building next

Connect with Francisco: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francisco-díez-quiralte-21863637/

Connect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomessex/

In this episode of the REM Podcast, Tom sits down with Alexandros Kalargyros, Head of Engineering & Construction at EDP Renewables.

Alexandros’ career has taken him across four continents, from small villages in Zambia, to large solar farms in the US.

They discuss:

• His experiences delivering renewable energy projects in Africa, the US and Europe.
• How Greece is positioning itself as a strategic energy hub between Europe and the Middle East.
• Why he believes every energy professional should work abroad at some point
• Why scaling the industry isn’t about the technology, but rather about the people

If you’re interested in international project construction, leading diverse teams and adapting to life in vastly different countries - this is the episode for you.

Connect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomessex/

Connect with Alexandros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandros-kalargyros-0b783a88/

In this episode of the REM Podcast, Tom sits down with Roderik von Meyenfeldt to discuss his journey from real estate to his current role as Regional Director of Development at Sunrock.

Roderik explains:

• Why the Dutch grid is overwhelmed by going too far too fast with solar development
• What Germany got right a decade ago that the Netherlands failed to plan for
• Why energy transparency on a consumer level is needed to help fix grid congestion
• What he’d tell anyone entering the renewable energy sector for the first time

This episode is full of lessons that can be learned from a country that's already quite far ahead in the energy transition.

Connect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomessex/

Connect with Roderik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roderik-von-meyenfeldt-0a194027/

In this episode, Ilona Németh-Kiss shares her journey from a legal career in Hungary to becoming the Commercial Project Director in the offshore wind sector at Vattenfall in Germany. She discusses the challenges of transitioning to a new industry and country, the changes in the industry post-covid, and the importance of diversity in the workplace.

Connect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomessex/

Connect with Ilona: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilonanemethkiss/