Podcasts about SolarCity

Episode Overview In this episode, recorded live at the ACORE Finance Forum in NYC, host Benoy Thanjan sits down with Ray Long, President & CEO of ACORE. They discuss the evolving clean energy finance landscape, grid permitting challenges, policy battles around the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the exponential demand for power driven by AI and electrification. Ray also shares the history and mission of ACORE—from its origins connecting Wall Street to developers in 2001, to its current role as a leading voice in renewable energy policy and finance. Key Themes & Takeaways Explosive Growth in Power Demand U.S. energy demand remained flat for decades—but is now rising due to: AI and cloud computing Electrification of buildings and manufacturing EV charging infrastructure Urgent need for scalable solutions—wind, solar, storage, and natural gas are critical in the next 5–10 years IRA Threatened by Tax Bill “Big Beautiful Bill” proposes eliminating key tax incentives from the IRA Would undermine progress and financing certainty across clean energy markets Industry needs a thoughtful, phased approach, not abrupt disruption Permitting & Interconnection Bottlenecks Interconnection Crisis Major ISOs like PJM are overwhelmed—some developers face 7+ year delays Load centers like Virginia see 100+ data center projects awaiting connection ACORE's Macro Grid Initiative pushes for regulatory fixes and grid modernization Bipartisan Momentum & Strategy ACORE promotes an “all of the above” strategy—recognizing solar, wind, storage, natural gas, and emerging tech Urges policymakers to emulate China's aggressive infrastructure and energy approach Emphasizes renewables as a national competitiveness issue—not just environmental 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.  Ray Long Ray Long leads the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) as President and Chief Executive Officer.   ACORE is the oldest nonprofit organization in the United States dedicated to expanding the use of renewable energy technologies for American homes and businesses. This mission is as important and relevant today as it was back in 2001. As CEO, Long is privileged to lead a team of dedicated professionals and an equally passionate group of members and contributors who enable ACORE's strategic initiatives.   ACORE's members operate in all 50 states, and in 2022, they financed, developed, built and owned over 90% of new, utility-scale renewable energy projects. Under Long's leadership, ACORE continues to expand the framework that has enabled the industry's growth through bipartisan outreach, accurate and compelling analysis, and effective collaboration.  Long is a respected energy executive, having spent over 25 years representing and growing conventional and renewable energy companies in the United States. Most recently, Long was Senior Vice President of External Affairs and a member of the management team at Clearway Energy. Throughout his career, Long helped to build successful government, regulatory and communications teams, utilizing a campaign management approach to policy and project development challenges.   Long earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Policy and Administration from Suffolk University and a Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife.     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Ray Long Website:  https://acore.org/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-long-a89a816/   WRISE 20th Anniversary Gala Date & Time: Thursday, June 26, 2025 from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM Location: Gotham Hall, New York City Occasion: Celebrating 20 years of championing women and underrepresented groups in the renewable & sustainable energy sector  Host & Highlight: Presented by Women of Renewable Industries & Sustainable Energy (WRISE); evening includes networking, recognition of community leaders, and celebration of industry milestones  The link to register is below. https://wrise20thanniversarygala.rsvpify.com/?mc_cid=2c22b50623&mc_eid=0dfa02be45&securityToken=qZn8wqQI1mC1uMRPyb08kNwbscQ23wtX

Episode Overview This episode dives deep into the evolving solar landscape—covering key state-level policy battles, rising resistance to distributed solar, the latest federal tax package in Congress, and the long term trends in the solar industry. Fox Swim, Senior Solar Industry Researcher at Aurora Solar, shares expertise on policy, utility rates, and resiliency-minded markets.   Key Themes & Highlights Aurora Solar & Fox's Expertise Aurora provides industry-leading solar design and sales software globally.   State-Level Anti-Solar Trends Utilities favor centralized generation, clashing with distributed energy advocates.   California's AB 942 aims to end grandfathered NEM/NEM 2 contracts when homes are sold, pushing owners into less favorable NEM 3 tariffs—effectively breaking existing contracts.   Resiliency & Distributed Generation Extreme weather, aging grid infrastructure, and power instability are driving demand for solar + storage. Distributed generation is seen as a smarter, faster, and more resilient solution than central utility models. Virtual battery programs in states like Connecticut are emerging as positive examples.   Federal Tax Bill & IRA Disruptions The recent House tax bill introduces critical threats:   Elimination of IRA incentives (including ITC, storage, and battery credits). “Fiat” sourcing restrictions targeting Chinese-manufactured solar components, potentially nullifying battery and panel subsidies. Fox warns of an unplanned “solar winter” where many small players may fold, though core demand won't vanish. Emphasis is shifting toward resilience and independence—not just ROI.   2025 Aurora Solar Snapshot Insights (Backed by Aurora's data on ~12.5 million projects, surveys of 1,000+ homeowners, 1,000 professionals, and 500+ businesses) Resilience over ROI: 76% of homeowners view solar as a good investment (up from 43% in 2023)  Financing shifts: Third‑party ownership (leases/PPAs) are growing; battery demand surges with 78% installers seeing increased interest  Bipartisan appeal: Solar cuts across party lines—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents all value solar and IRA  Trust challenges: Installer mistrust doubled—44% of homeowners find trustworthy companies hard to identify  Motivations revealed: Top drivers: bill savings, energy independence, environmental impact (>50% cite environment as a top-3 reason)    Tactical Takeaways for Mavericks Strengthen Trust – Improve transparency and contract clarity; be proactive about ethical sales practices. Refocus Messaging – Highlight solar + storage for resilience and independence—especially in disaster-prone regions. Engage Politically – Contact local/state reps, especially around bills like North Carolina's ITC reinstatement. Diversify Revenue – Build resilience offerings or pivots like community solar and virtual battery programs. Advocacy & Data – Join efforts with industry groups (SEIA, ACORE), and use Aurora's regional data in policymaker discussions.   Quotes from the Interview “76% of homeowners now say solar is a smart investment—it used to be 43%!”   “Installer trust has tanked: 44% of homeowners find it hard to pick a dependable provider.”   “Solar isn't just about ROI anymore—it's energy independence and resilience.”   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.  Fox Swim Fox Swim is a data-driven activist with a passion for solving complex social and environmental challenges. With expertise in alternative energy, and urban sustainability, she leverages technical research and leadership skills to drive impactful change. Currently a Senior Industry Researcher at Aurora Solar, Fox focuses on advancing renewable energy solutions while advocating for social justice and sustainability. Related Links https://solarbuildermag.com/news/california-committee-passes-bill-that-would-break-net-metering-contracts/ https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/mortgages/solar-panel-types https://www.eenews.net/articles/california-bill-would-slash-solar-benefits/  Aurora Solar's 2025 Snapshot Report   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Fox Swim Website:  https://aurorasolar.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/fox-swim-6919061a/   WRISE 20th Anniversary Gala Date & Time: Thursday, June 26, 2025 from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM Location: Gotham Hall, New York City Occasion: Celebrating 20 years of championing women and underrepresented groups in the renewable & sustainable energy sector  Host & Highlight: Presented by Women of Renewable Industries & Sustainable Energy (WRISE); evening includes networking, recognition of community leaders, and celebration of industry milestones  The link to register is below. https://wrise20thanniversarygala.rsvpify.com/?mc_cid=2c22b50623&mc_eid=0dfa02be45&securityToken=qZn8wqQI1mC1uMRPyb08kNwbscQ23wtX

Unlocking Energy Storage Value: PJM Market Reforms with Brattle Group's Serena Patel Episode Overview: In this special live episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, recorded at the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Industries Association (“MSSIA”) Solar & Storage Insight Conference in New Brunswick, NJ, host Benoy Thanjan sits down with Serena Patel, Energy Research Associate at The Brattle Group, to unpack critical energy storage market reforms in the PJM interconnection. The conversation focuses on a groundbreaking report from Brattle, commissioned by the American Clean Power Association, that lays out a roadmap for unlocking the full value of energy storage across U.S. energy markets. Key Topics Covered: Why PJM's current market design undervalues flexible storage resources The two most urgent market reforms: ▪ Opportunity cost bidding for energy storage ▪ Creation of new ancillary service and ramping reserve products How suppressed price signals hinder storage operators' revenue Lessons from other RTOs like CAISO and NYISO that PJM can implement now The case for all-source procurement in local reliability planning The critical role of stakeholder engagement and policy advocacy to push reforms forward Featured Report: Energy Storage Market Design Reforms: A Roadmap to Unlock the Potential of Energy Storage By: Brattle Group for the American Clean Power Association Released: April 2025 https://www.brattle.com/insights-events/publications/brattle-experts-prepared-an-energy-storage-market-reform-roadmap-for-several-us-electricity-markets/ Notable Quotes: “Our current systems were built for legacy fossil fuel generators. If we don't reform the markets now, we risk undervaluing the flexibility that storage offers.” – Serena Patel “Opportunity cost bidding would help storage developers maximize revenue by bidding strategically, rather than being constrained by outdated market rules.” – Serena Patel   Takeaway for Developers & Policymakers: To accelerate storage deployment, developers must actively engage in PJM stakeholder processes and advocate for reforms that enable revenue stacking and flexibility compensation. The Brattle report offers actionable insights to guide that involvement.   Thanks to MSSIA: Special thanks to the MiSSIA for hosting the Solar Maverick Podcast at their first annual conference and for their continued solar and storage advocacy in NJ, PA, and DE.   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.    Serena Patel  Serena Patel is an Energy Research Associate at The Brattle Group, where she focuses on electricity market design and energy storage economics. She was a lead author on the ACP-sponsored market reform report and is deeply involved in clean energy policy development.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Serena Patel Website:  https://www.brattle.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/serena-naresh-patel/   Summer Solstice Fundraiser Join Reneu Energy, Rosemawr Management, Polar Racking, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the 2025 Summer Solstice Fundraiser! This special evening will take place on Thursday, June 5th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy. Event Highlights: -Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. -Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with delicious food throughout the evening. -Tickets: $50 https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1653652

Episode Summary: In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan speaks with JD Dillon, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at Tigo Energy. This conversation dives into how Tigo is transforming residential solar with a smarter, service-driven approach. JD shares insights from his unique career journey — from West Point and semiconductors to helping lead the turnaround at Enphase, and now steering Tigo's growth as a public company. The discussion explores the growing importance of software and service in solar, the booming market for repowering legacy systems, and why bipartisan support makes solar a winning issue across the political spectrum. JD also highlights lessons from semiconductor manufacturing, the value of veteran leadership in clean energy, and how Tigo's open ecosystem and installer-first mindset are setting the company apart. Key Topics Covered: Tigo's evolution from MLPE to full energy solutions Why service and software will define the next era of solar Repowering as a high-growth opportunity for residential solar How open ecosystems and rapid install feedback drive innovation The intersection of military leadership and renewable energy U.S. vs. global rooftop solar adoption rates — and how to catch up What the solar industry can learn from semiconductors Why solar transcends political divisions and continues to scale Trends in storage, energy independence, and grid resilience 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.    James (JD) Dillon CHIEF MARKETING & CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE OFFICER at Tigo Energy JD leads branding, demand generation, and communications functions in addition to the technical service and support teams at Tigo Energy. His experience spans the U.S. Armed Forces, semiconductors, solid-state drives, as well as solar hardware and software solutions. His functional leadership has impacted pricing, new product introduction, customer experience, and communications at all levels. Prior to joining Tigo in 2020, JD spent over 3 years as the VP of Marketing and Pricing at Enphase Energy. Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   JD Dillon Website:  https://www.tigoenergy.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jd-dillon/   Summer Solstice Fundraiser Join Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the 2025 Summer Solstice Fundraiser! Celebrate the warm weather with us at the Summer Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy ,and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Thursday, June 5th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy. Event Highlights: -Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. -Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with delicious food throughout the evening. -Tickets: $50 https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1653652  

Episode Summary: In this episode, Scott Elias, Vice President of Policy & Market Development at CleanCapital, shares expert insights on CleanCapital's investment strategy, his background in clean energy policy, and the fast-moving developments in Washington, D.C. surrounding the fight to protect the Investment Tax Credit (ITC). Scott breaks down the potential implications of proposed changes to the Inflation Reduction Act, highlights which states are leading the charge in clean energy growth, and explores the growing investor interest in solar + storage portfolios.  Read Scott's latest take on the proposed tax bill that could significantly impact clean energy investment in the U.S.: Defending American Energy Dominance – CleanCapital   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.  Scott Elias Scott Elias is the Vice President of Government Affairs at CleanCapital, where he leads the company's federal and state policy strategy to accelerate clean energy deployment across the United States. With over a decade of experience in renewable energy policy, Scott plays a pivotal role in advocating for legislation that supports clean energy investment and innovation. Before joining CleanCapital, Scott held senior policy and advocacy roles at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and other leading organizations, where he worked closely with lawmakers, regulators, and industry stakeholders to shape impactful energy policy. At CleanCapital, Scott helps ensure that the company stays ahead of policy trends and capitalizes on emerging opportunities—particularly around the Inflation Reduction Act, tax equity structures, and energy storage integration. His deep understanding of the intersection between finance, policy, and technology positions him as a key voice in advancing the transition to a low-carbon economy. Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Scott Elias Website:  https://cleancapital.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-elias/ Email:  selias@cleancapital.com    Summer Solstice Fundraiser Join Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the 2025 Summer Solstice Fundraiser! Celebrate the warm weather with us at the Summer Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy ,and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Thursday, June 5th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy. Event Highlights: -Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. -Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with delicious food throughout the evening. -Tickets: $50 https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1653652   CleanCapital Podcast https://cleancapital.com/thought-leadership/?_categories=podcast   Defend Solar Energy https://solarpowersamerica.org/campaign/defend-american-energy/

In this inspiring episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, host Benoy Thanjan sits down with Bernie Jordan and Lucas Barreto from the Let's Share the Sun Foundation to discuss their recent solar installations in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. Recorded on-site after a powerful week of hands-on work, this conversation highlights the transformative impact of bringing solar and storage to families with critical 24-hour medical needs. Benoy, Bernie, and Lucas reflect on the mission-driven approach of Let's Share the Sun, the collaborative spirit of the solar delegation, and the real-world outcomes of providing clean, resilient energy in vulnerable communities. From logistical challenges to emotional moments with families, this episode sheds light on how solar energy can directly improve lives—and how listeners can get involved. Don't miss this heartfelt and motivating discussion on how renewable energy is changing lives one rooftop at a time.   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.     Bernie Jordan Executive Director, Let's Share the Sun Foundation Bernie Jordan is the Executive Director of Let's Share the Sun Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing solar energy to communities living in energy poverty around the world. With a background in solar development and a passion for social impact, Bernie has helped drive solar installations in underserved areas across Puerto Rico, Haiti, Nepal, and beyond. Under Bernie's leadership, Let's Share the Sun has created powerful partnerships with solar companies, local governments, and mission-driven volunteers to deliver reliable, renewable energy to families with critical needs—especially those requiring 24/7 electricity for medical care. His work sits at the intersection of clean energy, humanitarian relief, and environmental justice. Bernie brings deep insight into how solar can be a tool for both sustainability and equity, and he continues to inspire others to use their expertise for global good.   Lucas Barreto – Director of Operations, Let's Share the Sun Foundation Lucas Barreto serves as the Director of Operations at Let's Share the Sun Foundation, where he leads on-the-ground efforts to bring solar energy to off-grid and underserved communities around the world. With a strong background in engineering, project management, and international development, Lucas plays a vital role in designing and executing solar installations that provide life-changing energy access to families in need. His work spans diverse geographies—from coordinating solar + storage systems in Puerto Rico for families with medical dependencies to deploying clean energy in rural villages in Central America and the Caribbean. Lucas is known for his hands-on leadership, technical expertise, and commitment to building local capacity and community partnerships. Driven by a belief that energy is a human right, Lucas is helping transform the way renewable energy is used for social impact.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Bernie Jordan Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernadette-jordan/ Website:  https://www.letssharethesun.org/   Lucas Barreto Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-barreto-652b06189/ Website:  https://www.letssharethesun.org/     If you are interested in donating to Let's Share the Sun, the link is below.   https://www.letssharethesun.org/contribute     Previous Episodes that Let's Share the Sun Foundation was on the Solar Maverick Podcast https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-129-learn-about-a-great-non-profit-called-let-s-share-the-sun-foundation/   https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-132-update-on-the-great-progress-of-let-s-share-the-sun-foundation/   Let's Share the Sun Vidoes https://www.youtube.com/@LetsShareTheSun       Thank you to AMS Renewable Energy for Sponsoring this Episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast! This episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast is brought to you by our sponsor—AMS Renewable Energy. AMS is a top-tier solar EPC that operates with the precision and mindset of a commercial general contractor. Headquartered in the Bronx, New York—and licensed nationwide—AMS has over 30 years of construction experience, tackling even the most complex solar projects with unmatched expertise and craftsmanship. Whether it's a challenging C&I rooftop, ground mount, or full turnkey solution, AMS is committed to best-in-class service and results that last. If you're looking for a solar EPC partner who understands construction inside and out—AMS Renewable Energy should be at the top of your list. Learn more at [ams-renewable.com] and tell them the Solar Maverick sent you!    Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Insight Conference  Benoy Thanjan will be hosting a live Solar Maverick Podcast Interview at Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Insight Conference on May 6, 2025 in New Brunswick, NJ.  The link is below. https://whova.com/web/AVRBHPdoRkL-XvNBu2m3OvHy6VIA89QrX7muVARCKeo=/   Summer Solstice Fundraiser Join Reneu Energy, Rosemawr, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the 2025 Summer Solstice Fundraiser! Celebrate the warm weather with us at the Summer Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy ,and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Thursday, June 5th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy. Event Highlights: -Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. -Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with delicious food throughout the evening. -Tickets: $50 https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1653652                                                    

In this episode of The D2D Podcast, Sam Taggart sits down with Riley Traveller, CEO of Boundless, to unpack what it really takes to build and scale a winning door-to-door company—especially when things get messy.Riley has been in the game since the early SolarCity days. He opens up about the silent killer of scaling too fast, how abandoning their identity as creators nearly sank his business, and what turning things around really looked like: shutting down marketing spend, cutting overhead, and going back to the basics—door to door.You'll hear how Boundless went from bleeding $200k/month and $8M in debt to rebuilding profitably in under a year. Riley shares powerful insights for owners chasing growth, and why the illusion of control fades the bigger you scale. His biggest lesson? Influence beats control, but it also demands alignment, intention, and leadership at every level.This one's a masterclass in staying scrappy, sharpening your edge, and leading with real grit when the numbers don't look good.You'll find answers to key questions such as: 

Story of the Week (DR):CEOs to the rescue?Trio Of Top CEOs Warn Trump Tariffs Will Empty Store ShelvesDuring a private meeting in the Oval Office on Monday, the CEOs of Walmart, Target and Home Depot reportedly told the president that supply chains could freeze and prompt stores' shelves to go barren if he doesn't rein in his sharp tariff plans, and meddles with the Federal Reserve.Target CEO Brian Cornell (25%): Mr. The Gay Pride Display Is Too Expensive Because THere are Too Many Colors (719:1)Home Depot CEO Ted Decker (25%): Mr. Charlie Munger Would Hate Him because He Got a BA in English (443:1)Walmart CEO Doug McMillon 6%: (They should have sent a Walton family member) Mr. Racism Was Solved So It's Time to Move on from DEI (976:1)Elon Musk says he's stepping back from DOGEElon Musk was supposed to work in government as a special employee for 130 days. He just pledged to spend ‘a day or two' per week for the remainder of Trump's 4-year termAfter spending three months trying to radically reshape the federal government and its workforce, Elon Musk on Tuesday said he would soon be stepping back from the White House DOGE office."Starting next month, I will be allocating far more of my time to Tesla," Musk said during Tesla's earnings call, adding that "the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency" was done.Tesla profit drops 71% as carmaker warns ‘political sentiment' could impact future demandBusiness Roundtable urges SEC to amend proxy-voting process MMThe Securities and Exchange Commission should reform the proxy-voting process by making it more difficult for certain shareholder proposals to make it onto company proxy ballots, according to an April 23 report from the Business Roundtable.“The current state of the proxy process is unsustainable,” the advocacy group comprising more than 200 CEOs said in its report. “Companies are being forced to divert significant resources and attention toward responding to a flood of ideology-driven shareholder proposals — resources that would be better spent driving long-term value creation. These escalating costs ultimately fall on shareholders, yet there is little evidence that such proposals yield meaningful economic benefits.”Median US CEO pay hits record $16.8 million on soaring stock awardsMedian pay among top U.S. CEOs rose 7.5% to a record $16.8 million for 2024, a new study found, as big stock grants boosted leaders' reported earnings well beyond the pay received by U.S. workers. Study looked at 320 companies in the S&P 500 with pay data filed so far this yearESG Pope has died: Pope Francis Pushed ESG. How the Church's Investments Did.The Vatican's investments are generating a profit, perhaps from a renewed focus—led by the late pontiff—on social values aligned with the Catholic Church. Francis died on Monday at age 88 after a long health crisis.Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Subaru Is Bringing Back Physical Knobs and Buttons in Its Cars MM DRDR: Twinkies' New Owner Courts a Novel Group of Snackers: StonersMM: Tesla whistleblower wins legal battle against Elon MuskAssholiest of the Week (MM):OpenAI DRWhen asked to generate assholes of the week, ChatGPT suggested as the FIRST ASSHOLE: OpenAI's “Safety Is Optional” StrategyLaunched GPT-4.1 with zero safety report—claiming it's not “frontier.”Updated its Preparedness Framework to say it might lower safety standards if rivals do.Former staff filed an amicus brief supporting Elon Musk's lawsuit, saying for-profit incentives undermine safety.Also stopped safety testing of fine-tuned models unless released openly.This is tech's version of “if the other kids jumped off a bridge...”In 2025… OpenAI updated its safety framework—but no longer sees mass manipulation and disinformation as a critical riskNot to be outdone by other college dropout middle school losers, OpenAI considering its own social network to compete with Elon Musk's XIt's not OpenAI, it's Sam Altman, college dropoutRemember when they had a board?Blaming ChinaElon Musk worries Chinese companies will fill out the world's top 10 robot makers—but claims Tesla is, and will stay, No. 1Google says DOJ's proposal for breakup would harm U.S. in 'global race with China'Trade war woes: Boeing stock sinks after China reportedly blocks plane deliveriesWispy stache middle school manflakes who are going to MAKE you like them, whether you want to or notDamion will rate whether these headlines make him finally like the techbro manflakes:Elon Musk Reportedly Sends DMs on Twitter Offering Women the Chance to Have His BabiesTesla really wants the Cybertruck to be a working man's truckElon 'rattled' as he's brutally trolled in gaming livestream from private jetHuge Number of People Who Used to Like Elon Musk Now Detest Him, Polling ShowsSomeone Is Hacking Crosswalk Buttons to Speak in the Voice of Elon Musk Lamenting the Terrible Sadness in His LifeMeta co-sponsors White House Easter Egg Roll amid blockbuster antitrust trialTrump lashes out at British hedge fund for betting against Truth SocialTrump Media wants the SEC to investigate a hedge fund that has a $105 million short on the companyJokes on you, LuigiUnitedHealth stock craters as CEO calls disappointing results 'unusual and unacceptable' (he blamed the Biden administration)UnitedHealth CEO's pay jumps 12% to $26.3M as company revenue hits record $400BUnitedHealth spent $1.7 million on executive securityRewriting historyI literally hate this: How Did Elon Musk Make His Money?“Many people would have simply taken this larger-than-life fortune and retired, but not Musk. Instead, he invested $100 million to start SpaceX, $70 million to found Tesla and $10 million in SolarCity.”HE DID NOT FOUND ITTesla was founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc TarpenningThey built the first roadster and got fundedMusk INVESTED in Tesla in the Series A and became chair of the boardMusk didn't actually run the company - until he appointed himself CEO in 2007, four years after he initially invested and after he raised a lot of money for themMusk kicked out the actual founderEberhard actually SUED Musk because Musk refused, like a big fucking diaper baby, to acknowledge that Eberhard founded the companyEberhard actually built the first mobile charging devices for Teslas, tooThat's how he works - Musk raises money from friends and lies about what he actually does - he's a big fat fraud, just like with video gamesHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Priscilla Chan's tuition-free school that championed DEI is closing after 10 yearsIn a statement on its website, the Primary School didn't indicate why it was closing its East Bay and East Palo Alto locations at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year and said only that it was a "very difficult decision" that came "after much deliberation."DR: Ralph Lauren's CEO says sometimes employees need to be ‘hit by a 2×4 across the forehead' to get important feedback to sink in: Patrice Louvet DR MMMM: Facebook Pushes Its Llama 4 AI Model to the Right, Wants to Present “Both Sides”Isn't this just saying “we wish the people we stole from to make the model were more conservative, so we'll just make it more that way”? Like, Zuck just doesn't like actual people?MM: Zuckerberg Encourages Theatergoers to Use Their Phones While Movie Is PlayingWho Won the Week?DR: Stoners: 4/20, Twinkies, and physical nobs in SubarusMM: Hall monitors - Roblox CEO says he wants to protect your kids — but you're going to need to pitch in, too.PredictionsDR: Business Roundtable urges SEC to adopt annual meeting rule requiring investors to memorize a unique 40-digit PIN that gains them entry into the meeting roomMM: Meta's oversight board rebukes company over policy overhaul - Meta said it will respond to oversight board's distress about community notes and policy shifts in 60 days. The prediction: Meta's response will be to shut down the oversight board. OVERSIGHT IS SO 2019.

Episode Summary: In this replay episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, host Benoy Thanjan kicks off the debut episode of Sunvoy's new podcast series, What Solar Installers Need to Know? With over 20 years of experience in the energy industry, Benoy joins Joe Marhamati, co-founder of Sunvoy, for a candid and insightful conversation covering the real-world challenges and opportunities shaping solar today. Topics Covered: The ongoing headaches of interconnection and how to navigate them How community solar is opening up new possibilities Why project financing is evolving—and what you need to know now The overlooked potential of renewable energy credits (RECs) How tariffs are disrupting the solar supply chain What's next: battery tech, blockchain, and vehicle-to-grid innovation Whether you're deep in solar development or just passionate about clean energy and grid transformation, this episode is packed with practical insights and future-focused takes.   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.   Joe Marhamati What gets me out of bed every day is helping solar installers learn from my lived experience in building and selling an eight-figure solar business, not just the successes but also the mistakes. In my current role as co-founder and CFO of Sunvoy, I help solar installers build their brands by building a white-labeled customer portal and fleet management platform to bring together all of their fleet data into a single location. I'm also passionate about helping solar installers with their tech stack, growth strategy, management and leadership direction, and exit plans. My results: → Spent nearly 10 years at the U.S. Department of Energy // Obama White House helping to catalyze the modern cleantech industry → Built and scaled Ipsun Solar 0-$12M in revenue → Grew a team of over 60 in service of the mission of installing residential and commercial rooftop solar → Started Sunvoy to help solar installers worldwide scale their businesses → In April 2024 exited solar construction business to help other solar business owners with Sunvoy → During the last 16 months I've helped more than 50 solar businesses throughout North and South America and Europe to build their brand equity and grow referrals with Sunvoy When I coach solar business owners, I teach them how to build efficient, profitable revenue growth, how to go to market the new way, a relentless focus on the customer, team, speed, execution, brand & culture. And build an ecosystem around their company. If you want to connect with me, reach out via the Sunvoy website: https://sunvoy.com/blog or send me an email: joe@sunvoy.com.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Joe Marhamati Sunvoy Website:  https://sunvoy.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/marhamati/ Email:  joe@sunvoy.com Podcast:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-road-to-2050-whats-next-for-renewables/id1807739671?i=1000703572338      Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Insight Conference  Benoy Thanjan will be hosting a live Solar Maverick Podcast Interview at Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Insight Conference on May 6, 2025 in New Brunswick, NJ.  The link is below. https://whova.com/web/AVRBHPdoRkL-XvNBu2m3OvHy6VIA89QrX7muVARCKeo=/   Summer Solstice Fundraiser Join Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the 2025 Summer Solstice Fundraiser! Celebrate the warm weather with us at the Summer Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy ,and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Thursday, June 5th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy. Event Highlights: -Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. -Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with delicious food throughout the evening. -Tickets: $50 https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1653652

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, host Benoy Thanjan speaks with Sylvia Leyva Martinez, Principal Analyst and Senior Research Manager at Wood Mackenzie and host of The Interchange: Recharged podcast. Sylvia specializes in utility-scale solar and shares valuable insights on the evolving landscape of the solar industry. Topics Covered Include: The impact of tariffs on solar equipment and the broader market Key trends driving the utility-scale solar sector Policy and regulatory developments to watch Sylvia's long-term outlook for solar deployment and adoption   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.     Sylvia Leyva Martinez Sylvia is a Principal Analyst (Senior Research Manager) at Wood Mackenzie, a leading global provider of data, analysis, and consulting services to the energy, chemicals, metals, and mining sectors. With over 9 years of experience in renewable energy finance and strategy, Sylvia lead the research and analysis of the North American utility-scale solar market, delivering insights and recommendations to clients across the industry value chain. As part of my role at WoodMac, Sylvia is currently the host of The Interchange Recharged podcast, where every two weeks I do a deep dive into the main policies, actors, and issues shaping the energy transition.   My core competencies include solar capacity forecasting, market trend adoption, supply chain dynamics, procurement strategy development, contract structure evolution, renewable asset valuation, risk mitigation strategies, debt-equity structures, and alternative financing. Syliva also has a strong background in power market modeling, transaction support, and due diligence of solar, wind, and storage assets in North America and Latin America.   Sylvia holds a Master's degree in Renewable Energy from EPF - Ecole d'Ingénieur-e-s in France and a Bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics from ITESM Monterrey in Mexico. Sylvia is fluent in Spanish, English, and French. Sylvia is a seasoned public speaker with experience presenting at international conferences, and to C-suite and senior stakeholders. Sylvia is a people-first, value-driven manager and a leader deeply invested in my team. Sylvia is passionate about supporting women (within the renewables space and beyond), advancing the transition to a low-carbon economy, and empowering stakeholders to make informed and sustainable decisions.     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Sylvia Leyva Martinez Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/solarsylvia/ Website:  https://www.woodmac.com/   Host of the Interchange Recharged podcast: https://www.woodmac.com/podcasts/the-interchange-recharged/   Solar & Energy Storage Summit 2025 organized by Wood Mackenzie   23 to 24 April 2025   Denver, CO   https://www.woodmac.com/events/solar-energy-storage-summit/   Thank you to AMS Renewable Energy for Sponsoring this Episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast! This episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast is brought to you by our sponsor—AMS Renewable Energy. AMS is a top-tier solar EPC that operates with the precision and mindset of a commercial general contractor. Headquartered in the Bronx, New York—and licensed nationwide—AMS has over 30 years of construction experience, tackling even the most complex solar projects with unmatched expertise and craftsmanship. Whether it's a challenging C&I rooftop, ground mount, or full turnkey solution, AMS is committed to best-in-class service and results that last. If you're looking for a solar EPC partner who understands construction inside and out—AMS Renewable Energy should be at the top of your list. Learn more at [ams-renewable.com] and tell them the Solar Maverick sent you!   Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Insight Conference  Benoy Thanjan will be hosting a live Solar Maverick Podcast Interview at Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Insight Conference on May 6, 2025 in New Brunswick, NJ.  The link is below. https://whova.com/web/AVRBHPdoRkL-XvNBu2m3OvHy6VIA89QrX7muVARCKeo=/   Summer Solstice Fundraiser Join Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the 2025 Summer Solstice Fundraiser! Celebrate the warm weather with us at the Summer Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy ,and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Thursday, June 5th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy. Event Highlights: -Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. -Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with delicious food throughout the evening. -Tickets: $50 https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1653652                                                   In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, host Benoy Thanjan speaks with Sylvia Leyva Martinez, Principal Analyst and Senior Research Manager at Wood Mackenzie and host of The Interchange: Recharged podcast. Sylvia specializes in utility-scale solar and shares valuable insights on the evolving landscape of the solar industry. Topics Covered Include: The impact of tariffs on solar equipment and the broader market Key trends driving the utility-scale solar sector Policy and regulatory developments to watch Sylvia's long-term outlook for solar deployment and adoption   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.       Sylvia Leyva Martinez   Sylvia is a Principal Analyst (Senior Research Manager) at Wood Mackenzie, a leading global provider of data, analysis, and consulting services to the energy, chemicals, metals, and mining sectors. With over 9 years of experience in renewable energy finance and strategy, Sylvia lead the research and analysis of the North American utility-scale solar market, delivering insights and recommendations to clients across the industry value chain. As part of my role at WoodMac, Sylvia is currently the host of The Interchange Recharged podcast, where every two weeks I do a deep dive into the main policies, actors, and issues shaping the energy transition.   My core competencies include solar capacity forecasting, market trend adoption, supply chain dynamics, procurement strategy development, contract structure evolution, renewable asset valuation, risk mitigation strategies, debt-equity structures, and alternative financing. Syliva also has a strong background in power market modeling, transaction support, and due diligence of solar, wind, and storage assets in North America and Latin America.   Sylvia holds a Master's degree in Renewable Energy from EPF - Ecole d'Ingénieur-e-s in France and a Bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics from ITESM Monterrey in Mexico. Sylvia is fluent in Spanish, English, and French. Sylvia is a seasoned public speaker with experience presenting at international conferences, and to C-suite and senior stakeholders. Sylvia is a people-first, value-driven manager and a leader deeply invested in my team. Sylvia is passionate about supporting women (within the renewables space and beyond), advancing the transition to a low-carbon economy, and empowering stakeholders to make informed and sustainable decisions.     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Sylvia Leyva Martinez Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/solarsylvia/ Website:  https://www.woodmac.com/   Host of the Interchange Recharged podcast:  https://www.woodmac.com/podcasts/the-interchange-recharged/   Solar & Energy Storage Summit 2025 organized by Wood Mac   23 to 24 April 2025   Denver, CO   https://www.woodmac.com/events/solar-energy-storage-summit/   Thank you to AMS Renewable Energy for Sponsoring this Episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast! This episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast is brought to you by our sponsor—AMS Renewable Energy. AMS is a top-tier solar EPC that operates with the precision and mindset of a commercial general contractor. Headquartered in the Bronx, New York—and licensed nationwide—AMS has over 30 years of construction experience, tackling even the most complex solar projects with unmatched expertise and craftsmanship. Whether it's a challenging C&I rooftop, ground mount, or full turnkey solution, AMS is committed to best-in-class service and results that last. If you're looking for a solar EPC partner who understands construction inside and out—AMS Renewable Energy should be at the top of your list. Learn more at [ams-renewable.com] and tell them the Solar Maverick sent you!    Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Insight Conference  Benoy Thanjan will be hosting a live Solar Maverick Podcast Interview at Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Insight Conference on May 6, 2025 in New Brunswick, NJ.  The link is below. https://whova.com/web/AVRBHPdoRkL-XvNBu2m3OvHy6VIA89QrX7muVARCKeo=/   Summer Solstice Fundraiser Join Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the 2025 Summer Solstice Fundraiser! Celebrate the warm weather with us at the Summer Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy ,and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Thursday, June 5th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy. Event Highlights: -Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. -Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with delicious food throughout the evening. -Tickets: $50 https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1653652                                                    

Episode Summary: In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan is joined by co-host and clean energy advocate Nate Jovanelly, CEO of Sunraise Capital. Together, they dive into the evolving dynamics of the residential solar market and why now is a pivotal time for homeowners and investors alike. The discussion explores how increasing electricity rates are fueling a greater need for residential solar adoption, the current lag in solar penetration across the U.S., and how solar tax credits can be a game-changing financial strategy for investors.  

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, host Benoy Thanjan sits down with Richard Weihe, Managing Director of Rosemawr Sustainable Infrastructure Management. Rich shares valuable insights on unlocking capital in the renewable energy sector, key trends shaping the solar industry, and why solar should be considered a national security asset. Rosemawr Management is a credit-focused investment firm specializing in municipal finance, sustainable infrastructure, and charter schools. Founded in 2008, the firm currently manages over $1 billion in assets. Its sustainable infrastructure portfolio spans solar, energy storage, wind, and energy efficiency projects across the United States.   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.       Rich Weihe   ​Richard Weihe is the Managing Director of Rosemawr Sustainable Infrastructure Management, a division of Rosemawr Management LLC. Rosemawr Management, established in 2008, is an alternative investment management firm specializing in the U.S. municipal, not-for-profit, and sustainable infrastructure sectors.  He has over 20 years of experience in energy.     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Rich Weihe Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-weihe-020b6a7/ Email:  rweihe@rosemawr.com Website:  https://www.rosemawr.com/   Recent Press Releases from Rosemawr   AC Power and Rosemawr Announce Development Capital Financing Partnership Book Discussed During the Podcast   https://www.einpresswire.com/article/781010074/ac-power-and-rosemawr-announce-development-capital-financing-partnership   RIC Energy and Rosemawr Announce Financing Partnership to Deploy Solar and Energy Storage Projects in New York   https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241106262035/en/RIC-Energy-and-Rosemawr-Announce-Financing-Partnership-to-Deploy-Solar-and-Energy-Storage-Projects-in-New-York     Book Recommendations from Rich Volt Rush https://www.amazon.com/dp/0861546199/?bestFormat=true&k=volt%20rush&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-pd-bk-d_de_k0_1_9&crid=WI6IBFJPRBWF&sprefix=Volt%20Rush   The War Below https://www.amazon.com/War-Below-Lithium-Copper-Global/dp/B0C7XY6H2B/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3KQBCIFDWK1RL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hPL3uDd44m2KVunWhZsJ_TdsnRo_2W237lW4wbqItJ7Z9UcqS3MPwFmkKS1gTv9CdJMZ1Yl93idHDsyv4adQASAJTUrUnY8doo7knbk6CL1w_bAECIuVq1evpCR1snx4Fn00JYqHyXHFBiT8sg8-KDbPCg2_xcSU9dUXOb8hggycDSrQscHtbp9bvmMagzxTGboauJvM73nI-Ny3KXovj7vj9-sdthNuYvsXlKUJMIE.x-j6J9q95haB864FW-CO11xlAtLhmArWHkF3kbNf77Y&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+war+below&qid=1742482496&sprefix=The+war+below%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-1                                                              

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy sits down with Vihann Kong, Senior Executive Director of Enterprise Acquisition at Ampion. Ampion is driving the clean energy revolution by expanding access to community energy programs across the country. Vihann shares insights on Ampion's partnerships with major brands like Wendy's and Colgate-Palmolive, the emerging community solar markets in the U.S., and the renewable energy technologies poised to make an impact beyond solar.   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.       Vihann Kong With a robust background in sustainable energy and customer relationship management, my role as Senior Executive Director of Enterprise Acquisition at Ampion, PBC, is centered around pioneering clean energy solutions for enterprise customers. Our team's commitment to lowering energy costs and advancing ESG initiatives has positioned us as a vanguard in the renewable energy sector.   Previously, as Director of Sales at Metrus Energy, I spearheaded the development of a comprehensive sales strategy, contributing to significant channel growth. My expertise in sustainable energy efficiency is not just about implementing solutions—it's about leading a movement towards a greener future, with every successful partnership reflecting our shared values of innovation and sustainability.     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Vihann Kong Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vihann/ Website:  https://ampion.net   Book Discussed During the Podcast   Reinventing Fire https://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Fire-Business-Solutions-Energy/dp/1603585389/ref=sr_1_1?crid=393DN2LYKRNEH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7ZlZ3ajzmHCiGkyO3koc8AUrGWG5arXAUTY8cSWB1KNRE0PcDQQ6Zw7OZGwQPfTQpAtrVbbyysqLEgM4HZbxM32mFZIsScIhkiyqS9BSnVgYF3Ho6YE1UICqgpxoK4xv8P_w3X_QCKx-Jy32WFT6d9d48KhhjOiWKYy-HJPAFajyvAxwCF22_Jyl6tTwsux8hmMvsFv_vQKJf-l3MwBkDRIXn_KIEEnkVGenWu-mAzU.xhksKUmbWyMkggL2CY0WREZnVwNkgFHJTq_PWV5Vo4M&dib_tag=se&keywords=reinventing+fire&qid=1741965815&sprefix=reinventing+fire%2Caps%2C170&sr=8-1                                                  

Dan Foster is a Chief Operating/Revenue Officer, who built and transformed profitable businesses across technology and telecom start-ups as well as industry powerhouses. Companies turn to him to revive struggling businesses by redefining sales, marketing and customer service strategy, scaling infrastructure, and promoting product innovation. In this episode, Dan shares how bundled solutions increase value and close rates. He discusses AI's growing role in B2B sales and procurement. And stresses using data to understand customer needs and justify pricing.   Why you have to check out today's podcast: Learn how bundling products and services can enhance perceived value, increase close rates, and prevent price-sensitive buyers from deconstructing your offerings. Gain insights into how AI is transforming the sales landscape, from optimizing product recommendations to procurement teams using AI to negotiate better prices. Understand why pricing should be tied to the customer's business outcomes and how to communicate the true value of your solutions effectively.   "You take the data around a pricing example and you really understand the value from the end user's perspective, so you got to have that empathy back in to say what moves their business. And when we understand what moves their business with a few numbers, then you start to give the underpinning for why value pricing matters." - Dan Foster    Topics Covered: 02:01 - How his early consulting work made him think about value and led him to pricing 03:23 - Asking about typical reactions to pricing presentations 04:24 - Explaining that selling value starts with understanding product-market fit  07:03 - Highlighting the importance of teaching distribution partners how to sell value, using the Home Depot-SolarCity partnership as an example 10:43 - How can ROI calculators be convincing 14:07 - Explaining that while they don't track proven value directly due to lack of data, anecdotal feedback and supplier insights indicate improved close rates for partners 15:09 - How AI is reshaping product offerings, expanding technology advisors' roles, and influencing cost-cutting for innovation 19:10 - Highlighting that while AI may drive procurement efficiencies complex digital transformation solutions still rely on expertise 20:27 - How bundling simplifies purchasing and reinforce the value of an all-in-one solution 24:27 - Dan's best pricing advice   Key Takeaways: "If you want to buy a ton of storage and it's a commodity, we get that. That could go through the marketplace earlier than not. If you want a digital transformation, if you want to change your customer experience, if you want to make your business run faster, if you want business process automation and robotic process automation, that's not going through a dynamic pricing model on a marketplace near-term. Now, can I go out and look at, like, UiPath Licensing versus Automation Anywhere versus whoever Microsoft scooped up next and look at pricing models? The procurement folks are probably smart to do that." - Dan Foster "But the bundled solution specifically is, I think, fundamental because otherwise, when you offer them the menu-based pricing, oftentimes they don't see the full value." - Dan Foster "It [selling value] starts with that product-market fit. We do a lot of enablement of our partners or downstream almost like a two-tier distributor. And in doing that we provide the ability for them to see a higher close rate when they use tools and resources. It alleviates that conversation and it's inherent that there's value pricing there." - Dan Foster "It's critical to think through in a subscription-based model what that value is, because that customer acquisition cost versus the long-term value of a customer, it's a critical ratio to understand when you're thinking through pricing." - Dan Foster   People/Resources Mentioned: Cummins Engine Company: https://www.cumminsenginepart.com/ Unilever: https://www.unilever.com Alcoa: https://www.alcoa.com/global/en/home/ Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Selling-Value-Deals-Higher-Prices/product-reviews/1737655217/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews& SolarCity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SolarCity Home Depot: https://www.homedepot.com Azure: https://azure.microsoft.com/ Google: https://www.google.com/?client=safari Lowe's: https://www.lowes.com Sun Power: https://us.sunpower.com Sunrun: https://www.sunrun.com TD Synnex: https://www.tdsynnex.com/na/us/ Ingram Micro: https://www.ingrammicro.com Five9: https://www.five9.com Genesys: https://www.genesys.com/en-sg/ NICE inContact: https://www.nice.com/ Zoom: https://zoom.us Dialpad: incontact.com/content/home.htm ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/ Automation Anywhere: https://www.automationanywhere.com Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ph/ UiPath Licensing: https://licensing.uipath.com/ Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/welcome?orig_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F Roku TV: https://www.roku.com/products/roku-tv?srsltid=AfmBOoomwWI9G8ZABYW7gSPFzBHc87xVmartPBXAWzj7GfPfAJQYjTtO Super Bowl: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl Xfinity: https://www.xfinity.com/   Connect with Dan Foster: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdanfoster/ Email: dfoster@telarus.com   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com  

In this special 200th episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, host Benoy Thanjan and co-host Li Wang, Marketing Director of Reneu Energy and the Solar Maverick Podcast, reflect on their journey to this milestone. They discuss key insights on the future of the solar industry, the transformative role of AI in renewable energy, and valuable entrepreneurship advice. A huge thank you to our listeners for your incredible support in making the Solar Maverick Podcast one of the most popular in the industry! Thank you to everyone who attended our LA FireAid Fundraiser at Intersolar! Your support made this event a success, and we are incredibly grateful for your generosity. A special shoutout to our amazing sponsors—AMS Renewable Energy, RST Cleantech, Clean Footprint, Reneu Energy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast—for making this fundraiser possible.   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.       Li Wang Squarespace Website Designer, Marketing Director of Reneu Energy and the Solar Maverick Podcast   I'm a former journalist turned website designer. I work solely on the Squarespace platform and have embraced its esthetic beauty and ease of use. I work with people who have a strong vision for their business and I simply unearth what makes them shine. I tell your brand story through the same processes I used as a former newspaper reporter. I currently have a waitlist for website design projects, but you can reserve your place here.   Squarespace Circle Member Squarespace Authorized Trainer Background and philosophy   Better every day. That's the way I aspire to live.   I was born in 1973 in Philadelphia. My parents immigrated from Taipei and my dad's first job out of graduate school was in Philadelphia. I'm a die-hard Eagles fan and being raised in that city has shaped my identity. Hip-hop culture served as my first artistic influence. Run-DMC, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys shaped how I created my own environment.   During the summer of O.J. trial I interned at the Philadelphia Daily News. I became hooked on journalism. I went on to another internship at the Des Moines Register and started my career as a business reporter for the Times of Trenton. I was the arts editor for the Honolulu Weekly and then the film critic for the Harrisburg Patriot-News.   Website design   I could see the end of the print industry so I decided to get a professional certificate in digital marketing from New York University. I started an agency with a partner doing SEO, PPC , content creation and website design. My partner decided to focus on software development and I turned my attention to website design.   Today I help small business owners shine online with compelling websites to resonate with their target audiences.   Personal interests   I'm a fitness enthusiast (CrossFit), watch collector (14060M, PAM112, SBGA085), and father (Matthew and Noemi).     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Li Wang Email:  li@littleoxworkshop.com Website:  https://www.littleoxworkshop.com     Book Recommendations George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones   https://www.amazon.com/George-Lucas-Brian-Jay-Jones-ebook/dp/B01DSTTRBW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RBXXD7XKH43Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-IoPSlTJA5SNa2QBh6cfyG75T1muc08nEtyk-Xm4ULq6hohaS7ohX9zo6eAXsh9duyxUDygHDy43QZwusNtOBpIDp019XuhNKrAiGhJ6dUN4uS6vXPtfxvhfYMvkm_amPYdRWsYF9Pl16rqzdE6vJ65eKWhxQlEYSldTgD_e6c1kVrOFUKiALgl1FppeMDYPVlAKggKEBLUPbF5ZDfip8Tl0PO5SnMj1TN7Vn8wd9Jg.3kIAOYFE-qXr6_u1jEkilLJsWqPkXPqb-_ytmG0gSEM&dib_tag=se&keywords=george+lucas+book&qid=1741022082&sprefix=george+lucas%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-1     How to Start Worry and Start Living by Dale Carnegie https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000N3SO9I/?bestFormat=true&k=how%20to%20start%20worrying%20and%20start%20living&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-pd-bk-d_de_k0_1_16&crid=2YEBAKJ2VEJW2&sprefix=how%20ot%20start%20wor     Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break-ebook/dp/B07D23CFGR/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1EFELZ83PXDEE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.y8ep0gjO0LaPjilbBqM79Xc2YZxFFvDOy7Lc27uggak-q5YmV5RsUlyRu-CTr0npJ0gRUx0ASicl9MOtJyk6fGTJ0Xxd_XDVFXJvb0BcmZ6vwNqmBzA93KU45puZNkdVopAqqtIUFTo2KYCA7-FJzr0371JvAVDlwQ7CSTShNRN-ggiCHNBVjWziBnegWzCkyP-xlax-3lklbAtiFh-3vYOZr3tuO8IgL4BHttFHJEE.ZO5fa3V0ar5nZ8XBYE6kqezA8wGK2ShncgzV9u9TqEY&dib_tag=se&keywords=atomic+habits&qid=1741022424&sprefix=atomic%2Caps%2C232&sr=8-1     The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime by MJ DeMarco https://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Fastlane-Crack-Wealth-Lifetime-ebook/dp/B004BDOUAI/ref=sr_1_1?crid=K46KWSB09QMW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.z4MidZRm4ZWE0T1HY7abuwdeo5CqTw10yZQVXYGCxm9DNaZTpMC_23RRaoL8h8-wnOy1BK3Rov0urj7ai8FISV54JO5KAlx_iBOMAydfX0zeWL6hKJ_oLbsHJeVGcFjo4joyU6H5OKeK8ncIQ0RuZJ7j-2v4TCrfEL6JYdeweYwUDkMM9L0DSV3B7BDed7DnYCVgfMJgzBXhqTvYNwjOuimnJsQA-aMtW7OYgz8Zvts.tSyBkDMxEzpxkotL3Me02V25R6WP4caU8e66-MLlea0&dib_tag=se&keywords=millionaire+fastlane+by+mj+demarco&qid=1741022902&sprefix=milionair+f%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1       Thought Leaders in Renewable Energy on Linkedin   Abby Hopper   https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-hopper-a3415527/   Jigar Shah https://www.linkedin.com/in/jigarshahdc/   John Moran https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-moran-03a3b3a/                                                                                                                                          

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy sits down with Adam Saghei, CEO and Founder of We Recycle Solar, at their state-of-the-art recycling facility—the only certified solar waste disposal provider. Adam shares insights into the growing opportunities in solar recycling, the cutting-edge technology behind their process, and key industry trends shaping the future of solar sustainability.   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.     Adam Saghai Adam Saghei is the Chief Executive Officer of We Recycle Solar, a company based in Yuma, Arizona, dedicated to addressing the growing need for sustainable disposal solutions for decommissioned solar panels. Under his leadership, the company has developed processes to recover valuable materials such as silver, copper, aluminum, glass, and silicone from obsolete or damaged photovoltaic panels, achieving up to a 99% recovery rate. Saghei emphasizes the importance of planning for the retirement of solar assets to ensure a sustainable lifecycle for renewable energy technologies.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Adam Saghai Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asaghei/ Website:  https://werecyclesolar.com/     Join Us at FireAid LA Fundraiser During InterSolar!   The recent fires in Los Angeles have impacted so many lives, and now is our chance to give back. Join us on Tuesday, February 25th, 2025, at 5:00 PM at The Lofts at 777 Sixth Ave for an evening of networking, community, and making a real difference.

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy sits down with Vishal Lala, CEO and Founder of Polar Racking, a North American leader in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of solar PV mounting systems. Polar Racking offers a diverse portfolio of ground-mount, tracker, and carport solutions for commercial and utility-scale markets, along with innovative agrivoltaic systems. Vishal shares expert insights on optimizing solar project performance through high-quality racking solutions, discusses emerging trends shaping the future of the solar industry, and offers valuable entrepreneurial advice. Congratulations to Polar Racking and Vishal Lala on celebrating 15 years in business in December 2024!   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.     Vishal Lala Vishal Lala is the Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Polar Racking, a company he established in 2009. Under his leadership, Polar Racking has evolved from a flat rooftop racking manufacturer into a North American leader in solar mounting solutions, expanding its offerings to include ground-mount, tracker, and carport products for commercial and utility-scale markets. Throughout his tenure, Lala has emphasized delivering high-quality, low-maintenance solar racking solutions that provide maximum value to customers. His strategic vision has been instrumental in Polar Racking's growth and its commitment to achieving a 10 GW annual production capacity for global solar projects. Lala's leadership is characterized by a focus on quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction, positioning Polar Racking as a key player in the global solar industry.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Vishal Lala Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishal-lala-cfa-781b526/ Email:  vishal.lala@polarracking.com Website:  https://www.polarracking.com/   Thank you to Concentro for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast!   Concentro's mission is to create and promote accessible financing mechanisms for distributed generation projects. As we work towards a cleaner, more reliable, and affordable energy system, they strive to empower developers with the financial tools they need to succeed.  Below are the link to the podcast and the contact information of Iñigo and Tao who were on Episode 186.   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/solar-maverick-podcast/id1441876259?i=1000679191495     Iñigo Rengifo Melia   Email:  inigo@concentro.io   Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/inigo-rengifo-melia/   Website: https://www.concentro.io/     Tao Mantaras   Email:  tao@concentro.io   Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/taomantaras/   Website:  https://www.concentro.io     Join Us at FireAid LA Fundraiser During InterSolar!   The recent fires in Los Angeles have impacted so many lives, and now is our chance to give back. Join us on Tuesday, February 25th, 2025, at 5:00 PM at The Lofts at 777 Sixth Ave for an evening of networking, community, and making a real difference.

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy sits down with Chris Grablutz, Principal and Co-founder of Tri-Force Energy—a leading Commercial & Utility Solar Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance company serving NJ, NY, and PA. Chris shares expert insights on optimizing solar project performance through effective O&M strategies, repowering aging assets, and emerging trends shaping the future of the solar industry.   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.       Chris Grablutz  Chris Grablutz has worked in the solar industry since 2010 with a wide network of great solar professionals and deep roots in northeast solar markets. His work in commercial, industrial, and utility scale solar has been focused on the technical aspects such as design engineering, construction management, QA/QC, Testing, and Operations & Maintenance. With a degree in Applied Physics and engineering background, Chris is a very detailed, logical, and process driven leader. Chris was also a NCAA Division I wrestler and grew up working for a family-owned construction company, which has contributed to his work hard attitude. In 2010, he entered the solar industry as a Project Engineer at Pfister Energy, a New Jersey based EPC firm. Chris supported commercial PV designs. Project and construction management came naturally to Chris from his upbringing in a family-owned construction firm. Chris managed the solar installations on multiple school district portfolios, UPS distribution facility, Teterboro Airport hangers, low and moderate income (LMI) apartment complexes, and building-integrated PV (BIPV) and building-integrated solar thermal systems at Camp Lejeune Marine Base in North Carolina. As the Director of Field Services at PV Pros and Pure Power Engineering, he led the creation of a commercial PV installation division. Chris grew the team to over 30 in-house employees with Job Site Safety, Technical Training, Quality Control, Staffing, and Project Management under his purview. In 2016, he led a start-up effort to transition from regional commercial construction into a national technical services firm, providing Operations and Maintenance (O&M), Owner's Engineer, and Independent Engineering. As the Director of Business Development, Chris's team led the sales of over 1GW of Owner's Engineer, Independent Engineer, and commissioning agent. His team's O&M sales included over 200MW of long-term O&M agreements. The O&M division completed multiple large service projects including PV system removal & re-installations. He continued his career in technical sales as the Director of Business Development at Clean Energy Associates, a global leader in solar manufacturing quality assurance, supply chain management, engineering services, and supplier/market intelligence programs.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Chris Grablutz Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/cgrablutz/ Email:  info@triforceenergy.com Website:  https://triforceenergy.com/   Chris Grablutz's previous episodes on the Solar Maverick Podcast   SMP 07-SMP 07: Getting down to Earth with Solar: Construction, quality control and O&M insights from Chris Grablutz   https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-07-getting-down-to-earth-with-solar-construction-quality-control-and-om-insights-from-chris-grablutz/   SMP 42-LIve How Solar Technology is Changing the world? https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-42-live-event-how-solar-technology-is-changing-the-world/ The book that Chris spoke about during the podcast is Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business. Two companies that Chris discusses in the podcast. Ecosuite https://ecosuite.io   Solargrade https://solargrade.io   Chris will be attending RE+ in Boston on Feb 12 to 13, 2025. If you want to meet with him at the conference, email him at info@triforceenergy.com.   Thank you to Concentro for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast! Concentro's mission is to create and promote accessible financing mechanisms for distributed generation projects. As we work towards a cleaner, more reliable, and affordable energy system, they strive to empower developers with the financial tools they need to succeed.  Below are the link to the podcast and the contact information of Iñigo and Tao who were on Episode 186. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/solar-maverick-podcast/id1441876259?i=1000679191495   Iñigo Rengifo Melia Email:  inigo@concentro.io Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/inigo-rengifo-melia/ Website: https://www.concentro.io/   Tao Mantaras Email:  tao@concentro.io Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/taomantaras/ Website:  https://www.concentro.io/  

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy and his co-host Nate Jovanelly, CEO of Sunraise Capital, speak about the 2025 Solar Outlook. 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 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. As the CEO of an innovative residential solar lease company, he spearheads strategic initiatives aimed at harmonizing the objectives of our funding partners, installation teams, and homeowners. With a relentless focus on alignment, he cultivates collaborative relationships to ensure mutual success and satisfaction across all stakeholders. Through innovative leadership and a commitment to transparency, he drives sustainable growth while delivering exceptional value to our investors, installers, and customers alike.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Nathan Jovanelly SunRaise Capital Website:  https://www.sunraisecapital.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/natejov/   200the Episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast Party https://www.eventbrite.com/e/200the-episode-of-the-solar-maverick-podcast-party-tickets-1227144735939?aff=oddtdtcreator   Jocko's Good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdTMDpizis8   Nate's other interviews on the Solar Maverick Podcast SMP 176:  REplus takeaways https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-176-replus-takeaways/   SMP 166: Residential Solar Trends https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-166-residential-solar-trends/   SMP 150: How SunRaise Capital is innovating residential solar financing? https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-150-how-sunraise-capital-is-innovating-residential-solar-financing/   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  

Mark1 is a public benefit corporation focused on accelerating the commercialization of emerging industrial technologies and climate solutions. Spun out of Deep Science Ventures and the Rocky Mountain Institute, Mark1 offers early-stage project development support, front-end planning, and catalytic capital for innovative companies. By bridging the gap between technology development and project deployment, they help startups navigate the complexities of project financing, off-take agreements, and regulatory processes. Julian Ryba-White, Co-Founder and CEO of Mark1, was previously a Principal at Nokomis Energy, Senior Director at TenK Solar, and Manager at SolarCity. Here are five takeaways. Bridging the commercialization gap: Julian explains the unique challenges companies face when transitioning from technology development to project deployment and how Mark One supports this process through expertise and resources. Adoption readiness levels: Mark One introduces the concept of "adoption readiness levels" from the DOE to measure project viability and prepare companies for scaling. Catalytic capital: Julian details their funding approach, offering $300,000 to $500,000 tied to project milestones to de-risk development and align incentives. Holistic project development: Mark One's bespoke program identifies gaps in technology, finance, and equity, providing tailored support through a co-development agreement. Career advice for emerging professionals: Julian emphasizes the importance of patience, family time, and human connection in balancing personal and professional growth.

How do you successfully scale & exit a startup enterprise? The art of entrepreneurship is part science, part stick-to-it-iveness, part grind and part good luck. So what does it take to sell your companies to major players like SolarCity(now Tesla), Nextracker, and even attempt to change how the EV market works with one of Tesla's co-founders?That's what I've been dying to ask the only person I know who's had such achievements - Mike Miskovsky.Success in business often requires navigating a maze of opportunities, setbacks, and market shifts. In fast-evolving sectors like renewable energy and electric vehicles, understanding how to adapt to market shifts, policy “updates” and financial industry fluctuations is essential. Today's conversation unpacks a career defined by innovation, resilience, and lessons learned in the face of both successes and failures, and how to “earn the right to proceed” in order to close those big deals.Mike Miskovsky's professional journey spans decades and industries, offering a rare perspective on building and scaling impactful businesses. From early days at Sports Illustrated TV, where he launched new ventures under a renowned media brand, to pioneering roles in Silicon Valley's tech ecosystem, Mike seems to have perfected the ability to turn challenges into opportunities. In the solar industry, his work with Zep Solar redefined mounting systems, leading to its acquisition by SolarCity, while his leadership at Ojjo advanced groundbreaking solutions for utility-scale solar foundations and that company's recent acquisition by Nextracker. Along the way, Mike learned the hard truths about market timing, the power of strategic partnerships, and the art of pivoting under pressure. And while it seems like he has the Midas touch when it comes to picking winners, he readily admits that it wasn't always this way.Expect to learn:How market timing and resource constraints can shape the success of a venture.Strategies for preparing a company for acquisition and delivering long-term value.Lessons from failures that informed Mike's approach to building resilient businesses.The role of partnerships and customer alignment in scaling innovative technologies.How to approach career growth with adaptability and purpose.I've waited a LONG Time for this interview, and now you get to eavesdrop as Mike shares his hard-earned wisdom, empowering you to navigate the unpredictable path of entrepreneurship (and solar) with greater confidence and resilience. You're welcome - take notes, make it matter. Onward #SolarWarrior.If you want to connect with today's guest, you'll find links to his contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/.Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!SunCast is proudly supported by Trina Solar.You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.mysuncast.com/sponsors.Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today's guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 730 other founder stories and startup advice at www.mysuncast.com.Subscribe to

Cameron Herold, founder of COO Alliance, shares his extensive experience in coaching and business management, and in this episode, he talks about the importance of effective delegation and hiring a second-in-command to manage your projects! What You'll Hear In This Episode: -Cameron's extensive experience in coaching and business management, starting with College Pro Painters in 1989 where he recruited and trained 800 students as franchisees. -His coaching of Elon Musk's brother Kimball, and his cousin, who later founded SolarCity. -Why leaders should focus on core roles without giving away big titles early. - Why he recommends hiring a fractional executive assistant first, then a director-level second-in-command to manage projects. -The best way to handle an EA to “buy back your time”. -Cameron's memories of his friend, the late John Ruhlin (author of “Giftology”)

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy interviews Peter Schmitt, Director of Project Development at US Solar. Peter shares insights on agrivoltaics, highlights the key states where US Solar is focusing its solar development efforts, and discusses emerging trends in the agrivoltaics industry. US Solar is a developer, owner, operator, and financier of solar generation and storage projects with a focus on emerging markets, agrivoltaics, and community solar programs with over 200 Megawatts of completed projects and over 2 Gigawatts in construction and development   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.     Peter Schmitt Peter is a Director of Project Development focusing on US Solar's grid scale developments across the country, ranging from 50-300+ MW each.  He also spearheads the company's vegetation innovations, including the advancement of pollinator seed mixes, experimental crops, beehives, and the introduction of sheep to sites.  Prior to joining US Solar, Peter worked as an internal consultant at Xcel Energy in transmission, worked for a public utility in Austria, and founded a commercial compost company. Peter grew up in Minnesota and received two undergraduate and two graduate degrees, all from the University of Minnesota.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Peter Schmitt Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-schmitt-24187645/ US Solar Website:  https://www.us-solar.com/   Agrivoltaics Conferences in 2025 NORTH AMERICA'S AGRIVOLTAICS EXPO August 4-7, 2025 Chicago, IL https://solarfarmsummit.com   AgriVoltaics World Conference July 1-3, 2025 Freibrug, Germany https://www.agrivoltaics-conference.org/                                  

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Tom Weirich who is the Head of Marketing & Stakeholder Relations - North America | EDP Renewables.  He also wrote a book called “We Took the Risk: The Stories Behind the Early Risk Takers in the U.S. Renewable Energy Industry and the Leadership Traits that Made Them a Success.”  Tom speaks about his book, trends that he is seeing, and suggestions on having a career in the renewable energy industry.   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.       Tom Weirich Tom Weirich is a key facilitator that has connected pivotal players in the global renewable energy industry for over eighteen years, working with teams that have closed 300+ renewable energy transactions across a variety of technologies. Throughout his renewables journey, it's been the stories of how colleagues got their start in renewables that continues to inspire and empower him in his daily work. As an award-winning marketing leader in the energy sector, he's a frequent industry panel moderator, speaker and OpEd contributor, focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship and market opportunities surrounding the US' clean energy transition. Weirich's passion for renewables extends beyond the confines of his day job, with countless hours spent promoting philanthropic efforts focused on technology innovation, career mentoring, workforce development and STEM education.   Professional Experience Weirich previously worked with two key clean energy investment banking advisory firms based in New York as Director of Marketing at Rubicon Capital Advisors and Director of Marketing & Business Development at CohnReznick Capital. Prior to that, Tom was Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations and interim Chief Operating Officer at the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) in Washington, D.C., where he managed and oversaw corporate relations and public affairs for 12 years working with key global developers, financiers and power generators.   Weirich served under the Obama Administration twice in honorary roles, advising both the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative on renewable energy trade and manufacturing policies. He has been acknowledged for his contributions to the solar industry by Renewable Energy World as part of its inaugural “Top 40 under 40 in Solar”, and has been listed five years in a row on kWh Analytics' #Solar100 List, which recognizes key solar energy thought leaders in the United States. Weirich is a previous Emerging Leaders in Energy & Environment Program Fellow with the Atlantic Council, as well as the previous Chairperson for North America for the Word Council on Renewable Energy (WCRE). He serves as an Advisor to The Cleanie Awards, which recognizes innovators and those making an impact in clean energy, and is a Fellow with Humanity in Action (HIA), an international non-profit that educates and connects young leaders on issues related to human and minority rights.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Tom Weirich Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomweirich/ Book's Website:  https://wetooktherisk.com    

How do you avoid common mistakes in commercial contract negotiation? What about in drafting? And how can you get better at and find more joy in commercial contracting?Join Laura Frederick, Founder and CEO of How to Contract, as she goes deep on all things contracts—everything from how to avoid common mistakes to tips for supercharging your negotiating skills.Listen as Laura talks about her career in contracts working for top energy and renewable companies like Tesla and SolarCity, making the leap to start her own law firm and training business, establishing a yearly conference about all things contracts, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-73Topics:Introduction: 0:00Why Laura chose contracts as her core practice area: 5:52Drafting contracts for energy and renewables: 10:17Laura's favorite types of deals: 13:54Contract drafting tips and tricks: 15:39Considering a more generalist role: 17:50Common mistakes during contract drafting: 23:19How to negotiate more effectively: 25:10Tips for breaking a negotiating log jam: 27:59Lessons from mentors: 33:03Founding How to Contract: 36:39Leaving Tesla to make the leap to business owner: 40:06Focusing on mental health: 44:19Finding Laura's businesses online: 51:10Rapid-fire questions: 54:08What Laura wishes she'd known as a young lawyer: 55:12Connect with us:Laura Frederick - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurafredericklaw/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

Aparna Mohla, VP of Corporate Partnerships at Give Power, shares her incredible journey from growing up in Mumbai, India, to becoming a trailblazer in the solar industry. From her early days at SolarCity to transformative work with Give Power, Aparna talks about her "why" for clean energy, the power of authenticity in sales, and creating a lasting impact. Discover how her partnership with Freedom Forever drives change, builds karma, and transforms lives. For more on Give Power, visit GivePower.org

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy interviews Iñigo Rengifo Melia and Tao Mantaras from Concentro.  Concentro is a platform for distributed generation clean energy tax credits.   Iñigo and Tao discuss the opportunity with clean energy tax credits with the new transferability rules from the Inflation Reduction Act.  They also discuss how the new presidential administration may impact clean energy tax credits and their advice for being an entrepreneur.   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.     Iñigo Rengifo Melia Inigo is the Co-founder & CEO of Concentro. Before Concentro, he spent three years as a consultant at McKinsey, focusing on new business building and clean energy projects. Prior to that, he was the first employee at Neboola, a startup studio, where he was part of the founding team of two startups: Loopas and Bonofit. Inigo holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Electromechanical Engineering.   Tao Mantaras Tao is the Co-founder & COO of Concentro. Before Concentro, he co-founded BibliU, a venture-backed EdTech company that enables universities to access digital learning materials. Earlier in his career, he was a consultant in the energy sector and also gained experience in investment banking. Tao holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a dual Bachelor's degree in Science and Commerce.     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Iñigo Rengifo Melia Email:  inigo@concentro.io Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/inigo-rengifo-melia/ Website: https://www.concentro.io/   Tao Mantaras Email:  tao@concentro.io Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/taomantaras/ Website:  https://www.concentro.io/   Concentro NPM Press Release Concentro ready to enable USD 300m in tax credit transfers; focus on DG market https://newprojectmedia.com/news/concentro-ready-to-enable-usd-300m-in-tax-credit-transfers-focus-on-dg-market   Join Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, Concentro, and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the Winter Solstice Fundraiser Celebrate the holidays with us at the Winter Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, Concentro,, and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Wednesday, December 4th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy.  Event Highlights: Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with an open bar from 6 PM to 8 PM and delicious food throughout the evening. Tickets: Early Bird Pricing of $65 per person.  The pricing would be $75 starting on 11/27.   You can RSVP using the link provided below. Partnership with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia: We're excited to partner with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia, who will be offering sports memorabilia and experiences for sale. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Let's Share the Sun Foundation. Sponsorship Opportunities: If you're interested in sponsoring this event and helping make a difference, please contact us at info@reneuenergy.com.   https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1448299        

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy interviews David Taylor, Andrew Aldama, and Adam Weissman from Anker Solix.  With solar and energy storage technology, Anker SOLIX gives you complete control of your power. Whether you are enjoying the great outdoors, living life on the road, or setting up a home energy system, you can enjoy anytime electricity to live in power.   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.     David Taylor Solutions Expert at Anker Innovations   Andrew Aldama HES Solutions Director Anker Innovations LTD   Adam Weissman Senior Public Relations Manager Anker Innovations LTD       Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   David Taylor Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-taylor-2354b020a/   Andrew Aldama Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-aldama/   Adam Weissman Linkedn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamweissman/   Anker Solix's website https://www.anker.com/anker-solix      We would like to thank Positive Deviancy for sponsoring this episode of the podcast.   Jade Garrett, founder of Positive Deviancy, is a Power Connector for the DOE's American-Made Program. Since 2018, Positive Deviancy has helped over 400 teams access $14 million in innovation funding from the American-Made Challenges.    Email:  jade@positivedeviancy.com Website:  www.PositiveDeviancy.com/  Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jadegarrett/    Contact Jade directly via email to get help to apply for these Energy Prizes:     Community Power Accelerator Round 3 Prize - Due  December 17th, 2024 The Community Power Accelerator R3 Prize is designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and codevelopers to grow multiple successful community-benefiting distributed solar projects. 25 teams are each awarded up to $400k.   TCU Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize - Due December 4th, 2024 The Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize encourages Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to develop student-led demonstration projects that increase their knowledge on clean energy and food sovereignty on TCU campuses. 30 TCUs can be awarded up to $250k for energy projects.    Join Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the Winter Solstice Fundraiser Celebrate the holidays with us at the Winter Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Wednesday, December 4th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy.  Event Highlights: Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with an open bar from 6 PM to 8 PM and delicious food throughout the evening. Tickets: Early Bird Pricing of $65 per person.  The pricing would be $75 starting on 11/27.   You can RSVP using the link provided below. Partnership with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia: We're excited to partner with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia, who will be offering sports memorabilia and experiences for sale. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Let's Share the Sun Foundation. Sponsorship Opportunities: If you're interested in sponsoring this event and helping make a difference, please contact us at info@reneuenergy.com.   https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1448299        

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy interviews Jared Haines, CEO and COO of Catalyze.  Catalyze is accelerating the large-scale transition to clean, renewable energy by making it easy and profitable to integrate smart energy resources into new and existing infrastructure.  Jared speaks about how Catalyze differentiates from other Independent Power Producers(“IPPs”), how the company is able to scale asset ownership, and what states they are focused on.   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.     Jared Haines Jared Haines brings over 20 years of senior leadership experience to Catalyze in his role as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operations Officer. Prior to his current role, Jared was Catalyze's Vice President of Project and Business Development, leading his team in co-developing and acquiring Solar and Storage opportunities across the US with a focus in the NY Metro area. Jared boasts an impressive expertise in the solar sector, co-founding Mercury Solar Systems in 2006 and overseeing several business units as the company's President before a merger in 2014 with RGS Energy. At RGS, he managed the commercial division as the Chief Revenue Officer. Jared also has experience developing the solar distributed generation team as the Head of Origination for Nextera energy, and providing Community Solar development and consulting services for solar projects as a Principal for Sol Alliance. Jared earned his bachelor's degree from Tufts University.     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Jared Haines Website:  https://catalyze.com/ LInkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-haines-4282b66/       We would like to thank Positive Deviancy for sponsoring this episode of the podcast.   Jade Garrett, founder of Positive Deviancy, is a Power Connector for the DOE's American-Made Program. Since 2018, Positive Deviancy has helped over 400 teams access $14 million in innovation funding from the American-Made Challenges.    Email:  jade@positivedeviancy.com Website:  www.PositiveDeviancy.com/  Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jadegarrett/    Contact Jade directly via email to get help to apply for these Energy Prizes:     Community Power Accelerator Round 3 Prize - Due  December 17th, 2024 The Community Power Accelerator R3 Prize is designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and codevelopers to grow multiple successful community-benefiting distributed solar projects. 25 teams are each awarded up to $400k.   TCU Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize - Due December 4th, 2024 The Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize encourages Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to develop student-led demonstration projects that increase their knowledge on clean energy and food sovereignty on TCU campuses. 30 TCUs can be awarded up to $250k for energy projects.    Join Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the Winter Solstice Fundraiser Celebrate the holidays with us at the Winter Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Wednesday, December 4th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy.  Event Highlights: Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with an open bar from 6 PM to 8 PM and delicious food throughout the evening. Tickets: Early Bird Pricing of $65 per person.  The pricing would be $75 starting on 11/27.   You can RSVP using the link provided below. Partnership with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia: We're excited to partner with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia, who will be offering sports memorabilia and experiences for sale. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Let's Share the Sun Foundation. Sponsorship Opportunities: If you're interested in sponsoring this event and helping make a difference, please contact us at info@reneuenergy.com.   https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1448299        

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy interviews John Williams, CEO of Virdi.  Virdi designs and builds fail-safe battery energy storage systems with on-demand, affordable power for many different uses.  John speaks about their innovative fail-safe battery technology, the opportunity for energy storage, and his entrepreneurial advice.  Virdi is revolutionizing the way energy is used and stored with commercial-scale lithium-ion-based energy storage systems certified for installation in occupied spaces.   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.     John Williams Jon M. Williams is the CEO of Viridi, a point-of-use energy technology company that is revolutionizing the way energy is stored and used, leading the way to a zero-carbon energy future. Prior to founding Viridi, Jon owned and managed OSC Holdings, Inc. a group of companies in the US and Canada that focused on Environmental Remediation and Redevelopment of former industrial sites. Jon's commitment to using the power of business to address the interconnected systems of economic inequality, environmental degradation, and climate change was inspired by his hometown, Niagara Falls, New York. The many abandoned factories there served as reminders of Western New York's rich history as a thriving manufacturing center for the world and of the devastation to lives and land caused by their abandonment. Most of all, these empty factory towns motivated Jon to help bring them back to life in a way that serves everyone who lives there.     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   John Williams Website:  https://viridiparente.com/ Email:  jmwilliams@virdiparente.com   We would like to thank Positive Deviancy for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. Jade Garrett, founder of Positive Deviancy, is a Power Connector for the DOE's American-Made Program. Since 2018, Positive Deviancy has helped over 400 teams access $14 million in innovation funding from the American-Made Challenges.    Email:  jade@positivedeviancy.com Website:  www.PositiveDeviancy.com/  Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jadegarrett/    Contact Jade directly via email to get help to apply for these Energy Prizes:     Community Power Accelerator Round 3 Prize - Due  December 17th, 2024 The Community Power Accelerator R3 Prize is designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and codevelopers to grow multiple successful community-benefiting distributed solar projects. 25 teams are each awarded up to $400k.   TCU Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize - Due December 4th, 2024 The Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize encourages Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to develop student-led demonstration projects that increase their knowledge on clean energy and food sovereignty on TCU campuses. 30 TCUs can be awarded up to $250k for energy projects.    Join Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the Winter Solstice Fundraiser Celebrate the holidays with us at the Winter Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Wednesday, December 4th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy.  Event Highlights: Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with an open bar from 6 PM to 8 PM and delicious food throughout the evening. Tickets: Early Bird Pricing of $65 per person.  The pricing would be $75 starting on 11/27.   You can RSVP using the link provided below. Partnership with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia: We're excited to partner with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia, who will be offering sports memorabilia and experiences for sale. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Let's Share the Sun Foundation. Sponsorship Opportunities: If you're interested in sponsoring this event and helping make a difference, please contact us at info@reneuenergy.com. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1448299  

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy and his co-host Nate Jovanelly, CEO of Sunraise Capital, speak about how the renewable energy industry would be impacted by the US Presidential Election.   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 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.   As the CEO of an innovative residential solar lease company, he spearheads strategic initiatives aimed at harmonizing the objectives of our funding partners, installation teams, and homeowners. With a relentless focus on alignment, he cultivates collaborative relationships to ensure mutual success and satisfaction across all stakeholders. Through innovative leadership and a commitment to transparency, he drives sustainable growth while delivering exceptional value to our investors, installers, and customers alike.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Nathan Jovanelly SunRaise Capital Website:  https://www.sunraisecapital.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/natejov/     Nate's other interviews on the Solar Maverick Podcast SMP 166: Residential Solar Trends https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-166-residential-solar-trends/   SMP 150: How SunRaise Capital is innovating residential solar financing? https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-150-how-sunraise-capital-is-innovating-residential-solar-financing/   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 Positive Deviancy for sponsoring this episode of the podcast.   Jade Garrett, founder of Positive Deviancy, is a Power Connector for the DOE's American-Made Program. Since 2018, Positive Deviancy has helped over 400 teams access $14 million in innovation funding from the American-Made Challenges.    Email:  jade@positivedeviancy.com Website:  www.PositiveDeviancy.com/  Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jadegarrett/    Contact Jade directly via email to get help to apply for these Energy Prizes:     Community Power Accelerator Round 3 Prize - Due  December 17th, 2024 The Community Power Accelerator R3 Prize is designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and codevelopers to grow multiple successful community-benefiting distributed solar projects. 25 teams are each awarded up to $400k.   TCU Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize - Due December 4th, 2024 The Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize encourages Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to develop student-led demonstration projects that increase their knowledge on clean energy and food sovereignty on TCU campuses. 30 TCUs can be awarded up to $250k for energy projects.    Join Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the Winter Solstice Fundraiser Celebrate the holidays with us at the Winter Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Wednesday, December 4th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy.  Event Highlights: Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with an open bar from 6 PM to 8 PM and delicious food throughout the evening. Tickets: Early Bird Pricing of $65 per person.  The pricing would be $75 starting on 11/27.   You can RSVP using the link provided below. Partnership with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia: We're excited to partner with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia, who will be offering sports memorabilia and experiences for sale. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Let's Share the Sun Foundation. Sponsorship Opportunities: If you're interested in sponsoring this event and helping make a difference, please contact us at info@reneuenergy.com.   https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1448299        

Before dedicating his career to integrating solar energy into the new construction market Dennis Helblig worked for a variety of builders including Colorado's favorite regional production high performance builder Thrive Homebuilders. Seeing the efficiency of the housing stock continue to improve, Dennis moved on from building and worked for industry leading solar companies like SolarCity, Sun Street, Sunnova, and now Colorado Based Pro Bid Energy to integrate solar into new home construction. Either through leasing agreements or incorporating the cost within the mortgage, adding solar as a standard feature in new homes, rather than an option has proven to be the most cost-effective way to integrate the technology into homes. Dennis discusses all things Solar and new home construction in this conversation which is a pivotal aspect of our energy transition. Dennis Helblig on LinkedIn Pro Bid Energy

As a pioneer in impact investing, Nancy has demonstrated the potential of venture capital to drive social change and environmental improvements. She is an active voice in the field, frequently writing and speaking on impact investing topics. Nancy serves on the boards of several companies, including Zola Electric, Bellwether Coffee, and Farmers Business Network, and has previously worked with Tesla Motors, SolarCity, and Pandora before their public offerings. Before founding DBL, she was a Managing Director in Venture Capital at JPMorgan and began her investment career at Hambrecht & Quist in 1984. Her diverse experience also includes roles at Intel Corporation, the State of California, Stanford University, and the Sierra Club. In 2024, Nancy received the Impact Leadership Award from Impact Capital Managers and was recognized in 2023 by Forbes and the San Francisco Business Times as one of the Bay Area's most influential business leaders. Her accolades include the 2022 Financial Woman of the Year and appearances on Fast Company's 2016 Most Creative People in Business list. A frequent lecturer at prestigious institutions such as Harvard and Stanford, she has held numerous leadership roles in organizations focused on clean energy and social impact. DBL Partners was formed with a “Double Bottom Line” investment strategy to invest in companies that can deliver top-tier venture capital returns (First Bottom Line), while working with our companies to enable social, environmental and economic improvement in the regions in which they operate (Second Bottom Line). DBL Partners uses venture capital to accelerate innovation in a way that positively affects an organization's social impact, as well as its financial success. We strongly believe these two drivers –positive social change and a healthy financial performance– are inherently connected. DBL invests in and helps nurture outstanding entrepreneurs and companies in Cleantech, Information Technology, Sustainable Products and Services, and Healthcare. Show Notes: [2:47] - Nancy shares a bit about her incredible career, and what she would title a book about her journey. [4:40] - Blending impact with finance can enhance both outcomes. [7:02] - Before founding DBL, Nancy was a Managing Director at JPMorgan. She shares the experience of breaking off with DBL during a time of uncertainty. [11:10] - Nancy describes her experience with Tesla and how the investment in strong talent benefits an entire organization. [13:12] - Start-ups are all about resilience and perseverance, especially during times of economic challenges. [14:32] - In this environment, it is difficult to stay positive and survive in the short term. [16:35] - A first-time fund investor is slightly different because of the risk involved. [18:01] - Nancy describes and explains venture capital and impact investing. [22:52] - Sustainability is a key interest of Nancy's and her colleagues. [26:29] - Nancy describes some of the challenges faced at Tesla in the beginning of her work there. [30:08] - Whatever the block is, you can make a difference. [31:57] - Initially, the car industry was not designed to support the development of electric vehicles. [34:42] - What is the difference between Founder mode and CEO mode? [38:07] - There are habits, including drinking coffee, that are “carbon habits”. [39:39] - The good news is that the list of talented and visionary entrepreneurs is getting longer, increasing impact. [42:18] - What are the soft skills that are valued at DBL and the VC world? [44:09] - At the founder level, there has to be an insatiable drive to change the world. [46:19] - Create several scenarios in your analysis and do some stress testing. [51:53] - There is a lot of uncertainty right now, especially when it comes to policies. [54:24] - Even with uncertainty, there are many things to like and be positive about with policy transitions. Links and Resources: DBL Partners

Driveway Beers PodcastElon Musk Hates America!!!According to the political left, Elon Musk hates American and they're shocked why he hasn't been prosecuted. Little do they know, Musk has been the biggest proponent of liberal ideas for the last 15 years. He has been one of the most influential people of moving America and the world forward!! He made the electric car mainstream and viable for purchase. He's doing NASA's job for them. He's pioneering solar power to the masses. He's also re-imagining transportation. And he also pisses people off immensely. Does he love or hate America???Please subscribe and rate this podcast on your podcast platforms like Apple and Spotify as it helps us a ton. Also like, comment, subscribe and share the video on Youtube. It really helps us get the show out to more people. We hope you enjoyed your time with us and we look forward to seeing you next time. Please visit us at https://drivewaybeerspodcast.com/donate/ to join The Driveway Club and buy us a bourbon! Buy us a bottle and we'll review it on a show!Please visit our sponsors:Adam Chubbuck of Team Alpha Charlie Real Estate, 8221 Ritchie Hwy, Pasadena, MD 21122, www.tacmd.com, (443) 457-9524. If you want a real estate agent that will treat your money like it's his own and provide you the best service as a buyer or seller, contact Adam at Team Alpha Charlie.If you want to sponsor the show, contact us at contact@drivewaybeerspodcast.comCheck out all our links here https://linktr.ee/drivewaybeerspodcast.comIf you're looking for sports betting picks, go to conncretelocks.com or send a message to Jeremy Conn at Jconn22@gmail.comFacebook Page https://www.facebook.com/drivewaybeerspodcast/#podcast #whiskey #bourbon #elon #musk #spacex #tesla #boring #solarcity #nasa #starlink #future #electricvehicle

Episode Summary In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Matt Casey who is the Owner of RST North America CleanTech Solutions.  RST CleanTech was established in 2013 and quickly became a global leader in automated solar panel cleaning. Since their inception, RST have installed 4,000+ projects worldwide ranging in size from residential arrays to large-scale utility projects.  Matt speaks about their innovative technology, how panels could have 30% more production, and how he got into the renewables industry. 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.     Matt Casey Matthew brings over 15 years of renewable energy experience to the RST Team. Matthew started in the wind industry where he was instrumental in developing over 100MW of wind projects and constructing over 1.5GW of wind projects in both New York, Texas, California, Chile, and Mexico and served on the board of the California Wind Energy Association. More recently, Matthew managed both sales and operations teams for over 70 commercial/industrial solar projects in California. Matthew has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Bradley University and a Masters of Sociology from the University of Chicago.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Matt Casey Email:  matthew@rst-cleantech.com Website:  https://www.rst-cleantech.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewcasey/

Adam James is a Partner at Energy Impact Partners, where he leads the firm's Customer Experience team and the Impact and Sustainability team. Adam joined EIP from Tesla where he worked on global business operations. Prior to Tesla, he was the Deputy Director at SolarCity, supporting global market expansion including business development, M&A, and utility partnerships. Adam previously held roles with GTM Research and at the Center for American Progress. Adam is also a Board Member at the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI), a nonprofit dedicated to developing the next generation of energy leadership, which he co-founded in 2013. Energy Impact Partners, or EIP, is a purpose-built investment platform. It is a collaborative strategic investment firm that invests in energy companies. They bring together brilliant entrepreneurs and some of the world's most influential corporations to help transform the global economy towards a sustainable future. EIP is committed to setting standards on ESG reporting, transparency, and measurement, as a member of the Initiative Climate International, a subgroup of UNPRI specifically formed to work on reducing carbon emissions of private equity-backed companies and securing sustainable investment performance by recognizing and incorporating the materiality of climate risk. Show Notes: [2:29] - Adam shares what initially sparked his motivation in this field and how it has evolved over time. [7:56] - Adam describes some of his experiences in the early days of his career. [10:16] - Climate change is a really unique problem because it requires a multi-disciplinary approach. [12:53] - In building an organization, there are several first steps to take. Adam explains some of the critical steps that he took at the start. [16:17] - It is apparent in the climate field how generous and collaborative people are. [19:15] - Scaling things up in an organization has been an exciting part of the work for Adam. [21:50] - What can be learned after years of experience and data? How can there be improvement? [23:24] - It is a complex political environment. In general, no matter what is going on, corporations have a business objective. [26:14] - Compared to years past, there is more progress and good news regarding climate change coming everyday. [28:03] - Adam describes some of the things he is most excited about when it comes to emerging technologies. [31:32] - Adam shares advice to those who are entering the field. Links and Resources: Energy Impact Partners Website

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy and his co-host Nate Jovanelly, CEO of Sunraise Capital, speak about their takeaways from REplus.  REplus is the largest renewable conference and there were over 40K plus attendees.  The conference was in Anaheim, California from September 9 to 12, 2024.   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 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.   As the CEO of an innovative residential solar lease company, he spearheads strategic initiatives aimed at harmonizing the objectives of our funding partners, installation teams, and homeowners. With a relentless focus on alignment, he cultivates collaborative relationships to ensure mutual success and satisfaction across all stakeholders. Through innovative leadership and a commitment to transparency, he drives sustainable growth while delivering exceptional value to our investors, installers, and customers alike.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Nathan Jovanelly SunRaise Capital Website:  https://www.sunraisecapital.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/natejov/     Nate's other interviews on the Solar Maverick Podcast SMP 150: How SunRaise Capital is innovating residential solar financing? https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-150-how-sunraise-capital-is-innovating-residential-solar-financing/   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          

Episode Summary The Benefits of Third Party Owned (TPO: Lease & PPA) Solar Systems Join us for a lively conversation around TPO models -- the benefits, opportunities, risks and everything in between from SolarConnect.  Hosted By: Benoy Thanjan - Founder & CEO, Reneu Energy, and Host of The Solar Maverick Podcast Panelists: David Kenny  - Co-Founder & COO, Omnidian https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennydavid/ Pat Bennet  - Co-Founder, Enerflo https://www.linkedin.com/in/impatbennett/ SolarConnect is a dynamic two-day virtual event bringing together thought leaders from across the solar industry to share and discuss the latest trends, insights, and innovations -- including solar finance, solar lead gen, compliance, design, storage/batteries and more organized by Enerflo. Here is the link to Solar Connect. https://lp.enerflo.com/solarconnect 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.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

California homeowners face a complex puzzle in decarbonizing their homes: electrification without rooftop solar could increase bills due to expensive electricity, while installing solar first risks oversizing or underutilizing the system. Balto Energy, a startup founded by James Quazi, uses AI to analyze utility bills and recommend the most cost-effective clean energy strategy. In this episode, we discuss Balto's tool, its potential to empower contractors, and what California's situation reveals about the future of clean energy policy nationwide.(PDF transcript)(Active transcript)Text transcript:David RobertsHello everyone. This is Volts for September 13, 2024, "A tool that enables solar first home electrification." I'm your host, David Roberts. Californians who want to decarbonize their homes face something of a conundrum. If they electrify their cars and appliances without getting rooftop solar, they could end up paying higher overall bills thanks to California's notoriously expensive electricity and cheap natural gas. If they install rooftop solar before electrifying their cars and appliances, they could either undersize the system for their eventual needs or oversize it and over-produce and export solar power to the California grid. Thanks to California's recent NEM 3.0 decision on rooftop solar compensation, utilities pay much less for that exported rooftop solar power than they used to.The most economical strategy for most homeowners is likely to be some mix of electrification, batteries, and rooftop solar. The more a California homeowner stores and consumes their own cheap rooftop solar power, the more value they get out of that solar and the lower their total bills. It is a complex calculation, though, that most homeowners are in no position to make. That's where the startup Balto Energy comes in. Founder James Quazi, a longtime energy modeler and entrepreneur, has built a tool that can use a home's utility bills to create a model of its consumption patterns, predict what they will be as appliances are electrified, and recommend the maximally economical approach.It's part of a larger effort to help contractors and solar companies navigate a post-net-metering world. I'm excited to talk to Quazi about why his tool is needed and how it works, how it will empower contractors, and what California's present says about the future of clean energy policy in the rest of the country.With no further ado, James Quazi, welcome to Volts. Thank you so much for coming.James QuaziThank you for having me. That was a great intro.David RobertsThanks. So, you know, I sort of went over it a little quickly in the intro there. But let's talk a little bit about this conundrum for Californians who are trying to decarbonize. So, just by background — I don't even know if everyone's been following the California rooftop solar wars, I kind of assume everybody has — but just by way of background, California recently basically issued a new policy on rooftop solar, and the long and short of it is that they're going to compensate homeowners much less. It used to be that basically you could get paid the retail rate for your excess solar, and now they're just going to pay much, much less than that.On the surface, this really damages the economical case for solar for homeowners, they'll get compensated much less. This has resulted in a huge blow to the solar industry in California. There are solar companies shutting down, jobs being lost, etcetera, etcetera. So, talk a little bit about the conundrum and how you think about solving it.James QuaziYeah, so about a year ago, the net energy metering policy in California changed from NEM 2.0 to NEM 3.0, now called Net Billing Tariff. The difference is, as you mentioned, that now customers get paid on a schedule. Each hour per year is a different rate. But generally, you can think of it as between like $0.05 and $0.08 for exported energy, while imported energy for me in San Diego is between $0.38 and $0.52 an hour. So it degrades the value proposition for residential solar for a homeowner. For contractors, it's also proven really difficult. So in the past, it was really easy to have rule of thumb sizing or heuristics, or if you took annual energy over the last twelve months and you designed a system that produced around that same amount of energy, it was generally going to be a good value proposition for the homeowner.But now, what you need to understand is, like, how much of that solar production is actually coincident with the load on the house, because the export of energy is devalued.David RobertsRight. So, the economics now have shifted to make it so that, I mean, maybe this was true already, but more true now that the ideal thing for Californians with rooftop solar to do is to consume as much of the generated power as conceivably possible.James QuaziThat's absolutely correct. So, if you can think of it as, and I'm sure your listeners are familiar with the terminology, like LCOE. So, the cost of solar, residential rooftop solar, is somewhere between, let's say, $0.10 and $0.12 a kilowatt-hour to produce, whereas the retail rate is much higher depending on the IOU that you're a part of. To the extent that you can consume cheap on-site electricity, you are hugely benefited as a customer.David RobertsRight. So then the question becomes, well, there's a bunch of different ways of approaching this question, but from this sort of like, if I'm trying to sell solar, right, I need a little bit of a new pitch, right? Because before, with full retail compensation, it's kind of a no-brainer, you could make a lot of money, but now you can make a lot less money. So this changes the value proposition for solar. So, explain exactly how the sort of calculation shifts.James QuaziSure, I would actually reframe it a little bit in terms of, like, I believe so in the previous net metering paradigm. We often saw simple solar paybacks in the five to seven years. I believe that those paybacks are still available to homeowners, but it's just a different set of products and services than simply rooftop solar on the roof. So, I think our goal is to help retool the solar industries, to help look at a house as a whole, maybe converting a lot of the energy on site that we previously ignored, whether that's natural gas or gasoline, and then power that all with cheap onsite renewables, and that will drive the value proposition for that homeowner.David RobertsRight. It's still worthwhile getting solar, even maybe still a comparable payoff period, but a different approach. And basically, it's going to be a little bit more of a complicated approach. Right? Like, it's one thing just to stick solar on the roof. Like, how much energy do I use, let's stick that much solar on the roof. Pretty easy. Once you bring in the whole home, just the combinatorial, you know what I mean? Just the calculations get a lot more complicated.James QuaziFor sure. So, like, I think in two respects. One, it's more complicated for the contractor to feel confident in the system that they're proposing and the financial outcome for the homeowner. And then two, from a homeowner's perspective, it's more complicated to understand and digest and comprehend a suite of services that might include solar and a battery and a heat pump and an EV, than it is simply like panels on a roof. Our goal at Balto Energy is to sort of do the modeling and ingest the complexity and then deliver it in a way that's consumable for both a contractor and a homeowner.David RobertsRight. So, talk briefly about what your tool does. What is the outcome supposed to be? What is it trying to accomplish?James QuaziYeah, so our perspective on it is that oftentimes in the past, if you asked for a solar quote, you would get maybe one option, two options, or three options, max. Really, like, if I take my own house as an example, so I live in San Diego, I can fit up to 30 panels on the roof, which is constrained by roof geometry, area shading, what have you. So let's call it maybe 20 to 30 different flavors of solar systems that I could possibly engage in. If I layer on batteries, I could have 1, 2, 3, 4 batteries. And then EVs, one or two EVs, and heat pump or not heat pump, water heater or not water heater.And our first step in the process is to ingest an address and then interval bill data. So, we need hourly electric reads and daily gas.David RobertsAnd that, just to be clear, this is the sort of raw information that's going into the model?James QuaziYeah, that's correct.David RobertsIt's utility bills. And this, these are available from the utility. There's no, it's not difficult to get this information.James QuaziSomewhat loaded question. It should be available. I just finished listening to your podcast on "Free the energy data." I have —David RobertsThat's why I ask. I'm wondering how straightforward it is to get the raw data that you need.James QuaziI would say that having been in this industry for 20 years, it's much easier now than it has ever been before. That being the case, there are still hurdles. There's a lot of missing intervals. There's patchwork to be done. There are services that provide synthetic intervals. It's not as clean of a dataset as I would ideally like, but it's generally like the authorization, and there are a couple of third-party companies now that do it and are making it easier.David RobertsIs it notably easier in California than it is in other states? Different in California than in other states? Or is this just a utility by utility thing across the country?James QuaziOur focus is in California right now. So, I have the most depth and experience there for this problem. Even within California and the IOUs, it is utility by utility.David RobertsSo are you restricted geographically where you can sell your product based on the utilities, whether you can get these to utility information or not?James QuaziOur position is that to accurately model a home's energy use and consumption profiles, you need two things. One is you need a physics-based model of the building, and then you need to be able to calibrate that with what is actually happening in the home. I've done a lot of energy modeling, auditing, that sort of thing. I think the one definitive thing that I've learned is that the best site observed data is actually bills. It will help you ferret out how people use their home, what their preferences are, and is actually the ground truth data.So, our position as a company is because we want to be able to confidently project — like, let's say if I converted a gas furnace to a heat pump, and I want to know on an hourly basis, what is the energy input to that system. To do that accurately, I believe that you need interval data.David RobertsSo you are in some sense beholden to utilities here or dependent on utilities to be forthcoming?James QuaziYeah, I think, unfortunately. And then to "Free the energy data" podcast. Yes, this is true, and it is being in some ways held hostage, and that's not great for the industry. I would say that our success rate right now is like, it's significant enough that we see this as somewhat of a hurdle, but not a deal breaker.David RobertsRight, right. So, I mean, getting utility bills seems straightforward enough. You just ask the homeowner and they give them to you. But when you say a physics-based model of the house, you have to go do that in person. Can you construct that from publicly available data?James QuaziYes, you can. We've done this in several iterations in the past. So, the background engine that does this is an NREL product called EnergyPlus. And it has, let's say, a full set of data requirements, which you can imagine has a lot of physical attributes of the specific house. And what we do ourselves and through partners, is comb, let's say, permit record databases and MLS listings. And we can get close enough with that set of information to build the first model. And then it's really, in comparing that model to the billing data, what's actually happening on an hourly basis, that allows us to calibrate it.David RobertsInteresting. So, you don't have to do a site visit to do any of this, really. You could theoretically do all of this modeling remotely?James QuaziYep. Everything like roof geometry, shading, building modeling, tariff engines, all the things that are sort of the processes to get to an output, can be done remotely.David RobertsAll right. And so, you put all this information into the model, and then what is the model supposed to do? And here's a question I had also: Am I the homeowner, interacting with this model in any way, or is the model a tool for contractors?James QuaziOur plan, at the very start, we're working with a set of contractors, and we're in Napa and Sonoma to start, most notably Northern Pacific. Our plan is to deliver a tool to a solar contractor that they can use to propose a wide range of solutions that a homeowner might want. I think that this will become a customer-facing tool or exploratory tool in the future, but we are definitely starting with solar contractors.David RobertsInteresting. Yeah, because one of the questions I had about this is just that I'm sure I'm not telling you anything as someone who's worked in energy for a long time, but just like, people are pretty lazy, and the way people make decisions about appliances and stuff like that is generally to ignore it until it breaks and then go to Home Depot. So, like this comprehensive, long-term, holistic planning, I'm just like, wondering, like, how many homeowners are really that committed?James QuaziSo, let me give you an idea of, like, what the output of the tool is, then where I see this going. So, you know, back to my house, 30 panels, batteries, EV's, all the things. What we want to do is expand the solution set for all possible outcomes for that house. So, if I permutate those things, it ends up being a set of maybe like a couple hundred to a thousand different individual pathways. It could be 28 panels —David RobertsAnd these are like mixes of the number of panels, the number of batteries, what kind of appliances, that kind of thing.James QuaziThat's absolutely correct. And then what we've created is sort of a decision-making framework that allows you to search that space for the thing that's right for you. At first, contextualized in one of three goal seeks. So the first one being a very standard solar approach, which is "Deliver me the best financial outcome." The second one, which we're seeing a sort of increasing adoption around, is like, "Yeah, I want a great financial outcome, but I also want to power this set of critical loads or my entire house through an outage of this duration. And I'm not cost-sensitive around that."So, like, if I need to add a battery or two batteries and it provides that service, that's fine. And then the third one is a sort of immersion. Ten years ago, when I was in the solar industry, it was like there was a time when we thought we had to deliver day one savings to get adoption. And it turned out there was a segment of the population, mostly retirees or people that were about to retire, who, let's say, had a $150 utility bill. And they're like, "You know, saving money isn't as important to me as, you know, I experienced the grid cost is volatile, but always volatile in the upward direction.And if you are going to put on the system and it has a 20-year lifespan, can you lock in this $150 for 20 years? And I don't experience any increase in costs." So those are starting points. I will say that I think there's more out there. So, there are a segment of customers that could be interested in just like the environmental outcome, and there's ways to calculate that based on grid dynamics. That's where we're starting, and I think we'll kind of learn our way into the solution.David RobertsRight, so you can tweak the model depending on what your goals are, depending on what your aims are. And I guess one of the questions I had about it is, like, in California at least, grid electricity is so expensive and natural gas is so cheap, and solar compensation is now so low, that it seems like the most economical outcome for homeowners is always going to be to electrify all your appliances and put a bunch of rooftop solar to power your appliances. It seems like that's always going to be the cheapest outcome, is it not? And that's also always going to be the most environmentally preferable outcome, right?Because it's zero carbon. In other words, what if I, as a contractor, just came to you and said, "Look, I can do all these complicated calculations, but trust me, you want to electrify all your appliances and put rooftop solar on your roof. That's what it's going to end up showing you." Does it ever show otherwise?James QuaziSo, if we were to implement generalized or rules of thumb, I think that would be a good one. What I have seen is there are time when your're roof constrained, so you might not have the roof capacity to power all the things, and then you'd want to make better decisions. To the extent that you have vast plains of south-facing, west-facing roof area, we want to make sure that we're installing the right amount of solar and batteries. So, I think that there's an optimization problem there. But, I think you're right in the sense that to the extent that you can self-consume a ton of energy that you generated on-site, that will be the best outcome for you.David RobertsSo then, if I'm a homeowner and I run this model, or a contractor comes to me and runs this model, and the outcome of the model is the most economical approach for you, the homeowner, is to buy a heat pump, buy a heat pump water heater, buy an induction stove, et cetera, buy a bunch of batteries and put a bunch of rooftop solar on the roof. On the one hand, I might believe, I might find it perfectly plausible that that is the end state that will yield the lowest ongoing operating costs for my house. But on the other hand, that's a daunting upfront investment. Do you know what I mean?In a sense, if I'm a homeowner and a contractor comes to me, he's like, "I'm selling solar. And by the way, I have this fancy tool that shows me that you also need to buy a bunch of other stuff from me." I guess I'm just a little suspicious.James QuaziI think the intent of the tool is to allow a homeowner to make the best decision for them. To the extent that the best decision is, in fact, a larger PV system, more batteries, maybe a heat pump, and all of those things in aggregate end up being expensive directionally , but have great payback. I think that hits on like sort of the second vein of Balto. So the first is like, how do we create a decision framework and compute engine to give you the scenarios and help you make a decision? Once you've made a decision —David RobertsWill the model also crank out a preferred order of operations for that? You know what I mean? Not just like an end state that would be best, but like, what steps in what order are economical?James QuaziThis is getting back to the solar-led electrification vision for this. Our position is that solar and storage should lead always , and we should be building 20 or 25-year products for the future energy consumption. The tool is there to say, can we share a vision of the future and what applies and things you'll be engaged in, whether that's EVs or heat pumps or whatever. Once we have that, can we build 25-year renewable infrastructure on site to support those things over time? We think that there are interesting ways. And I'll touch on the financing in a little bit about how to transact this and make it consistent.David RobertsYeah, I want to get to the financing in a minute, but before I leave this question. So, why always solar and batteries first? Or put it this way, why shouldn't I put a little bit of solar and batteries on, enough to power my current appliances? And then, you know, when I switch out my furnace for a heat pump, just stick a couple more solar panels on the roof. Why not do it incrementally like that?James QuaziYes, I myself have a background, and then we've got some deep partnerships with contractors. They are not a fan of that approach for a number of reasons. One is if I take a five-kilowatt system and then I append a three-kilowatt system on later, that is not the cost of an eight-kilowatt system. It's much more costly.David RobertsBecause just coming out to the site again and all—James QuaziRedesign, permitting. Yeah, all the things. And then separately, depending on the time lag between system one and system two, there are at times, compatibility issues with modules that make it more difficult. I think solar's gotten inexpensive enough where if you were going to engage in one of maybe the three big electrification projects, which would be EV, heat pump, heat pump water heater, I mean, you should be sizing for at bare minimum that. And I would argue for the whole thing if that's what you intend to do, on day one. And then if you're doing other things, let's say that have a more de minimis impact on your meter or your electrical consumption, like a stove, then maybe it's fine to wait.But to the extent that, like, you're considering solar and storage and one of the other things, I think it makes a lot of sense to size appropriately for future loads.David RobertsSo, you would say to any homeowner contemplating solar that the financially smartest thing to do is to size a system for your projected total need in the future, not your current need.James QuaziYeah, no, I feel strongly that that is the case. I will take myself as an example again. I have an EV. I am considering a heat pump. I have a tankless hot water heater that is in a closet and is not easily replaceable with a heat pump water heater given form factor. But given those things, I did size the PV to the anticipated heat pump. Even if that doesn't happen on day one, it might happen on year one, three, five, or seven, right?David RobertsSo, are you not then, while you have the solar that's oversized for your current needs, are you not sort of financially losing out in the interim, in the meantime?James QuaziSo, I think that again, the export value for solar today directionally is much lower. So, there is some value, it's not a lot. I would categorize it as you're not optimizing the system today.David RobertsSuboptimal, then let's see.James QuaziBut I think that what you're really doing is putting together the infrastructure to adopt more products in the future.David RobertsRight. A contractor comes to me as a homeowner, says, "Let's look at how much solar you will need once you've electrified your home," basically, and install that amount. Do you envision these same contractors who are trying to sell solar, selling these other things to homeowners as well? Sort of like offering, like moving beyond solar to offer kind of total home electrification packages type of things.James QuaziI think there's going to be a couple of different flavors, and we'll see what sorts out. In San Diego, one of the biggest residential installers actually has historically had a heat pump division of their company. That's probably not the norm. I do see a lot of solar installers — I mean, certainly, a solar installer is now installing storage by default. A lot of them install EV chargers. I've seen some interest in heat pump water heaters as the installation is quite a bit easier than heat pumps, HVAC. So, I think that we'll see some adoption of product over time.I do believe that the heat pump is probably the one thing that is a set of expertise that is probably different than what solar providers have in-house. What they can do, and we anticipate doing, is a lot of pre-wiring work. It's taken as an industry axiom that HVAC products get replaced when they break. To the extent that that infrastructure, whether it's a 240 circuit to the existing furnace location, is not in place, it's very likely that the existing thing gets replaced with something very similar, and then we're locked into this pattern for 15 years.So, we're very interested in, again, sizing appropriately, but then also doing some of the pre-work that allows these things to be adopted.David RobertsTrey, interesting. And so, from your perspective, you're going to put the tool in the hands of contractors, and then to some extent, the contractors are going to figure out exactly how best to use it and what kind of packages to offer and stuff like that. Is Balto out being a contractor, like running this, interacting with homeowners?James QuaziNo, we are not. So, what we're doing is providing a toolset, which is computational tools, finance tools that allow existing contractors today to be more effective.David RobertsGot it. And so, talk about the financial side of this. So, I'm guessing I'm borderline illiterate when it comes to money issues. But I'm guessing that part of the promise of this is that if you can more accurately and reliably project future energy needs in a home, you're going to have an easier time financing the sort of oversized solar system that you want in anticipation of those loads. Is that right? Part of this is like giving confidence to financial institutions to finance these things, right?James QuaziYeah, that's exactly right. So, I would say that the first step is having a shared vision of what the future of this home looks like. So, what are the appliances that are on the list and off the list? EVs, whatever the case is. And then, from past learnings at Solar City and Dandelion, really what you have to do is package it in a way that people can experience the savings at the same rate as they chunk off the capital cost of these projects. And then, in terms of energy savings over time and confidence, I think the goal there is, and we could think of it as if you were getting a loan.One factor in the loan might be your debt-to-income ratio. How much debt do you have, and can you actually service this loan over time? And our position is, to the extent that these suite of products actually lowers your obligations to pay, so your utility bills, that should be factored into any financial product as well. Does that make sense?David RobertsYeah. So, it's almost like future income increases, almost like.James QuaziYeah, so if I had, like, if my obligations to pay a loan provider were $1,000 a month, just randomly, and I made x amount of income, if the obligation was less, if it was $500 a month, given all these energy savings, I would have a greater ability to pay back that loan, and that should be factored in.David RobertsOh, I see, I see. So, is the idea here just for this tool you've created to give confidence to homeowners who are going to banks and stuff, or are you getting in the finance game at all?James QuaziOur intention is to provide the financing for it as well. I mean, like, I think any time we're trying to make the process as seamless as possible. So, it's sort of like a one-stop shop in terms of assessing what's right, what's the best fit for you in terms of these projects, and then packaging it in a way that — we're hoping it incentivizes people to do more sooner, but to the extent that they want to do things over time, it is also like a flexible facility that allows you to adopt a heat pump water heater in year three, if that's what you want.David RobertsSo the contractors are the ones offering the homeowners this sort of financing package?James QuaziYep, that's correct.David RobertsRight. And the contractors are able to do it because they have this information from your tool that gives them confidence?James QuaziHand in glove.David RobertsRight. So, just having gone over all this, let's rewind and just imagine I'm a homeowner, and a contractor knocks on my door. What do you envision the contractor sort of like, what is the homeowner facing pitch from the contractor? Because there's a lot of complicated stuff going on behind the scenes for the contractor. What is the homeowner hearing? What is the pitch to the homeowner?James QuaziYeah, we see it as a stepwise process. So, because our go-to market is through solar contractors, the first step is to say, if I were any other solar contractor, and you called me for a solar and potentially storage system, what I would have done is looked at your current electrical bills and size the system this way, and this is what... "You want a five kilowatt solar array and one battery, 110 kilowatt hour battery." The next step is to say, "Hey, listen, we're actually in that world. We're only looking at one of probably three silos of energy that you're using."So, we're ignoring the natural gas side of the bill. We're ignoring everything that's happening at the pump. But, if we look at your energy spend holistically, here are a suite of options that are available to you. And this is the differential sort of financial outcome versus just a solar system, versus, like, resiliency versus bill stability kind of thing.David RobertsSo, the idea here is, I go to the contractor and say, "Hey, I've been thinking about solar and battery," and the contractor says to me, "Well, hey, what about this larger package? You could have even bigger savings, and you could have resilience," and stuff like this. So, it's a little bit like an upsell for a contractor.James QuaziYeah, I mean, I would think of it as like, being able to more holistically address energy spend. Like, that's our goal, is to say, "It's not just one flavor that we're dealing with. We're looking at the entire house and things, and we want the best solution for you."David RobertsIt makes me wonder how long it will be before homeowners think that way, or if they ever will. Because homeowners just think of products as separate products. I don't know that a lot of homeowners, especially outside our world, even sort of think of the home as a system, right? With certain energetic inputs and outputs that should be dealt with as a holistic system. Like, that's just — I'm not even sure homeowners are at all accustomed to thinking that way.James QuaziI wonder if I myself am, like, blinded by sort of a friend group or whatever the case is. But I would say that, like, I don't know of a lot of people that aren't at least considering an EV, right? Even if they're not, like, actively join in. But it's like, "Hey, listen, this is actually a real option." I don't think that heat pumps are very far behind that curve. It's interesting, like when people, like historically, when people inquire about solar, we often times have thought of that as they want bill savings. But I am not entirely sure that that is the reason.David RobertsDo we know? Have we done surveys and polls? I'm so curious. I would also assume, just out of a sort of, I guess, a low, like a background degree of cynicism, that that's going to be the dominant motivation. But is it? Like, I don't feel confident about that at all.James QuaziWell, I don't either. My belief is that bill savings are part of a decision-making process, but probably very rarely the primary driver. And that is the thing. And even if you look at, like, the funnel conversion metrics of, like, the solar industry as a whole, it's just like, for every hundred people that inquire, single-digit people actually do the things. And our perspective is like, you know, they're getting stuck somewhere in the process. And it's oftentimes with questions that cannot be answered, and that's when they stall out. And that is our reason for expanding the set to everything that's possible in your home and letting you search that, because we think we'll figure out what are the motivations. I think that there's a strong cohort of people that are just anti-utility.David RobertsThat's a piece of it. There's an environmental piece of it. There's a sort of independence, anti-utility piece of it. There's a vague mix. There's just social contagion, there's just peer pressure. You see it around you. It's the whole stew of motivations. I'd love to understand that better. So, I mean, it kind of seems like what you'd want is for your tool to be in the hands of everybody involved in any of those products. Do you know what I mean? Like, if I want an EV and I go to the car dealership, you know, it'd be cool if the car dealer could say to me, "Hey, you know, save even more money if you threw in a heat pump with this and a solar panel."You know, like if, or the heat pump, people are like, "Hey, throw in an EV and solar panels." Like, it'd be nice if homeowners confronted the idea of total electrification everywhere they looked, right? I mean, that'd be ideal.James QuaziYeah, 100%. I really think that's the vision, and that's where we're going. I think the entry point into a lot of this stuff will be varied. Like, it will be through an EV at the start, or a broken furnace that gets replaced by a heat pump or whatever the case is. I think our goal is to engage homeowners in a way where we have a persistent bill connection. I think that this is why that episode resonated so much with me. If we have an address and a persistent daily, hourly, monthly, whatever the case is, bill connection, you can drive insights over time to a homeowner at very meaningful times to intercept them.Right now, I think this business, like solar in general, is very transactional. We think of it as like, we get leads in the top of the funnel, we set them at this rate, we convert them at this rate, we install them. It's a 30% gross margin, and then that's the end. Whereas, I don't believe that that's the way the products will be adopted and people will have to, I mean, internally we call it energy literacy. Like, how do I start to understand the problem and the solutions?David RobertsRight. So, in the same way, you sort of have a financial advisor, you could have like a home advisor, basically. A home energy advisor.James QuaziAnd we also think it's got to be low impact, so it can't be like, "Hey, you've got to go do this detailed sort of appliance audit or whatever the case is." So it's bills and address, and then, you know, this is a great state of change problem where utility rates are constantly changing, prices of products are changing, incentives are changing, and there's always a chance to message. I very viscerally feel this in the sense that, like, when I took four years off and then reengaged with the industry, I was like, "Wow, we like, crossed the threshold, like, the point of no return, where electrification now makes sense for everyone," and I had missed it, and this is the only thing I'd ever done.David RobertsYeah, I mean, it's moving so quickly. I will say, though, one thing I hear from, you know, and there's been articles written about this. It's just like, it's all out there from people who have tried to do this total electrification thing. It's just incredibly difficult, just incredibly difficult to synchronize everything and arrange everything. And so, in that context, the idea of having a kind of home advisor where, like, your hot water heater breaks and you just call your home advisor, you figure out, like, what's the right approach here, what's the economical approach, where to look, what kind of thing to get?A lot of people would very much welcome having one of those, I feel like.James QuaziAnd I think that this speaks to the general funnel conversion in the industry, but generally, a lead comes in, and then what we're trying to do is furiously convert them to a sale and install as quickly as possible, hopefully within 30 days, hopefully in one set. And I just don't believe that that's the way that people will consume products. It will be through a bunch of different experiences over time. And I think that's a meaningful difference. Like, you know, we're in such a rush to do all the things. Like, I'm in a rush to do all the things at once, but I think we have to also meet people where they are and, like, engage them in some way over time so they can make a decision, so they can make another decision.David RobertsI hope it changes because, honestly, like, you know, I've thought about solar. Ten years ago, we did one of those sort of, like, online audit things, and it was like, "No, you're too shaded." But I think it's just changed since then. Uh, just like, what's possible. But, like, I know that if I got a solar contractor and sat down at a table with that person, that they would just be sweaty and desperate, you know what I mean? To sell me just like it, exactly like I feel at the auto dealership, which is just like, "Ew," kind of uncomfortable, you know what I mean?And rushed and don't feel like I have a full sense of all the pieces in play, and that I can't trust the person I'm talking to, to help me out, you know what I mean? I'm sort of, like, adversarial. I hate that whole model, you know what I mean? And just like, I would be, I don't know how representative I am, but I'd be inclined to spend more money if I just had a person who was like, had the big picture, had the model, had the data in hand, said, "You know, like whenever you're ready, this is the right first step."Just like a better environment for homeowners to deal with these things and think about these things.James QuaziYeah, no, I get it. I feel very similarly. I totally understand from the other perspective, like solar sales reps are expensive and they're hired to do one thing. I just don't know that it's the way that most people want to adopt the things.David RobertsYeah, I can't believe that it's going to go to truly, truly mass penetration running on this model. It's going to have to evolve into something else. As we near the end here, let's pull the camera back a little bit and talk about the Agile Electrification project. My understanding basically is that the NEM 3.0 decision in California threw the solar contracting world into a bit of a tizzy. And there are efforts now to organize and figure out how to move forward and how to help contractors and what the right approach for contractors is in this new world.So, tell us a little bit about what the Agile Electrification project is.James QuaziIt is an industry-sponsored project that's hosted at the Design and Innovation Center at UCSD. The genesis of it was a lot of, quite honestly, hammering around NEM 3.0. It was like if you read Canary or any of these publications, a lot of it is doom and gloom. This industry is down 70%.David RobertsYeah, there's a lot of "sky is falling" sentiment flying around.James QuaziYeah, I think there have been. And you know, a lot of people are like, "Hey, listen, a lot of the bad actors are going to get flushed out with this," which I believe. I also believe a lot of some good actors will go out of business. So this is like a real issue. In times of turmoil, there's oftentimes opportunity and there's a group of people, contractors, manufacturers, investors, who have come together in this venue where sometimes it would be competitive or driven by business interests and they're coming together to solve problems for the industry. So right now it's a series of three projects to expand from there.One is like energy modeling for the entire state of California. It's something that everyone needs. We want to do it and open source it. Another one that we touched on earlier is understanding customer motivations and understanding where they got stuck and how to unstick them, because our general sense is they want to save money. And I don't know if that's the primary motivation. And then the third one is around incentives and rebates and how to, like, it's a constantly evolving landscape and just staying on top of it is like a challenge and maybe a full-time job.So, it's how to open-source that aspect of it, and how to qualify people for rebates and make sure that they're up to date, make sure they're not over-allocated, and deliver that information to the people on the ground that are actually installing the systems.David RobertsRight. And so, I'm stuck on this point. I just wanted to reiterate one more time. So, it's your belief that, because I think this sort of popular belief is that the NEM 3.0 decision has radically reduced homeowner incentives to get solar power, that it's just not as worth it anymore to get solar power. What you're saying is, with the right holistic approach, solar power is as valuable as ever and just as worth getting as ever. Is that your position?James QuaziThat is my position, yes.David RobertsDo you think that that is widely, like solar contractors believe that, or are you having to sort of buck them up and convince them of that?James QuaziWell, I think we're in a stage right now where, I mean, we set up the simplest possible website, have done very little marketing. We've had directionally 75 to 100 contractors sign up and say they're interested. I believe that the contractors are looking for solutions. For sure. That is definitively true. I think they should believe this because it is true that there is a great value proposition in homeowners. I think the issue here, maybe the persistent issue that's undeniable, is that it's more complex. Describing the value proposition has become more complex. For sure. There's no way around that.So, we're trying to find ways to — I mean, the back-end compute engine is great. The real challenge is finding ways to deliver that information to customers in a way that's actionable.David RobertsFor sure. Final question then. A lot of this seems very Californian. The fears and the solutions and all of it seems sort of very customized to California's current circumstances. How applicable is all of this, do you think, outside of California? Would your model be helpful to a homeowner in, I don't know, like Arkansas?James QuaziYeah. So, I would take it in two flavors. One is, I think there's the expectation, for good reason, that these policies in California will get exported to other states. So, it will become hugely relevant soon.David RobertsYou mean rooftop solar compensation getting cut way back? It's already happened in a couple of other states. I mean, it's definitely a trend.James QuaziYeah. So, that's true. NEM 3.0, or like the difference between export energy valuation and import and parity, does not have to be true for this general value proposition to hold true. So, to that extent, I would say that it's portable anywhere. We chose to start in California because it is by far the biggest solar market. It accounts for about 50% of solar and there was a demonstrated need. I will say that it's a very complex problem to solve and it has geographic sides to it. So, as you move location, utilities change and their tariffs change and the way that they charge and weather changes.David RobertsThe information they make available.James QuaziExactly, exactly. So, we've tactically started it in California for those reasons and constrained it. But there's no reason why this shouldn't be applicable to, like, any other place.David RobertsRight. It's sort of interesting. The big fear, or I guess the thing that solar people used to say to utilities when warning them away from NEM 3.0, is like, "Look, if you cut compensation too much, we're just going to self-consume and then install more electric appliances and then slowly wean ourselves off the grid and then not need the grid anymore. And then you're losing customers." The much-fabled death spiral. It seems like you're organizing to make that real, to make that happen.James QuaziI have some thoughts on this. I really do think, and I don't know the answer, but at some point down the road, we're going to have a fork. That fork will be either we find a way to use essentially distribution resources to cooperate, and I think that is the best societal outcome, or we find that we can't cooperate and everyone has to be their own, like a little micro picogrid, and that we have to build the infrastructure to do it. And, you know, I think that it's probably more likely that that's going to happen, which is unfortunate, but I do think that, as always, the affluent will serve themselves first and make good decisions and the rest of the costs will be pushed on to everyone else. And actually, in my heart of hearts, what I think will happen is we'll find a way to cooperate, but only after we've sort of incurred a huge amount of pain.David RobertsThat sounds like the American approach that I know and love. We'll stumble through some disasters and then eventually get our act together.James QuaziYeah, you end up doing the right thing when you're forced to. So, I think that that's the way I see it happening.David RobertsAll right, well, cool. James, this is really interesting. I've been meaning to look into solar in California, how they're dealing with all this. And this is a really interesting approach. I mean, it's never funny. Until I sort of read about this, it never occurred to me, even though it's really obvious, that like, of course, electrifying your appliances and getting your battery and getting your solar panels are — that's like the same thing. You know what I mean? Like, that's all one. That's all one thing. Like I said, it's like a switch that kind of flips in your mind.You're like, "Oh, like, it's a holistic system." It would be interesting to try to train homeowners to think that way more. Thank you so much, James. Thanks for taking the time.James QuaziThank you. Appreciate it.David RobertsThank you for listening to Volts. It takes a village to make this podcast work. Shout out, especially to my super producer, Kyle McDonald, who makes my guests and I sound smart every week. And it is all supported entirely by listeners like you. So, if you value conversations like this, please consider joining our community of paid subscribers at volts.wtf. Or, leaving a nice review or telling a friend about Volts, or all three. Thanks so much, and I'll see you next time. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, listen to insights from a session at the 2024 Renewable Energy Forum (REF) featuring Seyed Madaeni, co-founder and CEO of Verse. Madaeni discusses the complexities of planning an optimal clean energy roadmap at the lowest cost. He outlines the various factors that organizations need to consider when planning their sustainability programs and the importance of understanding the financial implications of these decisions. Live polling at REF revealed insights into attendees' experiences with PPAs and their organization's clean energy goals. Among those results, many organizations responded that they have clean energy goals, but there is still a need for more robust strategies to achieve them, including technology-driven solutions. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... ● The complexities of a clean energy goal (05:23) ● Important questions in setting up a clean energy program (09:21) ● A case study on evaluating approaches to sustainability (13:10) ● The importance of data-driven insights (18:34) Click here for detailed show notes Connect with Seyed Madaeni On LinkedIn Seyed has been building software products to optimize the electricity sector for 10+ years. Before founding Verse, he served as the Chief Digital Officer at Fluence, where he played a central role in the company's successful $5B+ IPO, overseeing its digital business unit. Seyed was instrumental in growing Fluence's renewable portfolio to over 10GW. Earlier in his career, Seyed was the CEO of AMS, where he pioneered a flagship market bidding product that eventually led to the company's acquisition by Fluence. Seyed also contributed significantly to Tesla, SolarCity, and PG&E, providing technical oversight for several groundbreaking wholesale market-facing software applications. Seyed holds a BS and MS in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran and a PhD in Systems Engineering (Operations Research) from Ohio State University. Connect With Smart Energy Decisions Smart Energy Decisions Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to Smart Energy Voices on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, aCast, PlayerFM, iHeart Radio If you're interested in participating in the next Smart Energy Decision Event, visit smartenergydecisions.com or email our Community Development team at attend@smartenergydecisions.com

My guest today is Nancy Pfund, the visionary founder and managing partner of DBL Partners. She invested in Tesla when others ridiculed the idea of electric cars transforming the auto industry. DBL was among the first to see Tesla's potential, driven by a commitment to decarbonize transportation and create jobs in an industry most believed would never succeed. Today, they're not just an investor but a pioneer in the field of impact investing, proving that financial success and social impact can indeed go hand in hand. Nancy's journey into impact investing began with a strong foundation in anthropology and a unique career path that led her through policy advocacy and tech innovation. Before founding DBL, Nancy was a managing director of venture capital at JPMorgan. Previously, Nancy worked at Intel Corporation, the State of California, Stanford University, and the Sierra Club. This experience paved the way for her pioneering work at DBL, where she has managed over a billion and a half dollars in assets, backing transformative companies like SolarCity, The RealReal, and, of course, Tesla. DBL Partners invests across diverse fields such as cleantech, sustainable products, and information technology, all while maintaining a strong focus on climate impact and economic inclusivity. DBL's approach is centered on their “trifecta” strategy: eliminating excess carbon in industries achieving substantial impact investing in sectors that have historically been carbon-intensive  Join me today as we explore Nancy's career, the evolution of impact investing, and how DBL Partners is reshaping industries with a focus on innovation and sustainability. —About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.—Connect with SRI360°:Sign up for the free weekly email updateVisit the SRI360° PODCASTVisit the SRI360° WEBSITEFollow SRI360° on XFollow SRI360° on FACEBOOK—Key Takeaways:Nancy Pfund's background (00:00) Education and early career (09:10) Transition to venture capital (23:40) Early success in solar energy and initial investment in Tesla (32:54) Establishing DBL Partners (38:12) DBL's mission, approach, and theory of change (43:10) Aligning impact results with financial returns and impact assessment (01:00:42) Policy engagement's influence on DBL's portfolios (01:17:38) Advice for impact investors (01:22:48) Rapid fire questions (01:30:40) Contact info (01:34:55) —Additional Resources:DBL Partners website  Connect with Nancy: LinkedIn  X  Email: nancy@dbl.vc 

In this podcast episode, I welcome Jesse Raines, managing partner of Inception Financial, to discuss the often misunderstood world of solar tax credits. This episode provides valuable insights into an often-overlooked tax strategy, showcasing Jesse's innovative approach to helping clients reduce their tax liability using solar tax credits. It also highlights how financial advisors and CPAs can leverage this strategy to add value for their clients while addressing the growing demand for renewable energy solutions.Jesse's Journey: From Actor to Solar Energy ExpertCareer Transitions: Jesse's eclectic background includes professional acting, managing high-end nightclubs and restaurants, and eventually entering the solar industry in 2008.SolarCity and Tesla Experience: Jesse spent several years at SolarCity, later acquired by Tesla, where he played a key role in growing the sales team from 14 to 1,000 professionals.Founding Inception Financial: After leaving Tesla, Jesse founded Inception Financial, driven by his personal experience in reducing his own tax liability using solar tax credits.Solar Tax Credits: A Misunderstood Tax StrategyUnderstanding the Basics: Jesse explains that solar tax credits involve owning solar systems as a business through an LLC, generating both tax credits and depreciation benefits.Comparing to Other Strategies: He contrasts solar tax credits with real estate investments and 401(k) contributions, highlighting the unique advantages of this approach.Benefits for Clients: The strategy allows clients to redirect money that would otherwise go to the IRS into owning income-producing assets, while also reducing their tax liability.Collaborating with Financial Advisors and CPAsAttractive Features: He discusses why family offices, wealth managers, and CPAs find this strategy appealing, including its codified nature and potential for client differentiation.Misconceptions Addressed: Jesse clarifies common misconceptions, such as the strategy being limited to personal home use or being part of a fund structure.Risk Mitigation: He explains how Inception Financial has structured their business to minimize risk for clients, even in the unlikely event of the company's dissolution.Key Takeaways and Future OutlookBipartisan Support: Jesse highlights the long-standing bipartisan support for solar tax credits, dating back to 1978, and their importance in addressing energy needs.Encouraging Exploration: He emphasizes the value of learning about this strategy, even for those who may ultimately decide not to pursue it.Personal Passion: Jesse shares his enthusiasm for his current role, combining his background in solar energy with the satisfaction of helping families save money.About our Guest: Jesse Raynes, managing partner of Inception Financial.You can learn more about his work at: https://www.inception.financial/about-us/About Your Host: Paul G. McManus is an accomplished author and expert in helping financial professionals grow their businesses. With over eight years of experience working exclusively with financial professionals, Paul has helped his clients generate tens of millions of dollars in fees and commissions.Claim your free audiobook copy at: www.theshortbookformula.comSupport the show

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/            

Happiness Solved with Sandee Sgarlata. In this episode, Sandee interviews Victoria Song. Victoria Song, CEO Coach to Billion Dollar Companies. Victoria Song works with billion dollar company CEOs such as George Ruan of Honey, tech founders like Peter Rive, CTO of Solar City, and celebrities like Cindy Crawford. She's the author of the WSJ Bestseller, Bending Reality: How to Make the Impossible Probable. A Forbes 30 Under 30 Venture Capitalist, Yale University and Harvard Business School alumna, Victoria has helped her clients create their impossible through her Bending Reality Method. She supports high achievers at the top of their industry go from great to extraordinary by giving them the tools to unlock their future now and heal whatever is in the way.   For more information on Holistic Life Mastery: https://holisticlifemastery.live/event-registration   Connect with Victoria:  Website: www.victoriasong.me  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriaesong/  Course Infomation: https://www.victoriasong.me/courses    Connect with Sandee www.sandeesgarlata.com Podcast: www.happinesssolved.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/coachsandeesgarlata Twitter: www.twitter.com/sandeesgarlata Instagram: www.instagram.com/coachsandeesgarlata  

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      

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Nate Jovanelly, CEO of Sunraise Capital, and Jason Steinberg who is the CEO of Scanifly.  Scanifly, a software platform for PV design and field operations, has partnered with SunRaise Technology, a leading solar fintech company, to accelerate Service-level agreement(“SLAs”) for residential solar leasing. They speaks about residential solar trends like improving customer experience, automating the sales and construction process, and how to improve solar production. 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 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. As the CEO of an innovative residential solar lease company, he spearheads strategic initiatives aimed at harmonizing the objectives of our funding partners, installation teams, and homeowners. With a relentless focus on alignment, he cultivates collaborative relationships to ensure mutual success and satisfaction across all stakeholders. Through innovative leadership and a commitment to transparency, he drives sustainable growth while delivering exceptional value to our investors, installers, and customers alike.   Jason Steinberg Jason is the CEO of Scanifly and oversees the operational and financial aspects of Scanifly. Scanifly is the only drone-based solar software committed to improving the efficiency, accuracy and safety of solar projects globally. Previously, Jason helped finance over $3 billion of renewable energy projects and companies as a banker for CohnReznick Capital. Prior to that, Jason worked for Bloomberg New Energy Finance as a lead North American data researcher. Jason's first job in the industry was installing solar arrays on rooftops in New Jersey. Jason is a CFA Charterholder and a NABCEP PV. Associate. Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Nathan Jovanelly SunRaise Capital Website:  https://www.sunraisecapital.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/natejov/   Jason Steinberg Email: jason.steinberg@scanifly.com LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-steinberg-48356017/     Press Release dated July 18, 2024 Scanifly Integrates with SunRaise Technology for Streamlined Financing Approval  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scanifly-integrates-with-sunraise-technology-for-streamlined-financing-approval-302200077.html?tc=eml_cleartime   Nate's other interviews on the Solar Maverick Podcast SMP 150: How SunRaise Capital is innovating residential solar financing? https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-150-how-sunraise-capital-is-innovating-residential-solar-financing/   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 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.          

Episode Summary In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Garrett Peterson who is the Co-Founder of Sigma Renewables.  Sigma offers land and building owners multiple ways to monetize their property value without giving up ownership and keeps owner priorities at the forefront when developing projects.  Garrett speaks about solar and storage development, why to get early in different markets, and what he learned from being an entrepreneur. 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.     Garrett Peterson Garrett is the co-founder of Sigma Renewables.  Sigma Renewables is an independently owned solar and storage development firm focused on markets with emerging or existing community solar and energy storage programs. Sigma offers land and building owners multiple ways to monetize their property value without giving up ownership and keeps owner priorities at the forefront when developing projects.  Previously, Garrett worked as Senior Vice President of Project Development at Pivot Energy.  He has over 16 years of energy experience at Pivot Energy, Sunshare, Namaste Solar, SunEdison, and REC Solar. A dynamic leader with sixteen years of energy industry experience, with the past fourteen focused on the solar and energy storage sector. Possesses a unique skill set gained by working from the ground up within a broad range of established solar companies and startups, combined with post graduate level education, and focus on executive leadership, project development, financial, and technical aspects of the energy industry.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Garrett Peterson Website:  https://sigmarenewables.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrett-peterson-29062879/  

Chapter 1:Summary of elon musk Book"Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" by Ashlee Vance, published in 2015, is a biography that delves into the life and career of Elon Musk, one of the most intriguing and ambitious entrepreneurs and innovators of the 21st century. Known for his roles in founding or leading companies such as PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla Inc., and Neuralink, Musk has been a pivotal figure in pushing the boundaries of technology and industry.The book provides an in-depth look at Musk's early life, from his days as a child in South Africa to his emigration to the United States via Canada. It covers his educational journey, entrepreneurial ventures, and the personal challenges he faced along the way. Vance conducted numerous interviews with Musk himself, as well as with friends, family, and colleagues, to paint a detailed portrait of a relentless optimist driven by a vision for a better future.Key themes in the book include:1. Innovation and Vision: Musk's commitment to major problems facing humanity, like sustainable energy and space colonization, showcases his desire to work on projects that can fundamentally change our world.2. Challenges and Setbacks: The biography doesn't shy away from the numerous hurdles Musk faced, including conflicts at PayPal, Tesla's near failures, and SpaceX's rocket explosions. Each serves as a testament to his persistence and resilience.3. Leadership and Management Style: Musk is portrayed as a demanding but visionary leader, often expecting as much commitment from his employees as he devotes himself.4. Personal Life and Character: Insights into Musk's personal life, including his relationships and unique personal challenges, offer a comprehensive look at what drives him and affects his professional undertakings.Overall, "Elon Musk" by Ashlee Vance gives readers an intimate examination of a man tackling some of the most daunting challenges with a mix of intelligence, ambition, and a relentless pursuit that continues to capture public imagination. It's not just a tale of technological innovation, but a complex account of what it takes to disrupt deeply entrenched global industries.Chapter 2:the theme of elon musk Book"Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" by Ashlee Vance, published in 2015, is a comprehensive biography of the tech mogul Elon Musk, detailing his childhood, personal evolution, and professional dynamics while discussing the development and impact of his major businesses—Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity. Key Plot Points:1. Early Life and Inspiration: The biography starts with Musk's early years in Pretoria, South Africa, detailing a tough childhood, an avid interest in reading, and early signs of extraordinary creativity and tenacity.2. Migration to North America: Musk's journey continues from South Africa to Canada and finally to the United States, driven by his dreams to make significant changes in technology and humanity's future.3. Zip2 and PayPal: Vance explores Musk's entry into the tech world with Zip2 and later PayPal, outlining how these experiences helped shape Musk's attitude towards business and his relentless pursuit of success.4. SpaceX: One of the central themes is Musk's founding of SpaceX with the dream of making space travel affordable and his ultimate goal of colonizing Mars. The trials and failures leading to successful rockets like the Falcon 1, Falcon 9, and Dragon spacecraft are crucial plot points.5. Tesla Motors: Musk's involvement with Tesla Motors, its struggles during the financial crisis of 2008, and its revolutionary impact on the automotive industry by focusing on electric cars form another critical plot point.6. SolarCity and Renewable Energy: Vance discusses Musk's vision of a sustainable energy economy, illustrated by his investment

Episode Summary In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Herve Billet and the Joe Marhamati who are the founders of Sunvoy.  Sunvoy is the first and only solar customer portal and fleet management system built for solar installers by a solar installer.  Herve and Joe discuss how their software helps solar installers, what they learned from working at the Department of Energy, and they speak about their entrepreneurship experiences. 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.   Herve Billet He is a father, serial entrepreneur, investor, engineer, Master Electrician on a mission to fight climate change. Ipsun Solar installs residential and commercial solar PV systems. They are a licensed General Contractor in 3 U.S. States: Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland. Ipsun Tech has a software called Sunvoy to automate communication and tasks for solar companies and provide a solar installation company with a white label customer portal. Sunvoy also offers a tool to manage a solar fleet. Check it out at www.sunvoy.com Before co-founding Ipsun Power I was with Accenture consulting with Fortune 500 companies, U.S. Federal agencies and large non-profits: - Greenhouse Gas emission calculations for the U.S. Department of Energy Headquarters. - Business development work for Accenture's Sustainability Services - Lead a Digital implementation team for Goodwill International Industries - Provided strategy and sales support to large accounts including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, UNICEF, United Nations, U.S. Department of Labor He co-founded my first company when I was 21, a solar car organization www.solarteam.be meant to highlight the capabilities of solar power. Joe Marhamati What gets him out of bed every day is helping solar installers learn from my lived experience in building an 8-figure solar business, not just the successes but also the mistakes. In my current role as co-founder and CFO of Sunvoy, he help solar installers build their brands by building a white-labeled customer portal and fleet management platform to bring together all of their fleet data into a single location. He is also passionate about helping solar installers with their tech stack, growth strategy, management and leadership direction, and exit plans.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Herve Billet Website:  https://sunvoy.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hervebilliet/   Joe Marhamati Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/marhamati/   Join Reneu Energy and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the Summer Solstice Fundraiser Celebrate the peak of summer with us at the Summer Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Thursday, June 20, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. As we revel in the longest day of the year, we'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy. Thanks to your support, we raised $2,250 for this great cause from our previous events. Event Details Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with an open bar from 6 PM to 8 PM and delicious food throughout the evening. Tickets: $64 per person. You can RSVP using the link provided below. Sponsorship Opportunities: If you're interested in sponsoring this event and helping make a difference, please respond to this email. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1256198              

Episode Summary In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with John Langhus who is the Chief Commercial Officer of Photon Vault.  Photon Vault is a developer of revolutionary thermal energy storage technology for the utility-scale market.   John speaks about their early stage energy storage technology, how they will produce green power cheaper than most renewable energy technologies, and federal incentives for their unique technology. 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.     John Langhus Chief Commercial Officer of Photon Vault John is an experienced solar developer, entrepreneur, attorney, and business leader. Building a deep background in corporate and transactional law, he practiced initially with the preeminent New York law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, working from Melbourne, Australia on an array of industry-leading cross border securities and M&A transactions. Later he spent ten years with NYSE–listed Forest Oil Corporation, culminating in the role of Managing Director of Forest's International Business Unit, based in Cape Town, South Africa. He completed over $4Bn of acquisitions and divestitures at Forest. Since 2013, he has focused on a mix of legal and business roles in the solar energy industry, working as a developer, owner, and consultant on more than 250MW of solar energy projects (over $500M of deployed capital), primarily as General Counsel and VP of Business Development with New Energy Equity of Annapolis, MD a national leader in the development of Commercial and Industrial-scale solar energy projects. John lives in Norwich, Vermont with his wife and two sons where has served as an elected member of his local town government and is an active leader in his church. He graduated with a B.A. in political science from Colorado College and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. His favorite bands are The Indigo Girls, Evanescence, and whatever bands his sons are in at the moment. On the weekend, you might find him listening to live music or making pizza in his backyard brick oven.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   John Langhus Website:  http://www.photonvault.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlanghus/ Email:  jlanghus@photonvault.com Photon Vault Linkedin Page:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/photon-vault/   Join Reneu Energy and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the Summer Solstice Fundraiser Celebrate the peak of summer with us at the Summer Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Thursday, June 20, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. As we revel in the longest day of the year, we'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy. Thanks to your support, we raised $2,250 for this great cause from our previous events. Event Details Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with an open bar from 6 PM to 8 PM and delicious food throughout the evening. Tickets: $64 per person. You can RSVP using the link provided below. Sponsorship Opportunities: If you're interested in sponsoring this event and helping make a difference, please respond to this email. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1256198