The Solar Maverick Podcast is the insiders guide to where the solar and energy markets meet entrepreneurship and trailblazing. Hosted by Benoy Thanjan - a serial entrepreneur and founder of Reneu Energy
Episodes
Tuesday Aug 06, 2019
Tuesday Aug 06, 2019
Episode Summary
Li Wang, Director of Marketing at Reneu Energy, returns to the podcast as co-host. Listen as he and Benoy catch up about current events and discuss some hot topics in solar right now including solar energy projects in low income areas.
Benoy Thanjan
Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.
Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.
Li Wang
A life-long journalist and communications professional, Li Wang was hooked on the news as an intern at the Philadelphia Daily News during the summer of the O.J. trial. He has been a business reporter, arts editor and film critic. He has shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services. His company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing.
Insight from this episode:
- Thoughts on the topic of India becoming a leader in solar with their tariff exemption.
- The state of solar business in other countries and how it compares to solar in the US.
- Low income housing and solar opportunities in the New York market.
- The benefits of solar projects in low income communities.
- A review of current state of solar industry including state and federal level legislation, tariffs, jobs, and the investment tax credit.
- The normalization and social acceptance of solar as it is becoming more mainstream.
Quotes from the show:
“The perception has been that solar, at least in the US, is just for the wealthy.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #40
“Community solar is one of the fastest growing types of solar in the US but states are requiring that a certain percentage of it be low income.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #40
“You’re providing solar and energy to a population that doesn’t have it, and also promoting renewable energy, allowing people to lower their carbon footprint, and allowing people who would not normally receive solar to get solar energy and be involved in the process.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #40
“After the initial investment it’s been shown to actually be able to lower utility bills which is significant.” Li Wang, Episode #40
“Solar has an opportunity now to become more accepted in the mainstream instead of a privilege for the rich.” Li Wang, Episode #40
Resources Mentioned:
Book:
The Power of Broke by Daymond John
Sponsors for Recent Reneu Energy Events
To request a media kit send an email to info@reneuenergy.com
Stay Connected:
Benoy Thanjan
info@reneuenergy.com
Li Wang
MJWangMedia.com
Instagram: @liwang22
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Episode Summary
Reneu Energy’s Benoy Thanjan and Suzanne Waters talk in detail about what landowners need to know about going solar. They discuss the reasons why a landowner should look into going solar for generating income through a utility scale or community solar project, a description of different incentives available, and logistically how they would go about doing it.
Benoy Thanjan
Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.
Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.
Suzanne Waters
Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.
Insight from this episode:
- The many benefits of leasing your land for solar projects.
- Federal incentives for solar systems owner such as the investment tax credit.
- The effects of the investment tax credit and the current safe harboring trend on the availability of solar panels.
- The difference in the residential vs. the commercial investment tax credit percentage drop-down.
- Other federal incentives such as MACRS (“Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System”)
- The impact of state level incentives.
- Infrastructure and types of systems for solar farms.
- How landowners would go about qualifying their land and what makes a location ideal for utility scale solar projects
- The importance of accessibility and proximity to transmission infrastructure
Quotes from the show:
“The system owners can recover their costs up front instead of over a 20-25 year period which is pretty much the life of the system. So, that’s something that definitely makes the projects more attractive to system owners.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #39
“The cost of panels have decreased. The efficiency of the panels are going up. It makes the whole situation a win-win” Suzanne Waters, Episode #39
“The federal incentives make up 50-60% of the cost of the project and that doesn’t include the state level incentives. If you have strong state level incentives it really helps” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #39
“In states that have better incentives the land owners are going to benefit from that” Suzanne Waters, Episode #39
Upcoming Event discussed on the podcast:
Summer Solar Special: How Solar Technology is Changing the World
Reneu Energy is partnering with JC TechMeetup. It is on Tuesday, July 30 from 6:30 to 9 at Surf City in Jersey City.
Benoy Thanjan who is the CEO and Founder of Reneu Energy will be moderating. The other panelists are Suzanne Waters from Reneu Energy, Chris Grablutz from PV Pros, Steve Schwerd from Schwerd Consulting, and Juan Truyol from Strata Solar.
The event is free to attend and you can RSVP in the link below.
https://www.meetup.com/Jersey-City-Tech-Meetup/events/262598987/
Stay Connected:
Benoy Thanjan
info@reneuenergy.com
Suzanne Waters
suzanne@reneuenergy.com
Tuesday Jul 23, 2019
Tuesday Jul 23, 2019
Episode Summary
Suzanne Waters, Vice President of Business Development at Reneu Energy, returns to the show to talk with Benoy about why commercial and industrial building owners should go solar. This episode serves as an excellent primer for building owners who are potentially looking to go solar as Benoy and Suzanne cover topics such as the benefits of solar, types of systems, and financial opportunities for building owners.
Benoy Thanjan
Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.
Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.
Suzanne Waters
Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.
Insight from this episode:
- The benefits of going solar.
- Different types of systems, their pros and cons, and who they’re best suited for.
- Three major financing methods and tax incentives for solar.
- The rise of offsite solar, how it is structured, and opportunities it’s creating.
- Community solar as a potential revenue opportunity for building owners.
Quotes from the show:
“If You’re going to go solar, you’re definitely going to reduce your electrical cost.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #38
“Most solar systems can live between 20 and 30 years so you’re going to have a relatively short return on your investment for an asset that you’re going to have for a really long time.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #38
“The fixed electric pricing definitely makes is easier to forecast and budget plan so you can hedge against electricity price volatility and inflation.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #38
“Customers and employees are looking for companies that can say that they’re sustainable and they’re making sustainable efforts.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #38
“As solar becomes more acceptable as an asset to finance, the returns are getting lower and lower.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #38
“Last year there was 6.53 gigawatts of corporate renewable deals, both wind and solar, and it was actually the highest ever.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #38
Resources mentioned:
For more detailed information or questions about topics from this episode email info@reneuenergy.com
Upcoming Event discussed on the podcast:
Summer Solar Special: How Solar Technology is Changing the World
Reneu Energy is partnering with JC TechMeetup. It is on Tuesday, July 30 from 6:30 to 9 at Surf City in Jersey City.
Benoy Thanjan who is the CEO and Founder of Reneu Energy will be moderating. The other panelists are Suzanne Waters from Reneu Energy, Chris Grablutz from PV Pros, and Steve Schwerd from Schwerd Consulting.
The event is free to attend and you can RSVP in the link below.
https://www.meetup.com/Jersey-City-Tech-Meetup/events/262598987/
Stay Connected:
Benoy Thanjan
info@reneuenergy.com
Suzanne Waters
suzanne@reneuenergy.com
Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
About our Guest:
As the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, Benoy Thanjan took his passion for sustainability and renewable energy and turned it into a company that has traded $27 billion in solar renewable energy credits (SREC). He attributes his success to his time working as a SREC trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity, a company that merged with Tesla in 2016. With a BS in finance and economics from the Stern School of Business and an MBA in finance from Rutgers University, Benoy has an extensive financial background. Having previously worked as the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners, he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects. In addition, Benoy used his financial expertise while working for Ridgewood Renewable Power, Deloitte and Touche, Ernst & Young, and D.E. Shaw and Co. His current company Reneu Energy provides consultation for other companies looking to save money, modernize their energy use, and implement solar energy practices.
Episode Summary
Alternative energy sources have been gaining in popularity over the past several decades. However, public knowledge still lags behind when it comes to clean energy such as solar. Many people are unaware of the substantial benefits, including a reduction in financial burden, that result from switching to renewable energy. Benoy Thanjan, a juggernaut in the solar energy world, explains how he decided to make the leap to entrepreneurship, creating a company that combines his passion, his knowledge of finances, and his goal of making an impact in the world.
Insight from this episode:
- How to build passive income streams while succeeding at your primary job.
- Strategies for continuing to evolve as an entrepreneur.
- How to add additional value to your company.
- Strategies for strengthening relationships with clients.
- Why giving back and community are so important for entrepreneurs.
- How to take a more proactive approach to goal setting.
- Benoy’s strategies for deciding what projects demand his time and attention.
Quotes from the show:
“Not getting overconfident. Continue to be humble. Continue to develop myself. Continue to add value to our clients.” - Benoy Thanjan, on being successful as an entrepreneur, Episode 134
“If I never tried starting my business, there would always be a regret in my life. Even if I failed, there would always be the regret of never trying.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 134
“I feel like entrepreneurship’s a lot about instincts and gut feel.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 134
“When you wait on people, you give your power away.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Episode 134
“They’re not willing to make the sacrifice and the discipline and put the work and take the failure. They don’t realize how much failure. They see the outside and they don’t see behind the scenes.” - Benoy Thanjan, on the misconception about starting a business, Episode 134
“A lot of times in entrepreneurship, you can’t control a lot of things that are happening. It’s a journey and it’s mentally controlling yourself. And mentally realizing what you can control and what you can make the difference. And there’s a lot of things you can’t control. And that makes a huge difference on being successful or not in life.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 134
“We’re focused on progression, not perfection.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Episode 134
Resources Mentioned:
- Apple hardware
- Google apps
- Google Voice
- Google Calendar
- Gmail
- Headspace app
Favorite Book:
-
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
- How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie
Favorite Quote:
- “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” - Reinhold Niebuhr
- “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” - Vince Lombardi
3 keys to Create Your Best Life:
- Do what you’re passionate about, because that’s your true self
- Accept failure
- Never give up
Stay Connected:
Create Your Life Series:
https://www.facebook.com/cylseries/
https://www.instagram.com/cylseries/
Kevin:
Benoy Thanjan:
Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, google play, stitcher and www.createyourlifeseries.com/podcast
Tuesday Jul 09, 2019
Tuesday Jul 09, 2019
Episode Summary
Li Wang returns to the podcast as co-host for this week’s episode. Li is the Director of Marketing at Reneu Energy, founder of MJ Wang Marketing, and also Benoy’s publicist. The two of them catch up with a chat about branding and marketing practices and then go on to discuss in depth the current state of solar. Also, included are recommended resources for anyone interested in solar energy.
Benoy Thanjan
Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.
Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.
Li Wang
A life-long journalist and communications professional, Li Wang was hooked on the news as an intern at the Philadelphia Daily News during the summer of the O.J. trial. He has been a business reporter, arts editor and film critic. He has shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services. His company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing.
Insight from this episode:
- The importance of branding and ways Reneu Energy is working to establish their brand identity and recognition.
- Why you absolutely must be using video in your marketing efforts.
- Podcast sponsorship opportunities.
- The state of the solar industry in Q1 including current trends and the implications of recently imposed tariffs on solar.
- Detailed explanation of the solar investment tax credit and how to qualify.
- Investment incentives for renewable energy relative to fossil fuel incentives.
Quotes from the show:
“If you do create content for your company or brand, video packs a huge punch. not only with engagement you’re actually speaking to an audience literally, but also in search.” Li Wang, Episode #36
“Always remember that YouTube is the #2 search engine behind Google” Li Wang, Episode #36
“If you’re going to put your effort into one thing, and you can and you feel comfortable, I encourage you to do video.” Li Wang, Episode #36
On the value of podcast sponsorships: “One of keys to why our sponsorships are effective is because of the distinct audience that our podcast reaches.” Li Wang, Episode #36
“Solar keeps growing exponentially. We keep seeing the cost of solar going down and the efficiencies of panels increasing.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36
“What we’re seeing is that solar companies are trying to build as quickly as possible to qualify for this 30% because it’s a huge part of the economics of the project.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36
“The issue with the incentives going down is that potentially solar might not be as cost effective.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36
“There was a time when there were a lot of good projects but not a lot of financing.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36
“A lot of real estate developers are telling me, ‘Hey, we’re developing projects in opportunity zones can we pull solar in it?’” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36
“The rise of the corporate PPAs has allowed a lot of development of renewable energy.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #36
Resources Mentioned:
Create Your Life Series Podcast
Book:
Relentless by Tim S. Grover
Sponsors for Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Event
To request a media kit send an email to info@reneuenergy.com
Stay Connected:
Benoy Thanjan
info@reneuenergy.com
Li Wang
MJWangMedia.com
Instagram: @liwang22
Tuesday Jul 02, 2019
Tuesday Jul 02, 2019
Episode Summary
DG Energy Partners founder Michael DellaGala joins Benoy to talk about his path to being a provider of development capital. They cover a lot of ground including what DGEP does, his partnership with Metropolis Capital, his experience in project development, and how the market is in need of this type of capital.
About our Guest:
Mike DellaGala, is the Founder and Managing Partner of DG Energy Partners (DGEP) and leads the firm's Project Finance and Advisory Groups. Mike has been financing and advising on projects in the clean and renewable energy space since 2008. Areas of expertise include solar, wind, biomass and carbon/emission technologies.
During his career, Mike has structured, advised on and financed more than 35MW of distributed generation solar, totaling more than $200MM. He has 5 years of experience in fixed income and interest rate derivatives sales,trading and risk management.
Benoy Thanjan
Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.
Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.
Insight from this episode:
- How to make investors comfortable in the early stage with a binary risk and how to protect the project.
- DGEP’s practical and thoughtful approach to the investment cycle.
- How Mike vets and builds relationships with developers.
- The methodology for determining the sharing of the development fee and what goes into that process.
- How to scale development capital in early stage projects.
- Mike’s experience and the decisions and conditions that led to him pivoting from being an advisory firm, then to a principal position, and now providing development capital.
- Reasons why Mike became interested in solar over other renewable energy assets.
- Current trends in financing in the solar industry.
Quotes from the show:
“Not every project will work, especially that early, which creates an opportunity in the marketplace.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #35
“There’s not a lot of people that are providing development capital that early which gives you an advantage, meaning seeing a lot of projects.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #35
“Solar is almost like the Wild Wild West. Even as the market gets more sophisticated and mature, there are a lot of players coming into the market and everyone says they are a developer.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #35
“We’ve talked about the merits of the project but the merits of the developer are probably just as important, if not more so.” Mike DellaGala, Episode #35
“When it comes to development capital the dollar stretches pretty far. So, we feel like we’ll run out of deals before we run out of capital.” Mike DellaGala, Episode #35
“It’s a really good thing that there’s more capital here and that it’s moving early on. It just goes to show that the risk and the macro assumption of this asset within the overall investment community is something meaningful.” Mike DellaGala, Episode #35
Stay Connected:
Benoy Thanjan
Michael DellaGala
Tuesday Jun 25, 2019
Tuesday Jun 25, 2019
Episode Summary
Juan Truyol is a former co-worker of Benoy and Suzanne’s and they reunite on this week’s episode to discuss Juan’s current role as project estimator at Strata Solar, one of the top 5 turnkey EPC solar contractors in the US. They get into what exactly a project cost estimator does and why they are important to the solar industry.
About our Guest:
Juan Truyol’s experience includes the role of Director of System Design and Turnkey Estimating for Vanguard Energy Partners. Mr. Truyol received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Master of Science in Infrastructure and Construction Management from NJIT, Newark New Jersey. Juan has over 12 years of experience in heavy construction, primarily as field level site civil (five years) and his last seven years in solar design and estimating. Juan represents the C&I department of Strata Solar, one of the top 5 turnkey solar EPC contractors in the US.
Through his years at The Conti Group and Cruz Construction, his site civil experience includes utility projects, concrete dam reconstruction, micro-tunneling, airport runway, environmental remediation sites, and demolition in subways. In the early days of Vanguard’s history, Juan’s comprehensive knowledge of construction means and methods and pre-construction procurement enhanced Vanguard’s professionalism in regards to construction practices and protocols. His latter responsibilities at Vanguard had required him to interact daily with a wide assortment of subcontractors and equipment suppliers. Such interaction has allowed Juan to become a very familiar player in the Mid-Atlantic regional territory.
Benoy Thanjan
Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.
Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.
Suzanne Waters
Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.
Insight from this episode:
- What a project estimator is and what they do exactly
- How volatility and fluxuations in pricing of materials is handled in cost estimating
- What types of projects Strata Solar works on and what services they offer
- How the job of project estimator for the solar industry has changed over the last 10 years
- How to vet subcontractors and equipment suppliers
- How working for smaller companies helped Juan with his role at the larger Strata Solar
- What got Juan interested in solar after a long career in construction
- Some of the solar industry trends Juan is seeing right now
Quotes from the show:
- “We have to build the jobs in our head, do our due diligence go through the RFP (request for proposal), make sure everything protects the company as far a requirements, and put a budget together that’s going to be a qualified budget, that wins the project but also protects the company and the owner from any hiccups.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34
- “When you put your budget together, you say the budget is based on the couple of services that the owner required the contractor to bid, and you have qualifiers (inclusions/exclusions) that protect the owner and the contractor from unpleasant exchanges in the future. So, the tarifs would be qualifiers.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34
- “Some countries will pick the middle bidder to avoid the chance for change orders. In the US it’s more popularly the lowest qualified bidder. It’s not just the cheapest guy but its the lowest qualified guy” Juan Truyol, Episode #34
- “Ultimately the owner wants to make sure the contractor will do a seamless project with no change orders, in time, and in budget. That’s the goal. And that’s the goal of the contractor as well, a good contractor.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34
- “A lot of the utilities, as hard as they’re pushing, they can’t get to every single site. So some of the larger EPCs will develop a site and act as a developer and provide the site as they develop it and potentially the EPC contract.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34
- “One of the main factors for cost estimates is wages” Juan Truyol, Episode #34
- “You want to protect your company by asking all the tough questions to the potential subcontractor upfront.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34
- “For all the cost estimators and anybody that prices any job in construction make sure you have a safety budget.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34
- “Safety first. Safely always. Safety budget.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34
- “Some CEO’s and CFO’s role up their sleeves and they execute, but getting the full spectrum of views from everybody can give you a better perception of the solar industry truly is.” Juan Truyol, Episode #34
- Suzanne, Juan, and I actually worked at Vanguard Energy Partners and spent late nights doing these public RFP’s, printing out 5-10 copies, racing to the public bid.
- On the changes in technology for communicating (email, etc) in the last 10 years: “You’re saving trees but it’s more efficient and saves time for all of the parties.” “...and as you know, on the public RFP’s, it’s like a race. Basically the lowest bid usually tends to win.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #34
- On working with Juan: “Juan was very educational in explaining it which was great because I think that’s not very typical for estimators to do.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #34
- When you spend time with Juan you will see his passion for solar. He gets very excited about it.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #34
- “We try to get all facets of the industry. When we thought of estimating, we thought of Juan.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #34
Resources Mentioned - Episode 30 of Solar Mavericks
Stay Connected:
Benoy Thanjan
Suzanne Waters
Juan Truyol
Tuesday Jun 18, 2019
Tuesday Jun 18, 2019
Episode Summary
Benoy and Suzanne discuss past and upcoming shows and the top downloaded episodes of the Solar Maverick Podcast! Where New York is in their renewable energy initiative and where their future plans are heading.
Benoy Thanjan
Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.
Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.
Suzanne Waters
Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.
Insight from this Episode
- Where New York is ranked among other states for solar.
- Updates on how state and company renewable energy goals are progressing.
- The importance of consumer understanding.
- What solar contracts are available to New York consumers.
- The challenges of solar in New York City.
Quotes from the show:
- On solar for consumers "There has to be an education within the community.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #33.
- When she came to work with Benoy: "It had been a while since I had had that same passion about my job" Suzanne Waters, Episode #33
- “I love going the down to the fundamentals, the basics.” Suzanne Waters Episode #33.
- “Companies and both states are having these 100% renewable energy goals." Benoy Thanjan, Episode #33
- On New York Solar " The development hasn't been as much as people initially thought” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #33
- "New York you are not getting as high incentive levels.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode 33
Resources:
Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Party
Benoy Thanjan
info@reneuenergy.com
Suzanne Waters:
suzanne@reneuenergy.com
Tuesday Jun 11, 2019
Tuesday Jun 11, 2019
Episode Summary
Benoy and Suzanne discuss upcoming shows, how they came to work together at Reneu Energy, and discuss the NJ Solar Market in detail.
Benoy Thanjan
Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.
Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.
Suzanne Waters
Suzanne Waters is an experienced solar professional with a broad knowledge of the industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy, and team leadership. Before joining Reneu Energy, Suzanne worked as the Business Development Manager and Proposal Team Leader at Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar developer, and their affiliate firm, Vanguard Energy Capital. She oversaw proposal development and contract execution, and collaborated on structured finance for large scale, multimillion-dollar projects. In addition, Suzanne has extensive experience in many aspects of the PV industry, with unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.
Insight from this Episode
- Where New Jersey is ranked among the states for solar.
- Strategies to stay ranked where they are.
- What Governor Christie did to fix the over supply of SRECS in the state in 2012x.
- What changes are coming to the New Jersey market.
- How these changes will affect the market as we know it today.
Quotes from the show:
- On coincidences "Life is, I don't think it's very randon.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #32.
- New Jersey changes in the market "It will be a great transition into the community solar pilot” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #32
- “Perception is that only the wealthy can afford solar but there should be an opportunity with community solar where it's open to everyone.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #32.
- “The state tells companies that are generating in that state that a certain amount of it has to be in renewables and a certain amount has to actually be in solar” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #29.
- "There's a race to build projects in NJ to get to that 5.1%” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #32
- On finding balance "Balance is very difficult and it's something I'm still working on.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode 32.
- Her favorite hashtag "#Carpe Solem it means seize the sun.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #32
Resources:
Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Party
Benoy Thanjan
info@reneuenergy.com
Suzanne Waters:
suzanne@reneuenergy.com
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
Episode Summary
Benoy and Amanda discuss the importance of operations & maintenance in the solar industry. Why Amanda started the cooperative? How she ensures that each company in the cooperative is bringing something to the table to elevate the cooperative? And the future of the cooperative in the solar industries and trends she is seeing in solar operations & maintenance.
About our Guest:
Benoy Thanjan
Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies. Reneu Energy is a premier international solar energy consulting firm and developer and the company focuses on developing commercial and industrial solar and utility scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodities transactions.
Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets. Benoy also worked at Vanguard Energy Partners, Ridgewood Renewable Power, and Deloitte & Touche.
Amanda Bybee
Amanda has worked in the solar industry since 2003. Her entrée was promoting renewable energy policy in Austin, TX at Public Citizen, where she served as the coordinator of the Solar Austin Campaign. The campaign worked closely with Austin Energy to establish the first solar rebate program in Texas in 2004. Amanda then went on to work at Meridian Energy Systems, a solar EPC company.
Amanda joined Namasté Solar in January 2006 as an early member of the team. She held numerous roles over her 11 years there, from technical sales & design to business development. While there, she worked to obtain a federal charter for a unique financial institution that funds clean energy products and services: Clean Energy Credit Union (www.cleanenergycu.org). This was only the 17th federal charter issued since 2010, and the first in the state of Colorado for over 30 years. She continues to serve as a volunteer on the Supervisory Committee of the credit union.
In 2016, she helped earn an award from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to found the Amicus O&M Cooperative (www.AmicusOM.com). The O&M Cooperative brings together a network of providers across the country to provide coordinated services for geographically distributed portfolios. She now serves as its CEO, and is committed to the mission "to ensure that solar PV fulfills its promise as a responsible and reliable energy source, for generations to come." She obtained a BA in English and French from the University of Texas at Austin, and through solar, has found her "inner engineer."
Insight from this Episode
- What the intention of the cooperative is.
- How Clean Energy CU is helping make solar accessible to everyone.
- What makes the cooperative successful.
- The importance of each role within the cooperative.
- The 4 core values of Amicus O & M Cooperative.
- Benoy’s thoughts on why there have been changes on the investment side of the solar market.
Quotes from the show:
-
- On making repairs: “A big part of keeping O&M cost effective is trying to reduce travel time.” Amanda Bybee, Episode #31.
- “When we work together through the cooperative to elevate everyone’s game we all win.” Amanda Bybee, Episode #31
- “The name of the game is efficiency” Amanda Bybee, Episode #31.
- “The real heros of O&M are the technicians” Amanda Bybee, Episode #31.
- “O&M and solar is relatively new, we don’t have a lot of experience of long life assets” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #31.
- On working with installers and asset owners: “At the end of the day those services are being sold to the asset owner” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #31.
- About discussing O&M with clients ‘It’s really about adding value to our client” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #31.
- On O&M price differences: “People really didn’t understand what the true cost was.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #31.
- Why there are lower ROIs now: “We’ve seen a lot of investors come into the market that have a lower investment requirement.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #31.
Resources
Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Party
Benoy Thanjan
info@reneuenergy.com
Amanda Bybee
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandabybee
Tags: solar energy, renewable energy, reneu energy, Benoy Thanjan, Operations & Maintenance, Namaste, Amicus O&M Cooperative, Clean Energy CU, quality, elevate