Solar Maverick Podcast SMP 207: The Road to 2050 – What’s Next for Renewables?
Benoit's Solar Industry Journey
- Benoit Thanjan got into solar after working in energy finance and private equity focused on renewables.
- He transitioned to solar project finance at Vanguard Energy Partners, gaining early experience with New Jersey tax equity structures.
Advice for Rooftop Installers on Community Solar
- Community solar offers opportunities beyond owner-occupied buildings, including large rooftops with multiple tenants.
- Developers should embrace community solar sales despite complexity to expand rooftop solar installation opportunities.
Community Solar Benefits
- Widespread community solar programs can deliver savings and economic opportunity while aiding grid stability.
- Distributed energy resources help reduce costly grid upgrades and promote energy independence.
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.
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
Sunvoy Website: https://sunvoy.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marhamati/
Email: joe@sunvoy.com
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