Solar Maverick Podcast SMP 32: The NJ Solar Market
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