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 Clean Energy Credit Union   Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan www.reneuenergy.com [email protected] Facebook: Reneu Energy Amanda Bybee https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandabybee [email protected] Amicus O&M Cooperative Tags: solar energy, renewable energy, reneu energy, Benoy Thanjan, Operations & Maintenance, Namaste, Amicus O&M Cooperative, Clean Energy CU, quality, elevate  

Episode Summary   Benoy and Dominick discuss safety guidelines in solar and how Pro Circuit Electrical ensures safety for all of it’s employees.  What got Dominick originally interested in working with solar, trends they are seeing in the market and advice for any new entrepreneurs.  Also, Dominick talks about how to construct a great solar project.   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. Dominick Matinelli:   Dominick is a founding partner at Pro Circuit Electrical.  He and his partner started the company back in 2011 but Dominick’s interest in solar started back when he was working with a company that didn’t actually do any solar.  From there he went to Vanguard Energy Partners LLC where he was the Director of Electrical Services and then started Pro Circuit Electrical in 2011 with his partner Josh Nierman. Insight from this Episode   Strategies to make safety a number one priority of a solar company. What hazards are unique to the solar projects from other construction projects. What Dominick really thought solar was when he first learned about it. Keys to success and how to implement them. Advice to new entrepreneurs. Benoy’s take on upcoming changes in the market Quotes from the show: On his partnership with Josh “ Our strengths and weaknesses definitely counter balance each other and it was just inevitable that this was going to happen.” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30.   “Everybody gets to come home safely no matter what.” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30   On successful partnerships: “It’s all about people that are honest and transparent” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #30. On Dominick and Josh’s working relationship “I’m good at spreadsheets and Josh is good at everything else” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30. “Safety is paramount in a successful operation.” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30. “Don’t underestimate the power of your own integrity” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30. “Reputation is everything and if you can’t make it by doing the right thing and doing right by all of your business associates then don’t even bother.” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30. “Make sure every deal you cut, that both sides are a winner.” Dominick Matinelli, Episode #30. “Community solar is one of the fastest growing areas of solar” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #30. Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan www.reneuenergy.com [email protected] Facebook: Reneu Energy Dominick Matinelli: Pro Circuit Electrical Contracting [email protected] LinkedIn: Pro Circuit Electrical Contracting LinkedIn: Dominick Matinelli Facebook: Pro Circuit Electrical Contracting

Episode Summary   Benoy and Suzanne discuss Reneu’s Energy’s Summer Solstice Party and Benoy moderating a community solar panel at the NY Solar Summit while giving a SRECs 101 tutorial. SRECs is an environmental commodity that different states have created to incent development of renewable energy.  Reneu Energy has brokered $28 million in SREC transactions and manage 12MWs of solar project with SREC asset management. Reneu Energy also has created SREC research on different states.   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 SRECs are and how they work. How SRECs are a volatile market and fluctuate in value. Where and how SRECs are traded. What states are currently using the SREC incentive. Future of SRECs   Quotes from the show: “At Reneu Energy we have a lot of experience in SREC’s and we have brokered about 28 million.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #29. On the decrease in value:  “NJ had the Solar Energy Act in 2012 where they increased the demand” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #29 “The demand is created by the state.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #29. “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. “It’s not a tradeable commodity where you can go on an exchange” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #29. “If you sign a long term contract and then you might be able to sell the SRECs on the spot market for much more than you signed that long term contract for.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #29. “The SACP is almost like a fine they have to pay if the renewable portfolio standard isn’t met.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #29. Resources:   CBL Markets is connecting buyers and sellers to trade multiple environmental products on one screen.  CBL Markets Exchange is spot marketplace for RECs. If you are interested in learning more about CBL Markets, contact Sean Barwin Phone (US): +1 212 520 2935 and Email: [email protected].  Let Sean from CBL know that you heard about them through the Solar Maverick Podcast.   http://www.cbourses.com   Intercontinental Exchange builds, operates and advances global markets through information, technology and expertise.  An exchange that you can buy and sell SRECs. https://www.theice.com/index   Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Party   Benoy Thanjan [email protected] www.reneuenergy.com   LinkedIn.com/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy Suzanne Waters: [email protected] Linkedin: Suzanne Waters www.reneuenergy.com Facebook: Reneu Energy  

Episode summary: Benoy and Li talk about Benoy’s meeting with former President Barack Obama. Benoy talks about the Virginia’s solar market and how companies goals of 100% percent renewables is leading to a lot of development of utility scale projects in Virginia.  Benoy talks about the benefits of having solar on brownfield and landfills. Li and Benoy discuss what podcasts motivate them and books to purchase and live by. About our Guest: 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.   Insights from this episode:   Conversations between Benoy and former President Barack Obama The possibility of Benoy running for President in 2020? Industry updates on the Virginia Solar. How and why large companies have adopted the 100% renewable goals and how that is leading to solar development in Virginia. Upcoming speaking engagements of our hosts.   Quotes from the show:   “I’m all about diversification and passive income.” -Benoy Thanjan, Episode 28 “Focus on right now.” - Li Wang, Episode 28 “You create your own luck” - Li Wang, Episode 28 “It’s all about building your network and building strong, genuine, transparent relationships.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 28 On implementing what you learn “It’s huge to put it into practice” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 28 On utilizing what you learn : “It’s one thing to read it but to put it into practice” - Li Wang, Episode 28 On going after what you want: “If there’s something you want, what is the worst that can happen?” - Li Wang, Episode 28 Resources Mentioned: Reneu Energy Resources   Reneu Energy Summer Solstice Party   Toastmasters International   Podcasts: Kwik Brain with Jim Kwik How I Built This with Guy Raz Chasing Excellence Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu   Books: Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron How to Stop Worrying and Start Living Stay connected: Benoy Thanjan www.reneuenergy.com [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/bthanjan/ Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22

Episode summary: Benoy and Li reflect on the Pacific Gas & Electric bankruptcy and its effect on the solar industry.  The reason why PG&E is in bankruptcy due primarily to the liability from California wildfires. Benoy talks about current projects on the horizon, Colombia’s failed renewable energy auction, and the upcoming Summer Solstice party.  Benoy also discusses passive income and what he looks at when he invests in different opportunities.   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.   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. Insights from this episode: How the climate is affecting the economy How wildfires have a  large effect on California utilities Why the Colombian Renewable Energy Auction Failed? Tips for young people getting into solar energy.   Important Links: Reneu Energy’s Summer Solstice Party https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reneu-energys-summer-solstice-party-tickets-60983558465   Why did the Colombian Renewable Energy Auction fail?  By Francisco Sanclemente, CFA-Energy and Infrastructure Investment Banking Associate at Bancapital S.A. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/way-forward-francisco-sanclemente-cfa/   Quotes from the show: Advice to young people in solar: “I think working at a solar company will be a huge opportunity.” -Benoy Thanjan, Episode 27 Advice to young people in solar:“It’s all about getting real world experience”  -Benoy Thanjan, Episode 27 “It’s very important to build different passive income streams”  -Benoy Thanjan, Episode 27 “Luck is a creations, you create your own luck.” - Li Wang, Episode 27 “You never know where a connection could come from” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 27 “Open your mind, open your eyes, listen to people and never judge people” - Li Wang, Episode 27 “For opportunity to come your way you must ask” - Li Wang, Episode 27 “It’s all about living life to it’s fullest.”  - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 27 Stay connected:   Benoy Thanjan www.reneuenergy.com [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/bthanjan/   Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22

Episode summary: In this episode, Steve Raeder sits down to talk about the opportunities and challenges of solar over the past 10 years.  Steve also discusses Summit Ridge’s focus on community solar and offering solar to the residential community and their initiatives throughout multiple states.  Also, Summit Ridge is working to overcome the financing through the lenders to bring the solar option to more residential customers. Steve talks about the next phase of the company which is to own all the projects that they develop and co-develop.   About our Guests:   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.   Steve Raeder   Steve Raeder CEO and Founder of Summit Ridge. In the beginning, the company’s focus was commercial customers, cities and federal agencies that Steve had worked with for years, but over time, Summit Ridge Energy changed to working with communities and developing community solar. They developed a nearly 7-megawatt community solar project in Maryland, and the company is heavily invested across Illinois. He was previously the managing director of Northeast Business Development a Sun Edison. Insights from this episode: Challenges of using solar power Bringing solar power to the residential customer Initiatives throughout the states How trends are changing toward the future in solar power. How to survive a competitive market.   Quotes from the show: “There is a time, call it in the next 10 years where this will be the cheapest resource.” - Steve Raeder “I’m a believer in the inevitability of what we’re doing.” - Steve Raeder Episode 26 “Know your space, I think timing is somewhat natural” - Steve Raeder Episode 26 “I knew what I wanted to do and I thought I knew how to do it.” - Steve Raeder Episode 26 “Stay small, you can do a lot in the space. You don’t need 95 bodies” - Steve Raeder Episode 26 “It became a very lucrative incentive and people at that time weren't sure” - Benoy Thanjan Episode 26 Stay connected:   Benoy Thanjan https://www.reneuenergy.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/bthanjan/ [email protected] Facebook: Reneu Energy   Summit Ridge linkedin.com/company/summitridgeenergy/ http://www.srenergy.com/   Steve Raeder linkedin.com/in/steve-raeder-5283a0?trk=org-employees_mini-profile_cta

Episode Summary Benoy goes deep into Kumar’s experience of evolving from his finance background into developing distributive energy projects in the U.S. and the new innovations in customer acquisition and financing that have allowed Kumar to become successful with his company. In addition, Kumar share strategies to investing and why Kumar likes to invest during the seed round of companies that he believes in Cleantech.   About Our Guests:   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.   Kumar Aiyer Kumar is the founder and Managing Partner of Blue Flame Energy Finance LLC, a start-up company in Carlsbad, CA focused on the commercial and industrial energy sector. Since 2011 he has served as the Managing Partner of CleanFin LLC., a structured-finance advisory firm focused on the sustainability sector. Prior to his career in clean energy finance, he was a portfolio manager and strategist on Wall Street in the residential mortgage and asset backed securities industry. He was a senior portfolio manager at ZAIS Group, a structured credit asset management firm in Red Bank, NJ from 2006 to 2011, working on residential mortgage securities and whole loans. He has also served in senior research strategy roles at Banc of America Securities, Credit Suisse, and Paine Webber.   PhD, Electrical Engineering from University of Rochester MS, Renewable Energy Systems from Loughborough University Insight from this episode:   The challenges related to developing small scale solar projects BlueFlame’s technology platform called Hyperqual to assist developers and installers with financing their projects Tips on how to procure and scale businesses Strategies to streamline and finance a distributed energy portfolio How to recognize needs in a market Tips to use prior knowledge in other industries on our current endeavors In depth explanation of C-Pace- Commercial Property as a Solar Energy Strategies to finding product market fit Secrets to recruiting great team members   Kumars suggestions for being an entrepreneur Be passionate about what you do Do research to make sure there is adequate funding for your business to grow Quotes from the show:   “What we found is practice is very different from theory.”- Kumar Aiyer Episode 25 “I am very passionate about climate change and renewables at a high level. ”- Kumar Aiyer Episode 25 “We are working with a lot of greenhouses that grow organic lettuce and things like that, that are also big energy consumers and they need innovative financing” - Kumar Aiyer Episode 25 “Right now C-Pace is limited to certain states and jurisdictions” - Benoy Thanjan Episode 25 “I put money where my mouth is” - Kumar Aiyer Episode 25 “Our focus is very simple, we want to bring in the cheapest cost of financing to these projects for our customers” - Kumar Aiyer Episode 25 “Identify the segment that you are looking to finance make sure there is adequate funding for your business plan to go 1-3 years and grow”  - Kumar Aiyer Episode 25 Resources Mentioned: https://apifortress.com/ Stay Connected: Solar Maverick Podcast: solarmaverickpodcast.com   Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan [email protected] www.reneuenergy.com Facebook: Reneu Energy   Kumar Aiyer: [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/kumaraiyer/

Episode Summary Benoy and Li reflect on the success of the Solar Maverick Podcast and share their expertise. Li explains the importance of branding through website design, providing key tips for converting observers to clients. Benoy explains the economics behind solar energy and he discusses trends that he is seeing in the solar and energy storage industry.  Benoy talks about opportunity zone investment in the new tax code and how it can be an opportunity for solar.   About Our Guests:   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:   Li shares his three questions for evaluating a marketing strategy: So what? Who cares? Why you? How to revamp your website by eliminating stock photos Strategies for improving your business by prioritizing your website Benoy talks about Massachusetts solar incentive program. Discussion on Federal Solar Incentives. Benoy talks about how returns on solar projects are getting lower due to increased competition from investors. Benoy talk about the tax code changes with opportunity zones and it could be a great opportunity with solar power.   Quotes from the show: “The biggest mistake that people make is adding stock photos.” - Li Wang Episode 24, on website branding and marketing “The biggest takeaway about your website is to simplify, use high quality images, and make your messaging succinct.” - Li Wang Episode 24   “Even if you are a business that’s referral-based, some of those referrals may not be converting as easily or as quickly.” - Li Wang Episode 24, on the importance of having a well-constructed website “Building a marketing presence and branding are huge differentiators especially with people in the same marketplace.” - Benoy Thanjan Episode 24   “The solar economy is one of the fastest growing sectors of the US economy.” - Benoy Thanjan Episode 24   “Energy storage is a game changer and once energy storage become economically it is going to be huge.”-Benoy Thanjan Episode 24 “Some Investors are taking development risk to get higher return on solar projects.”-Benoy Thanjan Episode 24   Resources Mentioned: 2019 is going to be a great year for Solar and the 2018 Year in Review! by Benoy Thanjan Stay Connected: Solar Maverick Podcast: solarmaverickpodcast.com   Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan [email protected] www.reneuenergy.com Facebook: Reneu Energy   Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22 [email protected]   Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on  itunes, and solarmaverickpodcast.com       

Episode Summary   Benoy and Suzanne discuss Community Solar and why this is an exciting area for renewable energy. From the challenges of contract tenure to providing access for low to moderate income housing, this is an area you should expect to see significant expansion. Expect to gain real insight and understanding of community solar.   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. 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   How to share in the benefits of community solar projects without owning or developing your own project. Why community solar should get everyone excited about solar. How community solar is becoming more readily available for low to moderate income households. How community solar has been affected by different challenges. How community solar, net metering and credits work together. Quotes from the show: ·In regard to 100% renewable energy goals, “I think what we’ve seen are the challenges related to policy that’s able to move as quickly as the goals of the state.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #23. “Community Solar is one of the fastest growing sectors of the industry.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #23. “Community solar allows you to buy credits through virtual net metering from a solar project…it’s definitely access to provide solar in a way that hasn’t been there before.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #23. “The challenge for community solar has been finding financing parties that are comfortable with the lesser tenure of a contract.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #23. In regard to different structures of community solar: “The most popular structure is the subscription-based model, which is easier to structure and less expensive.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #23. “Virtual net metering is what allows a household or business to receive the net metering credits associated with a net metering project that they don’t actually share an electricity meter.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #23. “You don’t have to own the project to share in the credits.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #23. “Community Solar is taking solar to the next level, where it really should be available to the masses. So if community solar doesn’t get everyone excited about solar, I don’t know what will!” Suzanne Waters, Episode #23. “Carpe Solem (Seize the Sun)” Suzanne Waters, Episode #23. Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan www.reneuenergy.com [email protected] Facebook: Reneu Energy Suzanne Waters: www.reneuenergy.com [email protected] Facebook: Reneu Energy [email protected] Linkedin: Suzanne Waters

Episode Summary Lauren and Benoy share knowledge on topics from how the industry has seen new trends take effect because of the increase and decrease in tariffs, how the solar market continues to grow and create openings for niche companies, and how to approach not just becoming an entrepreneur but also being a female entrepreneur in a male dominated industry.   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. Lauren Carson Lauren Carson, with over 8 years of experience in the solar industry, is the CEO of Kinect Solar, the leader of liquidation and wholesale business for electrical components and power generation equipment, transformers, electrical cable, and generators. They work with local installers and manufacturers to move excess inventory to their customers that span the globe from local installers in Austin to farmers in Belize and hotels in Fiji.   Insight from this episode: How the business market is affected by tariffs. How businesses can be impacted by local, state and federal policy. How supply and demand can affect the import market, pricing and drive new trends. Why tariffs affect where businesses start to pop up or move to. How to approach being a female entrepreneur in a male dominated industry. Strategies for finding a niche in the market. Reasons to start small and slowly scale as an entrepreneur. Quotes from the show: “Our mantra is ‘We solve inventory problems’” Lauren Carson, Episode #22. “The solar panel market really is a commodity so supply demand dynamic impacts by local, state and federal policy are very very apparent.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22. “I’m seeing as well in the development cycle, everyone is adjusting their engineering to take advantage of these more efficient panels to get higher production from their solar systems to get a higher return.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #22. “There’s been a massive jump in efficiency, I think there’s still a lot of people sitting on the older wattage panels and I think we’re going to continue to see those prices go down for the more legacy wattage panels.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22. “It’s extremely stressful at times; there are financial stresses and there are personnel stresses but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I think my favorite thing about having my own company is getting choose the people I work with.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22. Tips for entrepreneurs: “Staying scrappy and focusing on one little piece of what you do and also finding one customer that’s willing to pay you for something, and then growing off of that success, and just being patient.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22. “I think you mentioned a great point; everyone feels like they need to have this structure set up but obviously business is about generating revenue and adding value to your clients. Sometimes people get lost in all that other stuff rather than focusing on what’s important.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #22. “People are willing to help, and it’s all about adding value. It’s almost like mentorship in a sense…mentorship has been very important for me and developing my business.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #22. “In regard to being a female entrepreneur in a male dominated industry: “You have to let it roll off your back; if you hold onto that and think about how it’s setting you back then I think it starts to become a reality.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22. In regard to being a female entrepreneur in a male dominated industry: “In general, we have a great industry with great people and I have looked at it as a positive.” Lauren Carson, Episode #22. Recommended Books:   “The Grid” by Gretchen Bakke “Ego is the Enemy” by Ryan Holiday “Traction” by Gino Wickman “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan www.reneuenergy.com [email protected] Facebook: Reneu Energy Lauren Carson: www.kinectsolar.com Linkedin: Kinect Solar [email protected]

Episode Summary Benoy and John discuss the how the exciting industry of solar and renewable resources has been impacted by large utility projects becoming smaller and more distributed. John emphasizes the importance of people to any industry and how vital the trust between business partners and clients is to the success of any project, relationship or business.     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. John Chaimanis Mr. Chaimanis co-founded Kendall Sustainable Infrastructure (KSI) in 2012.  KSI is an innovative private finance company with over $150M AUM, that owns and operates distributed renewable energy and other sustainable infrastructure projects.  He is a well respected leader in the industry with over 15 years of experience and innovation.  Prior to Kendall, he worked with a subsidiary of Edison International in California where he was part of a team that developed and acquired over $500M of energy projects and installed 250MW of utility scale wind assets.  Prior to working in infrastructure, Mr. Chaimanis was a founding member of an inner-city charter school.  Mr. Chaimanis holds an M.B.A. from Babson College (where he currently is an adjunct professor), a B.S. in Finance from Villanova University and has earned the Sustainable and Responsible Certification from US SIF.   Insight from this episode: Why solar plus storage is such an important and positive trend. How to add value as a partner. Why trusting your clients and partners is vital to your business. How to build a successful future with a partner during the first deal. Why it’s vital to compare the duration of an incentive to the duration of the asset The importance of working side by side with clients during the developmental process The importance of perseverance in entrepreneurship How personal experience can be more important to your success than education Quotes from the show: “We are seeing that more common in the industry as well, where developers are looking for help from financial providers to provide value in the development process and life cycle” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #21. “As an investor you need to look at the industry you’re investing in and figure out how are you going to have an edge; what are you going to do better than any other financier in the industry?” John Chaimanis, Episode #21. “What I learned is that number one has to be respect and trust” John Chaimanis, Episode #21. “What I found is that it’s really great when you’re sitting in the boardroom figuring it out (contracts and agreement details) but almost every deal I’ve been a part of; within 5 days of signing that paper something comes up that you didn’t think of in that contract and that’s when you find out who people really are.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21. “In the long run, we want to treat people with dignity and respect, and we want the same on our side” John Chaimanis, Episode #21. “Development in my opinion – it’s very difficult to be a great developer all over the nation. It is a very regional game.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21. “It’s very common for the local developers acquisition costs for customers to be a lot lower than the national provider because they have that relationship and they’re in that area so people know who they are” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #21. “I love solar, I love being part of this industry. It is one of the most exciting and quickly evolving. People are motivated and energized and so many folks in the industry really believe in what we’re doing” John Chaimanis, Episode #21. “As an industry, I think it would be good for us to have a more mature understanding of the way power prices are actually established.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21. “It’s going to be a huge opportunity that’s going to go for years and years...the next 50-75 years especially when we reach grid parity in most states and you’re not dependent on incentives will be a gamechanger.”  Benoy Thanjan, Episode #21. In regard to starting a business; “It was slow, very slow like any entrepreneur will tell you. There were bits in the beginning where I had to fill with consulting work and other things.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21 In regard to recommendations for other entrepreneurs; “My path was that I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur and I knew what industry I wanted to be in but I didn’t have the knowledge so I worked for a while first. And I think that’s not a bad idea for somebody that - to go out and start an advertising company cold might be a little hard but if you work in the ad space for a while and learn as much as you can, there is incredible value in that. There’s even more value in that than going to school.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21 In regard to recommendations for other entrepreneurs; “The second thing is perseverance. You really need to - every day - put your hardest work in, and everyday be a better you as you’re going through it.” John Chaimanis, Episode #21 “You need dreamers and people who are willing to push the envelope.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #21. Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan www.reneuenergy.com [email protected] Facebook: Reneu Energy John Chaimanis: http://kendallinvestments.com Twitter: @Ksienergy Linkedin: Kendall-Investments

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.   Nathan Jovanelly   Nathan Jovanelly is a thought leader with IGS Solar, a third party gas and electric provider in most deregulated markets. As an intrapreneur, Nate assisted with launching IGS Solar, offering services to both residential and commercial customers. Receiving a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Delaware, Nathan has pivoted in his business experience to become a well-rounded expert in the industry.   Episode Summary   Nathan and Benoy talk at length regarding the natural gas market and the varying aspects to being a third party energy supplier such as customer acquisition costs and simplifying complex contracts, as well as current trends in the solar industry. In addition, Nathan shares key thoughts on being an entrepreneur and how to successfully find your place your desired market.   Insight from this episode: How being an intrapreneur and entrepreneur differ How natural gas affects the solar and electric markets The benefits of on site distribution generation as opposed to providing off site solar How customer acquisition costs vary by area of the industry How to make customers more comfortable and understanding of solar How simplifying a process adds high levels of value How to determine what is bankable and financeable for your business How to successfully build relationships in your market   Quotes from the show: “Solar is something that people want, they can understand, it’s very eloquent with no moving parts. You don’t have to worry about all this heat recapture, vibration and noise or where to put it.” Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #20. “It’s very scalable (solar compared to CHP (combined Heat and Power). For the development of a CHP project, the complexity and time it takes vs solar that is a lot easier and you don’t have to worry about hedging natural gas.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #20. “Natural gas has kept prices relatively low for a long time which basically impacts the electricity price because most generation now is through natural gas.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #20. In regards to bridging and growing in your career: “You really need to pivot in business.” Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #20. “Being an intrapreneur is maybe less risk than an entrepreneur but still you have to wake up with that grind mentality.” Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #20. “Being an entrepreneur; you’re going to stub your toe and you have to learn from your mistakes.” Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #20. “You always have to ask the value statement, ‘What is the market missing and how can we fill that gap?’” Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #20. “I think solar plus storage is going to be a game changer; where you take intermittent power and now you’re able to store it and use it at different times to support the grid.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #20. “I feel like in the battery space, scale is really going to matter.” Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #20. As quoted from a friend, one of the most important things in business is being customer friendly; “It’s got to be something your mom can read.” Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #20. In regards to customer acquisition, “We haven’t cracked the code on digital marketing yet.”Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #20.   Every project is not as cookie cutter as people probably think.” Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #20.     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan [email protected] LinkedIn.com/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com Nathan Jovanelly www.IGS.com LinkedIn: Nathan Jovanelly Twitter: @natejov [email protected]  

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.   Eric Dahnke   Eric Dahnke is the Founder and CEO of Power Market; utilizing his experience in the utility and software industries to provide solutions for community solar. With an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Energy Management and Policy from Columbia University, he is always working towards improving the delivery of clean energy programs.   Episode Summary   Eric dissects and explains not only the need and benefits of customer acquisition, onboarding and management for community solar, but also how the process of customer billing is conducted. This crucial aspect of bringing financial structure to community solar is not only expanding the market but also taught him many key lessons in entrepreneurship that he shares with Benoy.   Insight from this episode: Ways to use technology to decrease the cost of customer acquisition The importance of focus as an entrepreneur How commissions can affect the locals of community solar growth The importance of the name and branding for a startup company Strategies for financing and funding a new company How to prepare for entrepreneurship   Quotes from the show: In regards to financing terms for community solar: “We see a wide range but 3-5 years is the standard contract length, with fairly minimal exit fees.” Eric Dahnke, Episode #19. “Billing in these markets has always been the strength of what we’re doing. We consider ourselves a software company.” Eric Dahnke, Episode #19. “I am happy to say that we have billed in excess of one million dollars in community solar transactions and we’ve never had a mistake.” Eric Dahnke, Episode #19. In regards to realizing the need for Power Market: “This industry (the utility industry) needs the software architectures and techniques that we had in the financial services industry where the risk system is talking to the accounting system which is talking to the P&L system, to the settlement system and all of that works together and works well. ....I realized there ought to be an opportunity to build out some systems for this clean energy industry.” Eric Dahnke, Episode #19. “...One of the other crucial things that I learned and had to be taught -which is part of the process of being an entrepreneur - is that you have to offer something very specific when you’re starting a company.” Eric Dahnke, Episode #19. “It’s really focusing on one thing and being the expert on it, as opposed to doing multiple things." Benoy Thanjan, Episode #19. In regards to community solar trends: “Governments are starting to require a low-income component to it.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #19. “(a customer acquisition agent) can sell 5 individual apartment owners or go up into a much wealthier neighborhood and get one individual sale. The credit requirements and things that community solar was supposed to solve in terms of allowing low-income subscribers and participants to take advantage of that product have been thwarted a little bit by the fact that it’s more lucrative for the customer acquisition agents to go after bigger, wealthier customers.” Eric Dahnke, Episode #19. “It’s been a struggle, let’s be honest, but it has been pretty exciting. I’ve heard other entrepreneurs say it doesn’t really feel like work when the challenge in front of you is as big as it is so there is an upside to it.” Eric Dahnke, Episode #19. In regards to preparing for entrepreneurship: “The thing that makes a successful entrepreneur more than anything is just experience; experience, know-how, contacts, all of that. So the extent that you can put that together in your career as it exists before you step out will be a good way to go about it.” Eric Dahnke, Episode #19. Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan www.reneuenergy.com Facebook: Reneu Energy [email protected]   Eric Dahnke Power Market Website [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-dahnke-397b702/  

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.   Graham Smith   As the Founder and CEO of Open Energy Group, Graham Smith was able to combine his experience and passion for renewable energy and finance. Open Energy Group is the lending tree of renewable energy assets, providing easier access to capital markets. With over 5.5 years in business, they have become the marketplace and financial solution provider for the U.S. commercial energy sector, underwriting nearly $1 billion dollars.   Episode Summary   Graham shares with Benoy the lessons he learned as an Olympic athlete and how those lessons prepared himself for the hard work, persistence and patience to becoming a successful entrepreneur. This hard work, combined with his passion for renewable energy and experience in the financial world helped him successfully recognize and fill a need in the industry. Benoy and Graham discuss how other entrepreneurs can learn from that experience as well as how those interested in the solar market can benefit from not only the services Graham offers but how he is shaping the industry as a whole. Insight from this episode: How to access different financial solutions for the solar market Reasons it’s easier to fund builds greater than $1 million Strategies for finding consumer and commercial choices for solar builds and financing How current financial trends are affecting the solar industry Strategies for surviving the first year in business Why growing a business is not always a linear path How passion can affect your success as an entrepreneur Quotes from the show:   ”The sector is still in it’s infancy; there is no entrenched method (in regards to accessing solar and financial provisions). If you want a new roof you might just go to your bank and they will understand that, with solar there is still a lack of awareness" Graham Smith, Episode #18. In regards to financial transactions under $1million, “It can get expensive with the legal costs and outside legal counsel looking at the agreement.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #18.   “There is no and shouldn’t be one solution to allow solar and renewable energy to flourish at this lower complex level; there needs to be a proliferation - a choice - there needs to be consumer/commercial choices about the products  and that’s what we aim to provide.” Graham Smith, Episode #18.   “I think a necessary trend that is needing to happen is simplifying the process.” Graham Smith, Episode #18.   “There is an appetite to look at the recycling of waste; producing both energy and products that can be reused into the cycle.” Graham Smith, Episode #18. “In terms of our story, I think it’s important for people to know, especially the entrepreneurs, that it hasn’t been a straight path for Open Energy.” Graham Smith, Episode #18. In regards to Open Energy Group: “You have made this so that it makes it easy and speeds up the whole process of investors analyzing different opportunities to finance projects.“ Benoy Thanjan, Episode #18. “We find ourselves almost like a translator, taking developer-speak and taking it to the bank so they can recognize it.” Graham Smith, Episode #18. “We facilitate access to capital; to build, to own, or to sell these assets. What that allows is the best price capital to come in and ultimately that means more capital to come in (to the renewable energy market).” Graham Smith, Episode #18. “When you have the opportunity to make money from your passion - it is a great thing.” Graham Smith, Episode #18. ”There are a lot of European developers and investors aggressively developing in the United States because there is a lot of opportunity.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #18. In regards to becoming an entrepreneur: “You need a particular commitment, drive and self-belief. Because ultimately if you’re starting something, its possibly because it hasn’t been done before or done that way and your slants or ideas are different from others; so it requires that belief and persistence knowing that you can see forward enough past initial failure or initial non-acceptance that there will be.  The ways to sustain that are your enthusiasm and passion.“ Graham Smith, Episode #18. “Frankly I don’t know any other way to success; it is only the product of extremely hard, committed work.” Graham Smith, Episode #18. Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan www.reneuenergy.com Facebook: Reneu Energy [email protected]   Graham Smith www.openenergygroup.com Linkedin.com/in/grahamsmith11 [email protected]  

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.   Steve Schwerd With over 25 years in Consulting Engineering, Mr. Schwerd has proven accomplishments in engineering design; project, client, staff and financial management; business development; engineering operations; and firm leadership. Experience ranges from creating small MEP (Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing) departments to a Principal/Shareholder role as the engineering leader for a large multi-office, international full-service Architectural & Engineering firm. Upon establishing Schwerd Consulting, Steve now follows his passion for renewable energy and is fully committed to and active in the Solar industry.  He has worked with many of the leading solar companies and vendors across the country and is the driving force on his firm’s projects and industry endeavors. Episode Summary   Benoy and Steve discuss how to not only utilize the value of your experience but to also expand and grow on that to become an industry expert and successful entrepreneur. Through personal business experiences and involvement in renewable energy, Steve shares what helped him stay on the leading edge of solar, differentiate himself among his peers and develop a reputation as that of a valuable resource.   Insight from this episode: How to become fully engaged in your industry and become an expert The importance of being well-rounded in your industry Why being truly passionate about your idea is key for the entrepreneur How to plan properly for business ownership The proper level of importance to assign your infrastructure Strategies for gaining referrals Why and when to say no to an opportunity How to gauge if a solar project is good or not How to stay on the cutting edge of your industry Quotes from the show: “Solar is good. It’s still a growing industry even with the “solar-coasters” that have happened over the years” Steve Schwerd, Episode #17. “Experience is key.” Steve Schwerd, Episode #17. “There might be a lot of companies that DO solar, but we KNOW solar.” Steve Schwerd, Episode #17. In regards to how Steve approaches business: “You look at the whole picture which makes it unique.”  Benoy Thanjan, Episode #17. “The timing was right and timing is often everything.” Steve Schwerd, Episode #17. “As a business leader, you have to trust in yourself but also surround yourself with good people and relationships and build on those relationships.” Steve Schwerd, Episode #17. “You really need to learn to say no and through your experience and confidence, trust that you can spot a bad project or a client that’s not a fit for you; because the worst thing you can do is pursue something that seems like it has a great gross revenue potential and it’s such a drag that you have a negative net income from it.” Steve Schwerd, Episode #17. “Being transparent in general; people appreciate it.”  Benoy Thanjan, Episode #17. “‘Check your ego at the door”. It’s not about creating a complex engineering design if you don’t have to; it’s the benefit to the end-user, the owner of the system.” Steve Schwerd, Episode #17. “Go where the trends are. Stay cutting edge but avoid the bleeding age.” Steve Schwerd, Episode #17. “Understand that effective systems are more important than efficient systems.” Steve Schwerd, Episode #17. “There’s a big market now for in-service assets, so this will definitely be something that will be big in the future.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #17. In regards to project implementation: “It takes time from a technical perspective. Just because a program is approved based on policy, still there is a lot of work that needs to be done on the backend to make it happen.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #17.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan www.reneuenergy.com [email protected] Facebook: Reneu Energy   Steve Schwerd: Linkedin.com/in/steveschwerd www.schwerdconsulting.com [email protected]  

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.   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. Episode Summary   In light of the New Year, Li and Benoy discuss the effects of proper goal setting in your personal life as well as in your business. In the solar market, aggressive goal setting is creating foundations for high levels of growth, specifically in community solar and solar plus storage incentives. From his own travels to Southeast Asia and South America, Benoy shares key tips for cultivating relationships, maximizing value and realizing opportunities locally and abroad.   Insight from this episode: How to cultivate new business relationships Strategies for balancing your time as a small business owner How to connect to potential clients and build meaningful relationships How to bring value to your clients Strategies for growing international markets Strategies for effective goal setting Methods for increasing community solar Quotes from the show: “Business in the US and Asia are totally different; even south america. People want to really get to know you before there is any discussion about business, whereas in the U.S. it’s very upfront with what they can offer and what value they can offer you.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #16. “People are people at the end of the day, and they prefer to work with people they like and trust.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #16. “Community solar is one of the fastest growing segments in solar in the US.“ Benoy Thanjan, Episode #16.   “The great thing about community solar is it allows people who can’t get solar, due to, let’s say their house has shading issues, the roof is not good,they don’t have the capital expenditures, if they live in an apartment or have low to moderate income, they are able to now purchase solar....It gives everyone the ability to have solar” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #16.   “California has always been ahead of the curve and trying to incentivize it (solar).” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #16.   In regards to California solar goals; “Part of being aggressive is that even if they don’t reach complete fulfillment of their goals, they’ll have gained a lot just by setting those targets.” Li Wang, Episode #16.   “It’s all about setting high goals. We talk about this in our own life and in entrepreneurship; everyone sets too low goals and we should all come up with higher goals. I know I’m trying to push myself to do bigger and better things. it might sound unrealistic but you never know you might achieve it but at least you’ll be at a much higher place than if you didn’t have those goals in place.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #16.   “I feel like with a little bit of help, and without much effort tor outsourcing, business owners can really improve their market.” Li Wang, Episode #16. “2019 is going to be a great year for solar.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #16. “‘I’d rather see you do one or a few things very well, than spread yourself too thin, because that’s very difficult for a small business.” Li Wang, Episode #16. “If you’re not truly listening and asking good questions, how can you really add the value they (your customer) need?” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #16. “The power of saying no to things - that sometimes is hard to do when starting up your business but learning to say no to the wrong opportunities will gain you more time and gain you more business over time.” Li Wang, Episode #16.     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22 [email protected]  

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.   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. Episode Summary   Li and Benoy discuss Benoy’s recent trip to Colombia and attendance of the El Futuro Solar de Colombia conference. While reviewing the current changes of renewable energy in Colombia and what is driving those, they also review how cultural differences can impact international business. From an entrepreneurial perspective, they provide strategies on maximizing the time spent at industry conferences, how to gain recognition and become known as an expert in your industry.   Insight from this episode: How foreign languages can benefit an entrepreneur. How investment returns are driving American capital to international markets. How cultural expectations can vary when working in international markets. Strategies for maximizing your time at industry conferences. Ways to become known as an expert in your field. Strategies to improve your network. How to improve your personal brand and recognition through consistent social media posts and website updates. Quotes from the show:   In regards to the renewable energy market in Colombia: “It sounds like there is a lot of opportunity with some hard work to put in there, to gain some traction there.” Li Wang, Episode #15. “Colombia is going to be a great market.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #15.   It’s never easy and especially in a new market that nothing has been done yet, so it’s really about coming up with creative solutions.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #15. “Having a working knowledge of the language makes a huge difference because you are able to communicate with people directly instead of through a translator.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #15. In regards to industry conferences: “Obviously the content is very important...but it’s really about getting in front of people, building that relationship which takes time. It’s not just about picking up business cards and emailing.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #15. “The point being, the internet is wide open and you should claim your little piece of real estate on the internet if you haven’t already.” Li Wang, Episode #15. “If you can stand out a little bit in your personal brand, it’s going to pay off usually, because you’ll get noticed.”Li Wang, Episode #15.   Resources Mentioned: El Futuro Solar de Colombia   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22

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.   Thom Byrne   Thom Byrne is the Founder and CEO of Clean Capital; a financial technology company that makes it easy to invest in clean energy. Clean Capital has built a proprietary technology platform that identifies, screens, and manages clean energy projects enabling project owners an opportunity to exit their portfolios while providing accredited investors, including institutional investors, family offices, and investment funds, unique access to the clean energy investment market.   Thom received his start in environmental projects with Waterkeeper Alliance, where he helped launch local environmental organizations. After graduating from Berkeley Law school, he received extensive experience in the renewable energy finance arena through the law firms, Chadbourne and Parke, and then Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld. Using his experience, Thom dove deeper into renewable energy asset with True Green Capital, before founding Clean Capital. Episode Summary   Thom Byrne shares how as an entrepreneur, he addressed calculated risks to create Clean Capital, a company now providing investment opportunities in the tens of millions of dollars for solar energy. As opposed to smaller investments in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, what was once just a vision, is now injecting tremendous amounts of capital into the solar energy market not just domestically, but internationally as well.     Insight from this episode: How increasing larger institutional capital is vital for growing the renewable energy space. How technology plays a key role in efficient investments. What to look for in a potential market for investment. Strategies for finding solutions to getting capital into new markets. What macro drivers are affecting the Solar market today. How to determine if being an entrepreneur is right for you and if your idea should go to market.   Quotes from the show: “We always wanted to be mission oriented.” Thom Byrne, Episode 14   In regards to the renewable energy market: “Yes you can make money doing it, but it’s an important challenge to be trying to solve.” Thom Byrne, Episode 14 In regards to being an entrepreneur: “Life’s too short and the risk you perceive is not as big a risk as it really is. It’s more fearful when you look out at the risk than when you’re actually living in it.” Thom Byrne, Episode 14 In regards to being an entrepreneur: “There is a risk tolerance that you have to find acceptable. I think most people don’t find it acceptable and they don’t get into entrepreneurship but I would encourage people to evaluate the risk in the grand scheme of things and if you do that, you may find that it’s much more tolerable.” Thom Byrne, Episode 14 In regards to being an entrepreneur: “It’s better to try than to have regret.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode 14 “If you have the appetite to do it, to be an entrepreneur, you have to do it. That bug is not going to go away and you don’t want to wake up with grandchildren and just a story about something you were going to do, rather than having actually tried to do it.” Thom Byrne, Episode 14 “Everyone is talking about storage and how in the market, tariffs and costs continue to go down.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode 14 “A statistic the World Economic Forum put out, is that .5% of any institutional capital being put out is for clean energy.” Thom Byrne, Episode 14     Resources Mentioned: “Taming the Sun: Innovations to Harness Solar Energy and Power the Planet” by Varun Sivaram “The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future” by Gretchen Bakke   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Thom Byrne www.cleancapital.com Experts Only Podcast Linkedin: CleanCapital Facebook: @CleanCapitalCo Twitter: @CleanCapital_ [email protected]  

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.   Jim Spano   Founder and Managing Director of Spano Partners, Jim Spano retired from his own financial planning firm and has since spent over 30 years in the Real Estate and Solar space. Using his lengthy experience, he was able to recover from the negative effects of the real estate market crash by paving the way for solar developments. From Vice-President of the Mid-Atlantic Solar Energy Industries Association, a participant of the International Battery and Energy Storage Alliance, and the creator of Spano Partners and Radiant REIT, Jim is an accomplished entrepreneur and industry influencer. Episode Summary   Benoy and Jim discuss how utility scale and community solar are leading changes in the solar industry, in addition to the unprecedented shift in the cost of solar finance, as hard costs in building solar have little room to decrease.  From policy involvement to networking, Jim shares invaluable insights into the solar industry, a successful career as an entrepreneur, and the incredible benefits and importance of philanthropic work.   Insight from this episode: How to use your previous experience to hone your entrepreneurial skills. Strategies for developing a successful solar development company. How networking can differentiate you in your industry. Strategies to not only promote your industry but also add more value to it. Ways to make solar energy more affordable for those with lower incomes. Why community solar power is becoming the latest trend in the solar industry. Why understanding policy can create value in your business. Ways to decrease hard and soft solar energy costs. Why philanthropy is one area of business you don’t want to forget.   Quotes from the show:   In regards to the lack of access to solar options due to cost: “That was a huge need in the market that’s not there, obviously, lowering the cost of financing. We find it (financing) is one of the highest expenses.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #13.   “We are now where we know that the hard costs cannot continue to be reduced so now we are looking at ways to reduce soft costs, and that’s the direction that the industry should be going.” Jim Spano, Episode #13. “The key to successful solar development is understanding how the impact that the manner in which the project is developed, is viewed from a lender’s perspective.” Jim Spano, Episode #13. “Having as much at the highest incentive levels that you can, when you develop a project, means that you’ve added more value into that project. That means the investor and yourself will do better and have a far more likelihood of achieving the financial goals that the investment was based upon.”Jim Spano, Episode #13.   “I think a lot of people look at things from (only) one perspective, but there are many people that are affected by this decision and there are a lot of variables that are changing within solar energy, that will impact costs to develop and build these projects.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #13. “That’s why there’s so much debate within the industry. You have different stakeholders with conflicting interests.”Jim Spano, Episode #13.   “One of the fastest growing sectors of solar is community solar.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #13. “We have to open these markets for lower income people.” Jim Spano, Episode #13. “I think the most successful wealthy business people come to a point in their life that they realize that true happiness doesn’t come from self-gratification and having the biggest or fastest car, or the biggest home and all this nonsense. It really comes from putting a smile on someone’s face.” Jim Spano, Episode #13. “I think the true key to happiness in this life...what really satisfies us...is knowing that we made someone else’s life better, easier.” Jim Spano, Episode #13. “The most successful people actually fail the most, learn from that experience and then adapt.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode #13. “Some of your best experiences and education comes from your failures; although I’d suggest you try to learn from other people’s failures first if you can!” Jim Spano, Episode #13.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Jim Spano www.radiantreit.com www.spanopartners.com www.spanosolarenterprises.com Linkedin [email protected]  

About our Guest:   Rik Teeuwen is the Project Manager of Emerging Markets and Finance for Solarplaza, “Solarplaza organizes international high-level conferences and exploratory trade missions in both established and emerging markets across the globe. With a track-record spanning five continents, over thirty countries, fifty cities and a total of over one hundred events, Solarplaza is a pioneering industry inspirer.” a company focused on “accelerating the transition to solar energy across the world.” Rik is responsible for organizing and developing conferences in Latin America. He has made a career passionately working toward renewable energy growth. Episode Summary   While hosting the El Futuro Solar Colombia, the first large scale conference in Colombia on solar resources, Rik sits down with Benoy to discuss the development of solar PV (the technology that converts sunlight into electricity)  and renewable energy in up and coming markets. They discuss how these conferences aid in the renewable resource movement, help overcome obstacles and what Rik sees as notable trends in this industry. Insight from this episode:   How environmental factors have directed Colombia towards a more renewable energy focus. How Solar PV is gaining steam compared to other renewable resource alternatives. Strategies on making renewable energy a more appealing market for developers in individual countries. How emerging countries are responding to growth in the renewable resources market. Ways that countries and developers are able to push through existing obstacles and barriers to renewable resources. How current trends are affecting the renewable resource market. Quotes from the show:   In regards to El Futuro Solar Colombia: “Everyone was being very transparent about the market. Usually when you go to conferences it’s very fluffy but people were really being very transparent.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode 12 “It’s the appetite that you try to awake with the real picture. You cannot fake it.” Rik Teeuwen, Episode 12 “They’re (Utility Companies) so focused on the way they’ve made money for years that its hard for them to grasp what’s coming next, and at the end of the day no matter how hard they make it to develop renewable energy products; specifically solar you aren’t going to stop it in the long run.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode 12 “Everyone is becoming more savvy or more capable of controlling their energy demand and use and that’s good. That’s brilliant.” Rik Teeuwen, Episode 12 “It’s an exciting time to be in the energy space, specifically solar. Also in the emerging markets because there’s a lot of economic opportunities that’s created based on having renewable resources and you know, most companies and business expenses is energy, and they’re able to lower their cost and use renewables at the same time.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode 12 “Solar is so scalable compared to other technologies” Benoy Thanjan, Episode 12 “The energy market is a very complicated; not for the well being of a whole community kind of energy source while Solar PV can be a very nice community driven or individual driven.” Rik Teeuwen, Episode 12 “Countries are saying we want to be energy independent, we want to be green and we want to be cheap”. Rik Teeuwen, Episode 12 “I think what’s amazing is that most of the people in this sector are trailblazing. The complexity, they’re are basically building and passionate about renewable energy.... It’s only the beginning of a very long growth cycle.” Benoy Thanjan, Episode 12 “Market after market succumbs to the Solar PV revolution.” Rik Teeuwen, Episode 12   Resources Mentioned:   El Futuro Solar Colombia Solarplaza Upcoming Events   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan www.reneuenergy.com [email protected] Facebook: Reneu Energy   Rik Teeuwen www.solarplaza.com www.twitter.com/rikteeuwen LinkedIn: Rik Teeuwen [email protected]

About our Guests:   Daryl Pilon is the director of business development for Standard Solar, a vertically integrated commercial and industrial EPC company, providing superior solar energy solutions since 2004. Their goal is to invest their capital in new projects and drive the solar industry forward. Daryl comes from a background in engineering and worked on roofing systems before joining Standard Solar three years ago.   Bob Burwasser is the Northeast regional manager for Carlisle Construction Materials, a diversified manufacturer and supplier for building products and related materials for commercial construction markets. They prioritize energy efficiency and sustainability, working to lower a building’s carbon footprint and lower its energy consumption and associated costs.   Episode summary: On the heels of a historic partnership between the solar company, Standard Solar, and the roofing and construction company, Carlisle Construction Materials, a representative from each company sat down with Benoy to talk about how their innovate solutions are changing the viability and longevity of rooftop solar arrays. Bob and Daryl each talk about their side of these innovations and their hopes for the partnership moving forward.   Insights from this episode: How Carlisle goes about evaluating a roof How Standard Solar and Carlisle Construction Materials have solved solar’s past roofing problems How they’re able to offer solar projects and solid roofs at a lower cost Strategies for getting your rooftop solar array off the ground   Quotes from the show: “For the first time since man has walked upright, we now have a roofing membrane that can parallel the longevity of solar.” - Daryl Pilon, Episode #11 “When we’re done, that building has increased in value.” - Daryl Pilon, Episode #11 “For owners that were interested in solar and just couldn’t pursue it because of the roof cost, we’re going back to them now and it’s becoming a very viable opportunity.” - Bob Burwasser, Episode #11 On the partnership: “There’s a great match of people and there’s a great match of capability and competency.” - Daryl Pilon, Episode #11 More on the partnership: “We can take opportunities that exist out there and be able to very quickly bring them to a conclusion.” - Daryl Pilon, Episode #11 “We have two great companies that are very like minded in our goals and are very customer focused and I think with those elements, success is just around the corner.” - Daryl Pilon, Episode #11 On their roofing solutions: “I think it’s viable everywhere. I really do believe that.” - Daryl Pilon, Episode #11 “We’re all about mutually beneficial relationships.” - Daryl Pilon, Episode #11 “I think it’s nice that now we can lead the way. We can spearhead this thing and obviously we’re sharing it with the world, so we hope the world can be apart of it, but we’re going to lead the parade and I think it’s going be a great existence.” - Daryl Pilon, Episode #11   Stay connected:   Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Daryl Pilon: [email protected]   Bob Burwasser: [email protected]

About our Hosts:   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.   Episode summary: Li and Benoy each share their own journeys to entrepreneurship: what drew them in and the challenges they’ve faced along the way. They also share many of their personal hacks for success, drawing on the lessons they’ve learned and the habits they’ve developed over their entrepreneurial careers.   Insights from this episode: How to build true, quality networks Strategies for taking advantage of your current 9 to 5 if you’re looking to move toward entrepreneurship Secrets to the character traits of a successful entrepreneur Strategies for increasing the efficiency of your business How to leverage good listening skills into closing sales How to follow up without being annoying Strategies for standing out in an interview Strategies for organizing your day to get ahead   Quotes from the show: “When he was upset about losing money on a deal, the advice from Li’s friend: “Don’t worry about it, money is a renewable resource.” - Li Wang, Episode #10 “The hardest part of entrepreneurship is the mental aspect, because you have to come up with a product or service that provides value but then also convince someone and sell that to them.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode #10 “I always wanted to control my own destiny, and I felt like entrepreneurship was the way to get there.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode #10 “I think that entrepreneurship is not for everyone.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode #10 “You don’t have to do it completely your own.” - Li Wang, Episode #10 “The fortune is in the follow up.” - Li Wang, Episode #10 “You have to deliver on what you promise.” - Li Wang, Episode #10 Saying that you don’t have time for something just means you’re not prioritizing it. - Li Wang, Episode #10   Resources mentioned: Squarespace Mailchimp Calendly Square Google Suite Asana   Stay connected:   Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Li Wang:   MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22

About our Guest: David Magid is the founder of YSG Solar, a clean energy technology company based in New York City. They do project development and solar-array installment for residential, commercial and industrial clients with a focus on cost efficiency and promoting innovative generation, distribution and storage technologies. David has worked in a variety of aspects of the energy industry for over 10 years, including geothermal and wind energy, energy storage and energy management systems.   Episode summary: David talks about how he got involved with the solar energy industry and eventually started his own company. His diverse background in clean energy technologies gives him a broad perspective on the many components at play within the industry. He offers insights on selling solar to residential customers and how that work has changed over the last decade.   Insights from this episode: Strategies to cultivate your sales skills How to approach residential customers about solar arrays How New York can overcome the barriers to achieving its lofty energy goals Tips on emerging opportunities and trends within solar and energy efficiency   Quotes from the show: “It’s a very competitive landscape, which is great because I think it really brings out the innovation in the industry when you have that.” - David Magid, Episode 9 “Treat every single project like it’s your first project that you’re dealing with, and show it the respect that it deserves.” - David Magid, Episode 9 “It’s the holy grail. Storage is what we’ve been reading and studying about for years, and it’s finally coming so it’s a really exciting time.” - David Magid, Episode 9 About entering the solar industry today: “There’s so many places and roles to fill – policy, engineering, dealmaking – there’s a lot to get done and a lot of opportunity.” - David Magid, Episode 9 “We’re going under an energy revolution with renewables and everything else, it’s just a really exciting time in technology, and so I believe just like you, David, the sky is the limit for opportunity.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 9 On why he reads so much policy and follows it so closely: “We’re moving at such a fast pace that we need to study this market otherwise we’ll get eaten up.” - David Magid, Episode 9   Resources mentioned: Making it in America: The Life and Times of Rocky Aoki, Benihana’s Pioneer   Stay connected:   Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22   David Magid: ysgsolar.com LinkedIn.com/in/davidmagid  

About our Hosts: 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.   Episode summary: Benoy explains what it means when companies say they’re working toward becoming 100% renewable and how they go on to make that happen. He offers his insights on the risks involved in committing to purchasing 100% renewables and how he incorporates energy consciousness into his own every day life.   Insights from this episode:  Strategies for smaller companies to achieve 100% renewable Secrets to reduce risk and save money when committing your business to a 100% renewable goal  How to support renewable energy and energy efficiency in your own life, and how that can translate into living a simpler life altogether How decreasing costs of lithium ion batteries will revolutionize access to electric cars and solar storage How increasing transparency in your company can improve its success    Quotes from the show:   On developing the SREC program for Solar City in Silicon Valley: “It was crazy going from having no volume, to basically then having a multimillion dollar portfolio where I was helping them broker those sort of transactions.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 8 “We have these big ideas but then we find reasons why it’s not going to work, but really we should be constantly pushing ourselves and thinking bigger and doing more than we think we can.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 8 “The most successful people or the most successful company is failing more than most and learning from it and adapting.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 8 “I believe every failure is supposed to happen.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 8 “You can’t take the present for granted.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 8 “Success and business and life are about being strategic. It’s about working hard, but it’s also about working smart and doing what you believe you want to do and what is your purpose.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 8 “Transparency Promotes Accountability” - Li Wang, Episode 8 “Talk is cheap, play the game” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 8   Stay connected:  Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22

About our Guest: Chris Grablutz is the director of business development for PV Pros, Inc., a nationwide solar maintenance company specializing in commercial and utility scale solar PV systems based in New Jersey. He is an owner’s engineer and operations and maintenance professional. He has worked in the industry for over a decade, designing and building solar PV arrays with a focus on quality control and longevity.   Episode Summary: Chris talks about his background in the solar energy industry, drawing on his decade of experience to highlight what he has learned in terms of growing a successful business and  navigating the solar energy world. Looking ahead, he offers insights on the future of energy storage and advice for anyone looking to enter the solar industry.   Insights from this Episode: Strategies for navigating the ups and downs of the solar industry Tips for designing strong and financially smart solar projects from an operations and maintenance perspective Insights on what it will take to move energy storage tech forward The secret to achieving those 100% renewable energy goals Strategies for getting into the solar energy industry   Quotes from the Show: “Smooth seas don’t make for good sailors and that’s what this industry is all about.” - Chris Grablutz, Episode 7 “As the industry changed, instead of trying to do new things, we decided to look back at what our core competency was.” - Chris Grablutz, Episode 7 On the small size and interconnectedness of the industry: “It’s almost sometimes musical chairs with people changing companies.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 7 Because of how small and interconnected the industry is: “Do whatever you can to make sure you end things amicably; you don’t ever burn a bridge.” - Chris Grablutz, Episode 7 On the importance of quality control while building a project: “There’s solar cells that were made 40 plus years ago that still provide power… We have to make sure that we get to that 25 years [warranty of modules] successfully, and then after that those are still contributing years.” - Chris Grablutz, Episode 7 On solar energy storage: “It’s there, it’s ready, it’s just new, and no one wants to make the quick decision, which is good. I think at this point we need to out our foot a little closer to the floor and come up with those financial mechanisms so that we can deploy more storage.” - Chris Grablutz, Episode 7 “In all reality, when everyone starts at that entry level position, the things that differentiate you are your knowledge of where you’re going, the things that you’ve done – your experiences, like internships or presenting your own personal research – and being able to differentiate yourself from other people, so that a hiring authority can say, ‘hey this person, they went after it harder than everyone else. They want this job and this is the person that I want on my team.’” - Chris Grablutz, Episode 7   Resources mentioned: Clean Capital’s Experts Only podcast The Energy Gang podcast Suncast podcast The Interchange podcast   Stay connected: Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22   Chris Grablutz: LinkedIn.com/in/cgrablutz [email protected] Visit in person! @ 5 Marine View Plaza #301 Hoboken NJ 07030

About our Guest: Suzanne Waters is the vice president for business development at Reneu Energy. She has worked in a variety of roles within the solar industry, including project development administration, marketing best practices, financial strategy and team leadership. Suzanne and Benoy also worked together at Vanguard Energy Partners where she worked as the business development manager and proposal team leader. Her enthusiasm for the industry shines through in all her work. Episode summary: Suzanne talks about her career path in the solar industry, working in the industry right out of college, taking a hiatus and then finding her way back just a couple months ago. She shares why she’s so excited to be back and why she’s so passionate about solar. Insights from this episode: Strategies to get involved in the diversity of opportunities the solar industry offers How to succeed in an industry everyone wants to be a part of Strategies to build and maintain connections within the industry and why that’s essential to your success How to do your work with integrity Secrets from the inside – the best parts of working in solar Quotes from the show: “Solar is kind of a hard industry not to fall in love with once you get involved.” - Suzanne Waters, Episode 6 “After leaving Vanguard, I never quite had the same passion for my work than when I was in solar.” - Suzanne Waters, Episode 6 “Renewable energy, when you start talking about it, there’s nothing really negative people say about it.” - Suzanne Waters, Episode 6 “Don’t overlook quality for affordability.” - Suzanne Waters, Episode 6 “That’s the easiest sale – when people put in a good word or recommend you for a job.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 6 “Solar is growing exponentially, so there’s so much opportunity. “ - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 6 Suzanne’s self-invented call to action – “seize the sun” in Latin:  “Carpe solem.” - Suzanne Waters, Episode 6   Stay connected:   Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22

About our Hosts: 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. Episode Summary: Benoy unpacks the prevailing myths about solar energy and solar panels. He discusses it all, from the economics, maintenance and operation of solar panels down to the changing public perception of the aesthetic of solar panels on buildings. Insights from this episode: How to pitch solar as a  smart economic choice Insights on the various federal and state incentive programs that make solar even more economical Strategies for businesses looking to purchase a solar array How solar could transform electricity acquisition in post-hurricane communities Secrets about Benoy’s next projects in solar, including reaching low-income communities with solar energy technologies Quotes from the show: “As long as the sun is shining, no matter whether it’s cold or hot, the panels will be generating energy.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 5 “One of the great things about solar is the biggest cost is related to the installation and then there’s ongoing operations and maintenance, but it’s pretty low.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 5 “Before it used to be there were a lot of good projects and not a lot of money, and now there’s a lot of money chasing a very small amount of projects.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 5 “To see companies, corporations, who are willing to basically buy renewable energy as part of their corporate strategy has been huge.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 5 “You have to get started somehow.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 5   Stay connected:   Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22

About our Guest: Alex Rivera is the senior vice president of business development for Vanguard Energy Partners. He is a member of the New Jersey Alliance for Action Energy Committee, the Solar Energy Industry Association and serves on the steering committee for the Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy. He has worked in the solar energy industry for over 15 years, working with commercial and industrial clients to retrofit their facilities and support a more renewable energy economy.   Episode Summary: Alex talks about working with commercial and industrial clients on solar array projects, especially within the context of the changes facing the solar incentive program in New Jersey. He also talks about past growth of solar energy in New Jersey and looks ahead to the industry’s future.   Insights from this episode: Strategies to get commercial clients on board with solar How to construct a sound proposal for your client The secrets behind New Jersey’s solar success Thoughts on navigating the changes coming to solar energy in New Jersey Why you should be optimistic about the trajectory of solar Tips on what to look out for as energy storage technology becomes more common and more necessary Why understanding the regulations around solar is paramount to pitching the technology to clients   Quotes from the show: “North America chose tax credits, federal tax credits, as the currency to foster investment confidence from the marketplace, and therefore if you’re going to be involved in originating and nurturing in these relationships, you first must understand your client’s tax situation.” - Alex Rivera, Episode #4 “I would not want to be involved in solar anywhere for the foreseeable future than in the Northeast.” - Alex Rivera, Episode #4 “I think the first thing a newcomer to the industry should understand is energy itself.”  - Alex Rivera, Episode #4 “Solar energy in New Jersey is very different than solar energy in California in how it is incentivized. You must know that.” - Alex Rivera, Episode #4 “You need to understand the different programs in order to be able to convey the benefit to your client.” - Alex Rivera, Episode #4   Stay connected:   Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22 Alex Rivera: [email protected]

About our guest: Abinash Tiwari is the CIO of BlueFlame Energy Finance, a startup company based in California that focuses on financing energy projects for commercial building owners. He has over 15 years of experience in the solar energy industry, including in energy finance, project development, origination and business development. He has worked on projects totalling 250 megawatts of solar energy and invested one billion in solar PV, storage and other Distributed Generation projects. Before he joined BlueFlame, he was the director of renewable business development at Constellation NewEnergy.   Episode summary: Abinash speaks from 15 years of experience creating innovative ways to finance solar energy projects and navigating the dynamic nature of working in a relatively new industry. He says learning on the job and constantly evolving with the technology makes his job fun. Insights from this episode: Abinash’s secrets to innovating ahead of PACE(“Property Assessed Clean Energy “) financing programs instead of waiting around for those programs to catch up How you can be the value added on a project – quality over quantity when building relationships His thoughts on the trends to look out for in solar technology (hint: it’s not energy storage) Quotes from the show: “I always thought power has more value than SRECs fundamentally, because power is something people need. SRECs is something which is created by regulators.” - Abinash Tiwari, Episode 3 On BlueFlame’s financial model versus the national financing initiative PACE: “The beauty of this is we can go to any state, any jurisdiction, and actually still finance fairly small projects.” - Abinash Tiwari, Episode 3 “As a small business, as a startup, you are always looking at how the market reacts to what you’re trying to do and then change course. And you have to do that super quickly because you don’t have the liberty and the stability of a very large business. Pretty much you learn as you go, and actually that is pretty exciting.” - Abinash Tiwari, Episode 3 “The tailwinds are there behind solar and energy distribution in general fundamentally, and it is not going to go away.” - Abinash Tiwari, Episode 3 “The question is do you want stability or do you want to join the fun?” - Abinash Tiwari, Episode 3 “It’s all about adding value, being honest and transparent.” - Benoy Thanjan, Episode 3 Stay connected:   Benoy Thanjan LinkedIn.com/in/bthanjan Facebook: Reneu Energy www.reneuenergy.com [email protected]   Li Wang: MJWangMedia.com Instagram: @liwang22 Abinash Tiwari blueflameenergyfinance.com or hyperqual.com Twitter LinkedIn