Episode Details

Episode Summary

In this milestone 50th episode of the Solar Maverick Benoy and Li discuss getting started in podcasts, read and reply to listener feedback, and recap some previous episodes. Benoy shares his thoughts on climate change and its effect on the solar industry, what part solar recycling might play in the future, and the shape of solar panels in regards to efficiency.  Most importantly, this episode is a HUGE THANK YOU to our listeners.

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, as well as 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, as well as utility-scale solar plus storage projects. The company also sources financing for solar projects and hedges both energy and environmental commodities. Reneu Energy has brokered $27 million in environmental commodity 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

Li Wang is a life-long journalist and communications professional. He worked as an intern for the Philadelphia Daily News, during the summer of the O.J. trial, and has since had some fascinating jobs, from being a business reporter, to an arts editor, to a film critic. He has since shifted his focus to digital marketing and creative services, and now his company, MJ Wang Media, develops brand messaging and identity through website design and content marketing. 

Insights from this episode:

• Why the first podcast is the hardest and how you can get to 50 episodes.
• What kind of an investment you need to make in podcast technology.
• How climate change is affecting the solar industry and panel recycling.
• The effects of technology on the shape of solar panels and increases in efficiency.
• The impact of these podcasts and the future of Solar Maverick.

Quotes from the show:

• “I always prefer doing the interviews in person because I feel like the dynamics are a lot better, but, you know, there are some people that we would like to interview, but we can’t in person.“ – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #50

• “It’s just amazing every month the number of downloads are getting bigger and bigger and larger and larger  “ – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #50

• “It is just amazing to me how many people listen to the podcast. “ – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #50 

• “Solar energy is a way of combating climate change.  Obviously, we are seeing a proliferation of solar coming online and in record amounts.“ – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #50

• “The future is pretty bright and it’s amazing.“ – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #50

• “I think in the future there has to be some kind of hat that I can wear that’s going to turn that absorption into energy.” – Li Wang, Episode #50

• “Benoy is humble, but he is widely connected.” – Li Wang, Episode #50

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