Episode Details

Episode Summary

In this episode, Benoy and Suzanne celebrate Suzanne’s 10th podcast episode with the Solar Maverick Podcast and talk about the upcoming Reneu Energy Holiday Party. They also update us on the New Jersey Community Solar Pilot Program and recap some previous Solar Maverick podcasts before covering energy consumed by cannabis grow facilities and the inevitable inclusion of renewable energy.

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.

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 an unmatched enthusiasm for its capabilities and a BA in Economics from Rutgers College at Rutgers University.

Insights from this episode:

• Details on what it is like to be on a podcast, upcoming Solar Maverick podcasts, and what to expect from Solar Maverick in the future.
• Strategies on applying for the New Jersey Community Solar Pilot Program.
• Benefits of sophisticated grow facilities and how they work.
• Details on specific energy usage of cannabis cultivation.
• Benefits of the integration of two growing industries, solar and cannabis.

Quotes from the show: 

• On the cannabis industry: “It’s a huge growth area in the solar industry, especially as cannabis gets legalized in more and more states throughout the United States.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
• The way that Reneu Energy is different from other developers: “ We believe that solar is not the only solution.  That it is a multi-prong solution.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #55
• On indoor grow facilities: “You know you’re yielding a better product which will give you better revenue.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
• “Most people in the cannabis industry are about, obviously, using less electricity and, obviously, renewable forms of electricity.”   – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #55
• On Benoy touring MMD Shops: “It sounds very intricate, actually. I feel like there’s a lot of details behind-the-scenes that