Episode Details

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Solar Maverick, Benoy asks Daryl Pilon and Bob Burwasser about why roofing and solar are important and how roof restoration with solar allow more rooftop solar projects to be constructed.  This discussion is an in-depth look at what roof restoration entails, what makes a good solar platform, and how the cost-saving benefits will last well into the future.  

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.

Daryl Pilon 

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

Bob Burwasser has been in the commercial roofing business for 29 years and Regional Technical Manager for Everest Systems Co. Everest Systems Co. boasts over 30 years experience in the roof coatings industry.

Insights from this episode:

• Strategies for evaluating what projects make good candidates for rooftop solar installations. – Daryl  
• Details on rooftop restoration versus roof replacement, what restoration entails, and how restoration helps to enable the solar industry. – Bob
• How Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) help non-profit organizations attain solar solutions.
• Benefits of restoration and incorporating roof restoration and solar installation simultaneously.
• How to match the solar array to the roof and ensure the installation does not void the roof warranty.

Quotes from the show:

• On SMP 11:  The Marriage of Roofing and Solar: Innovative and Economic Solutions: “It was a very popular podcast. We actually got a lot of great feedback about the integration of roofing and solar.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #69
• “What we try to avoid is roof replacement which gets extremely costly.” – Bob Burwasser, Episode #69
• On the liquid material employed in roof restoration: “It was initiated as a material in the New York World’s Fair in 1964, GE Silicones - the inventor of silicone - showcased the product in Flushing, New York, it’s been used ever since and seems to be exploding recently in the roofing marketplace.” – Bob Burwasser, Episode #69

• Listen Now