SMP 139: Opportunities and Challenges with the PJM Solar Market

Episode Summary

In this episode of Solar Maverick Podcast,  Benoy is joined by his co-host Nate Jovanelly and they interview Kailtin Savage from Hodson Energy and Stephanie Johnson who is the Executive Director of Chesapeake Solar & Storage Association(“CHESSA”).  There are many interesting topics that were discussed regarding the challenges of the PJM Interconnection Queue, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act(“IRA”), and finding talent for the renewable energy transition.  

Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies.  He has extensive project origination, development, and financial experience in the renewable energy industry and in the environmental commodities market.  

This includes initial site evaluation, permitting, financing, sourcing equipment, and negotiating the long-term energy and environmental commodities off-take agreements. He manages due diligence processes on land, permitting, and utility interconnection and is in charge of financing and structuring through Note to Proceed (“NTP”) to Commercial Operation Date (“COD”). Benoy composes teams suitable for all project development and construction tasks. He is also involved in project planning and pipeline financial modeling. He has been part of all sides of the transaction and this allows him to provide unique perspectives and value. Benoy has extensive experience in financial engineering to make solar projects profitable.

Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the Environmental Commodities 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 Tesla to move into the east coast markets. 

Benoy was the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners which is a national solar installer where he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects.  He also worked for Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund, where he analyzed potential investments in renewable energy projects and worked on maximizing the financial return of the projects in the portfolio.  Benoy also worked on the sale of all of the renewable energy projects in Ridgewood’s portfolio.  

He was in the Energy Structured Finance practice for Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young.  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. He has a MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University.  Benoy was an Alumni Scholar at the Stern School of Business.  

Nathan Jovanelly

Jovanelly LLC is a problem solver in the solar industry.  Nathan, the CEO, has a proven track record of simplifying complex issues and helping solar companies:   

Develop business strategies and tactics to gain a competitive advantage; 

Connect to affiliates, partnerships, and vendors to scale faster; 

Gain access to project and growth capital; 

Increase market share through operational efficiency; and 

Coach and mentor sales leadership.  

We are not just another consulting firm.  Jovanelly LLC works side by side with your team to identify the gaps that are holding you back from reaching your business goals.  We develop an implementable plan structured to optimize your current resources, and stick with you all the way through completion. We become part of your team and are invested in your success.  Jovanelly LLC focuses on helping your company reach its full potential; making your solar business limitless.

Nathan Jovanelly is also the head of business development at Enerflo.  Nate joined Enerflo because he believes everyone should have access to affordable green energy. At Enerflo they are helping their solar partners increase efficiencies and cut costs by creating a seamless customer journey from lead to PTO.

Enerflo gives your reps the most unified solar sales process in the industry. One platform, one login, one seamless experience across the entire solar customer journey.

They’re on a mission to help democratize solar energy and spread it across the globe, one well-executed deal at a time.

 

Kaitlin Savage

Kaitlin Savage is Senior Vice President of Project Development at Hodson Energy, a leading utility-scale solar and solar plus storage platform with 3 GW of renewable energy assets under development in PJM, MISO, and other US markets. Hodson is a proud partner of Great Bay Renewables.

She has a background in GIS and environmental studies/urban planning with 800+ MW project development experience across PJM. Kaitlin also has expertise in site selection, solar land use, stakeholder engagement, permitting, environmental science, local/state energy policy. 

 

Stephanie Johnson

Stephanie Johnson is the Executive Director at Chesapeake Solar & Storage Association(“CHESSA”)  CHESSA  represents the interests of manufacturers, installers, distributors and component suppliers serving Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware and Virginia.  She is an advocate for Accelerating the Renewable Energy Transition

Stay connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Website: www.reneuenergy.com

Email: info@renewenergy.com

LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan

Facebook: Reneu Energy

 

Nathan Jovanelly

Email:  nate@jovanellyllc.com

Website:  https://jovanelly.io/

Limitless Podcast:  https://jovanelly.io/limitless-podcast

Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/natejov/

 

Kaitlin Savage

Email:  kesavage@hodsoninc.com 

Website:  https://hodsonenergy.com

Linkedin:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlinsavage/

 

Stephanie Johnson 

Email:  sjohnson@chessa.org

Website:  www.chessa.org

Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-johnson-484b6017/

 

Empower Virtual Conference 2023 created by Aurora Solar

https://aurorasolar.com/empower-2023/

 

SMP 106:  Dual Use the Future of Agriculture Land

https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-106-the-future-of-solar-on-agriculture-land-with-dual-use/

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This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.