SMP 51: Community Solar - New Jersey 101

Episode Summary

 

In this episode, Benoy and Suzanne provide a general overview of the Community Solar program in various states and have a high-level discussion about the Community Solar initiative in New Jersey, including a deep-dive into tax credits and how they affect the development of solar projects.

 

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

 

Insight from this episode:

 

• The basics of the Community Solar initiative, including how it is defined by SEIA.
• The differences in the New Jersey pilot program versus other Community Solar programs.
• How Community Solar programs are growing and what challenges are facing those programs.
• How the SREC and ITC may affect the future of these programs and customers. 
• Specifics on the New Jersey incentives and their effect on other markets. 

 

Quotes from the show:

• “Community Solar is one of the next big things in solar.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #51 
• “Seems like financiers of community solar projects are getting comfortable with having a substantial number of the customers as residential and there is no long-term contracting.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #51 
• “Politicians love community solar because it provides access to people who would not normally have solar.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #51
• Referring to the SREC: “What’s been challenging, actually, for developers who have been trying to develop projects in New Jersey for Community Solar is that they’re not sure they’ll get approved for the project and for the projects built, if they’ll qualify for that 5.1%.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #51
• “The word mediocre stings a little bit when you hear it.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #51  
• “If you really want to do big things, you have to be uncomfortable.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #51   
• “Carpe Solum.  For those of you that don’t know, it means: seize the sun” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #51 

Benoy’s quote of the day: “If you don’t dream big, you’ll only ever be mediocre.”

 

Podcasts Mentioned:

 

SMP 23: Community Solar 101 with Benoy Thanjan and Suzanne Waters

SMP 44: Community Solar 201 with Benoy Thanjan and Suzanne Waters

SMP 19: Customer Acquisition and Billing in Community Solar with Benoy Thanjan and Eric Dahnke

 

Resources mentioned: 

 

Solar Renewable Energy Credit

 

Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

 

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) - Community Solar

 

Stay Connected:

 

Benoy Thanjan

 

Email: info@reneuenergy.com

LinkedIn: @bthanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

 

Suzanne Waters

Email: suzanne@reneuenergy.com 

LinkedIn: Suzanne Waters

Website: www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

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This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)