Episode Summary
In this episode of Solar Maverick, Jon Powers shares the origin story of CleanCapital and how they went from an idea to a start-up to a successful investment capital firm in clean energy. Jon discusses how CleanCapital studied what was working in other business sectors to create an internal technology platform to identify and acquire clean energy assets, underwrite them efficiently, and bring new capital into the clean energy market.
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.
Jon Powers
Jon leads corporate strategy, operations, investor relations, and marketing for CleanCapital. He is a clean energy and national security expert committed to making clean energy accessible to everyone.
Prior to joining CleanCapital, Jon led public sector business development at Bloom Energy. His passion for clean energy stems from his time serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq, where he learned how vital clean energy is in protecting America’s national security. He helped to revolutionize the U.S. Army’s energy program, first as Special Adviser for Energy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army and later as Director of Outreach for the Army’s Energy Initiatives Task Force. In 2012, Jon was appointed to the post of Federal Chief Sustainability Officer by President Obama. Jon is a graduate of John Carroll University and Johns Hopkins University.
He was named to Washington Life’s Top 25 Tech Leaders in D.C., 2016 and Renewable Energy World’s inaugural Solar 40 Under 40 list.
Insights from this episode:
Quotes from the show:
Resources Mentioned:
CleanCapital Experts Only podcast hosted by Jon Powers
SMP 14: How Institutional Investment Capital is Transforming the Renewable Energy Market with Thom Byrne with Benoy Thanjan and Thom Byrne
Operation Free is a coalition of veterans and national security experts who believe oil dependence and climate change pose threats to our national security and advocate for securing America with clean energy.
Stay Connected:
Benoy Thanjan
Email: info@reneuenergy.com
LinkedIn: @bthanjan
Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com
Jon Powers
LinkedIn: Jon Powers
Website: CleanCapital
Twitter: @CleanCapital_
Sponsor:
We would like to thank Schwerd Consulting for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast.
Schwerd Consulting is a leading solar consulting firm dedicated to design, engineering, and owner representation in all areas of solar photovoltaics (PV) for the Commercial & Industrial and Utility markets.
At Schwerd Consulting they like to say that We Know Solar. We don’t just Do Solar. What sets them apart is their 100% focus on solar and understanding the business of their clients.
In its 5 years of business, Schwerd Consulting has provided services for approximately 450 MW of PV across over 330 sites and 15 states plus the Caribbean. That total includes 300MW of completed designs and engineering, and 150MW of consulting and owner rep services.
Let Schwerd Consulting take the burden off you and bring ease and expertise in all areas of Engineering & Design or help you navigate the technical world of solar.
If you are interested in learning more about Schwerd Consulting, you can call 215-219-6718 or email at admin@schwerdconsulting. Schwerd Consulting’s website is www.schwerdconsulting.com.
Steve Schwerd who is the Owner of Schwerd Consulting was interviewed on Episode 17 and Episode 48 of the Solar Maverick Podcast and Episode 42 of which he was on panel discussion on How Solar Technology is Changing the World.
They are involved with the trends, technologies, vendors, policies, utilities, codes, and financial considerations for the industry. Therefore, value add for them is not just a slogan, it’s what they practice in order to have loyal customers and gain trust.
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This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)
SMP 39: Why Landowners Should Look at Solar?
SMP 38: Why Commercial & Industrial Building Owners Should Go Solar?
SMP 37: Guest Episode - Making an Impact While Saving the World - Benoy Thanjan on the Create Your Life Series
SMP 36: The State of the Project Finance Market for Solar Energy
SMP 35: Development Capital Funding for Early Stage Solar Projects
SMP 34: The importance of solar estimating in the construction of a solar project
SMP 33: The New York Solar Market
SMP 32: The NJ Solar Market
SMP 31: Why Operations & Maintenance is so important for the useful life of the solar project
SMP 30: How to construct a great solar project
SMP 29: SREC 101
SMP 28: The Virginia Solar Market
SMP 27: How Climate Change has impacted the Economy? The PG&E Example.
SMP 26: A Developer's Perspective on the US Solar Market
SMP 25: Unique Customer Acquisition and Financing Solutions for the Commercial Energy Market
SMP 24: 2019 US Solar and Energy Storage Discussion and Solar Opportunity Zone Investment
SMP 23: Community Solar 101 with Suzanne Waters
SMP 22: US Solar Module Market Discussion and Female Entrepreneur’s Perspective with Lauren Carson
SMP 21: An Investor's Perspective on the US Solar Market
SMP 20: The Solar Intrapreneur Story: How Nate helped IGS become one of the biggest solar asset owners in the US
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