Episode Summary
In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Paul Warley who is the CEO of Ascent Solar Technologies which is manufacturer of innovative, high performance, flexible thin-film solar panels for both existing and emerging agrivoltaic, space, and aerospace applications. Paul talks about how thin-film solar will play a vital role with the renewable energy transition specially in space and agrivoltaics and the rapid rise of solar power in space.
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 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 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.
Paul Warley
Prior to Ascent, Warley was president of Warley & Company LLC, a strategic advisory firm from 2015 to 2022 – providing executive management services, capital advisory, and M&A to middle-market companies in the service, construction, technology, oil & gas, clean energy, food, retail and green-building sectors.
While at Warley & Company from 2018 to 2019, he was engaged as chief executive officer and CFO of 360Imaging, a provider of products and services for implant surgery and digital dentistry.
From 2011 to 2015, Warley served clients in the alternative energy industry as a managing director and chief compliance officer with Deloitte Corporate Finance.
From 1997 to 2011, Warley was managing director and region manager for GE Capital.
From 1984 to 1997, Warley served as senior vice president with Bank of America and Bankers Trust.
Stay Connected:
Benoy Thanjan
Email: info@reneuenergy.com
LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan
Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com
Paul Warley
Website: https://ascentsolar.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-warley-015203a/
Our 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, owner representation and technical consulting in all areas of solar photovoltaics and energy storage for the Commercial & Industrial and Utility markets. At Schwerd Consulting we like to say that We Know Solar. We don’t just Do Solar. What sets us apart is our 100% focus on solar, while having an extensive background in building and utility engineering, and understanding the business of our clients. We are involved with the trends, technologies, vendors, policies, utilities, codes, and financial considerations for the industry. Therefore, value add for us is not just a slogan, it’s what we practice in order to have loyal customers and gain trust.
In its 9 years of business, Schwerd Consulting has provided services for approximately 1 GW of PV across over 800 sites and 17 US states plus the Caribbean. 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 to admin@schwerdconsulting. Schwerd Consulting’s website is www.schwerdconsulting.com.
SMP 119: How Enerflo’s software solution is innovating residential solar and lowering soft costs?
SMP 118: REACTIVATE: The New Innovative Solar Platform, Powered by Invenergy and Lafayette Square
SMP 117: European Commercial Solar Discussion with the Pioneer of PPA Financing in Europe
SMP 116: Innovative Financing Solutions for Developers to Own Solar Projects
SMP 115: How solar projects produce EMF radiation and how this can be cleaned and filtered?
SMP 114: Developer discusses how to develop a great solar project and what solar markets in the US to focus on.
SMP 113: How Clean Choice Energy is the easiest way for a customer to procure renewable energy?
SMP 112: Developer/Owner Discusses Great States in the US to Develop Solar
SMP 111: Innovative Data Driven Solar Insurance Solutions
SMP 110: 30 Year Solar Veteran discusses solar‘s future and the Australian Market
SMP 109: Expert‘s Insights on the Texas Renewable Energy Market
SMP 108: How RatedPower is lowering technology costs and innovating with their engineering design software?
SMP 107: Expert in ESG and Traceability discusses how it impacts the Solar Supply Chain
SMP 106: The Future of Solar on Agriculture Land with Dual-Use
SMP 105: CEO of ConnectDER discusses how the Electricity Grid can be more efficient and reliable with Distributed Energy Resources
SMP 104: CEO of Leading Residential Solar and Home Improvement Loan Provider Discusses Innovations in Distributed Energy and Storage
SMP 103: LG’s Business Development Executive Discusses Trends in Residential Solar Customer Acquisition
SMP 102: Renewable Energy Job Trends and Outlook
SMP 101: Leader of the Largest US Solar Installer Discusses Current Innovations and Future Trends in Solar and Storage
SMP 100: US Residential Solar, Storage, and Electric Vehicle Trends
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures Podcasts
Rationally Speaking
Big Ideas: Science
Math Mutation
The Science Bar Podcast