SMP 55: Solar on Cannabis Grow Facilities

Episode Summary

In this episode, Benoy and Suzanne celebrate Suzanne’s 10th podcast episode with the Solar Maverick Podcast and talk about the upcoming Reneu Energy Holiday Party. They also update us on the New Jersey Community Solar Pilot Program and recap some previous Solar Maverick podcasts before covering energy consumed by cannabis grow facilities and the inevitable inclusion of renewable energy.

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.

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.

Insights from this episode:

Details on what it is like to be on a podcast, upcoming Solar Maverick podcasts, and what to expect from Solar Maverick in the future.
Strategies on applying for the New Jersey Community Solar Pilot Program.
Benefits of sophisticated grow facilities and how they work.
Details on specific energy usage of cannabis cultivation.
Benefits of the integration of two growing industries, solar and cannabis.

Quotes from the show: 

On the cannabis industry: “It’s a huge growth area in the solar industry, especially as cannabis gets legalized in more and more states throughout the United States.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
The way that Reneu Energy is different from other developers: “ We believe that solar is not the only solution.  That it is a multi-prong solution.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #55
On indoor grow facilities: “You know you’re yielding a better product which will give you better revenue.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
“Most people in the cannabis industry are about, obviously, using less electricity and, obviously, renewable forms of electricity.”   – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #55
On Benoy touring MMD Shops: “It sounds very intricate, actually. I feel like there’s a lot of details behind-the-scenes that you don’t realize go into actually growing the plants.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
“I’m still stuck on the amount of power that goes into running these facilities.” Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
“It will just be interesting to see how these industries, solar and cannabis, … it will be interesting to see how they grow and progress, complimenting one another.” – Suzanne Waters, Episode #55
On the outlook of solar and cannabis industries: “Both industries are growing exponentially and both will be growing for a very long time.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #55

Podcasts Mentioned: 

SMP 42: Live Event - How Solar Technology is Changing the World

SMP 45: Productivity Tips and Entrepreneurial Advice from the CEO and Founder of the Number 1 Millennial Platform Called Mogul with Benoy Thanjan and Tiffany Pham

Resources Mentioned:

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC)

Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance (SIAA)

Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Industries Association (MSSIA)

Can solar help the legal marijuana growing industry?  by Kelly Pickerel - Solar Power World Online

Greentours.com

Can solar help the legal marijuana growing industry? by Benoy Thanjan - Solar World Online

Achieving Affordable, Clean Energy Goals Through Off-Site Corporate PPAs - Renewable Energy World by Benoy Thanjan - Renewable Energy World

'A model of sustainable commerce': carbon footprint, grid concerns push SoCal weed industry to be more green by Melissa Daniels - Desert Sun

Conferences Mentioned:

Reneu Energy Holiday Party

The Reneu Energy Holiday Party will be on Thursday, Dec. 5th from 6 pm to 9 pm at Hudson Hall in Jersey City. We will also be celebrating the holidays and the 50th episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast which is one of the most popular podcasts in solar. The cost to attend the event is $10 and food will be served.

Reneu Energy's CEO Benoy is also a co-owner of the event venue, Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse.

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn:Benoy Thanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

Suzanne Waters

Email: [email protected] 

LinkedIn: Suzanne Waters

Website: www.reneuenergy.com

Facebook: Reneu Energy

Sponsor:

We would like to thank our sponsor for this podcast episode Infiniti Energy Services.

Infinity Energy Services is a turn key solar development company with the focus on origination of opportunities between Maine and Virginia. They use their ability to structure financing and EPC projects as a value add with their partners. To learn more about Infiniti go to their web-site www.infinitienergyservices.net or contact Tom Loredo- Director of Project Origination 732-370-2446

We interviewed Michael Kushner who is the President at Infiniti Energy Services on Episode 49 of the Solar Maverick Podcast.

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