SMP 58: Residential Solar Financing and Other Interesting Topics

Description

Episode Summary

In this episode of Solar Maverick, Nathan Jovanelly of IGS Solar, solar expert and thought leader, discusses his passion for bringing renewable energy to the low-to-moderate income (LMI) residential market, solar projects for non-profit organizations, and whether new legislation to keep the Solar Investment Tax Credit("ITC") at 30 percent will be passed. Nathan talks in detail about the benefits of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), along with solar battery inverters, and all things solar.

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.

Nathan Jovanelly

Nathan Jovanelly is the Director of Business Development with IGS Solar and a thought leader in the solar industry. As an intrapreneur, Nate assisted with launching IGS Solar for both residential and commercial customers. IGS Solar started in 2014 has developed, owns, and operates more than 115MW of solar with another 25MW in construction. IGS Solar operates in 19 states, and has a booming residential division with more than 7,000 customers. In just a few short years IGS has become the 5th Largest Solar Developer based on 2017 data from GreenTech Media.

Insights from this episode:

Details on Nathan’s mission within IGS Solar and his focus on low-to-moderate income (LMI) customers.
Benefits of the cultural change happening in America in regards to how renewable energy is now viewed as a more viable energy option.
Strategies used by non-profit organizations that allow them to use the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and how the credit may also be applied to energy storage.
Details on financing solar projects in the low-to-moderate income (LMI) market.
Benefits of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and the different ways they can be employed by business and residential consumers.
Benefits of solar batteries and energy storage and the introduction of inverters to the renewable energy storage market.
Details on what Nathan views as upcoming major trends in the solar industry.

Quotes from the show:

“I believe that the next generation wants renewable energy, I think they are demanding renewable energy.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58
“We have this huge thermonuclear reactor in the sky that gives us all the power we could ever need and all we have to do is tap into that and we could start solving energy problems globally.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58
On the benefits of using Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs): “The appeal of the lease is that you have a flat payment.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58
“I really think solar plus storage is going to be such a great innovation within the (solar) industry.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #58
“Solar, to me, is a standard asset and very easy to understand, but once you couple it with storage, it takes it to another level and we are going to see a huge proliferation of solar plus storage in the near future.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #58
One of Nathan’s favorite quotes (by Winston Churchill): “The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, while an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58
“If you really believe in something, to you it’s real. It’s tangible, you can feel it, you know it.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58
On what it takes for someone to be successful: “Finding what your passion is, the value add, focusing on your strengths and just being tenacious. Taking the road less travelled.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58
From the podcast Good by Jocko Willink: “Anything bad that happens in your life, there’s always good that comes from it … because you’re going to be put in a situation where you have to adapt.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #58
On being mindful in your life: “What we really only can control is the present. We can’t change what happened in the past, we can’t do anything about the future.” – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #58
“Success is the interest of hard work.” – Nathan Jovanelly, Episode #58

Podcasts Mentioned:

SMP 20: The Solar Intrapreneur Story: How Nate helped IGS with Benoy Thanjan and Nathan Jovanelly

Good by Jocko Willink

Resources Mentioned:

The Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Atomic Habits by James Clear

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Stay Connected:

Benoy Thanjan