Solar Maverick Podcast

Episode Summary Benoy Thanjan shares his key takeaways from Climate Week NYC, focusing on what it takes to turn clean energy commitments into financed, built, and operating projects. He discusses early community and investor engagement, permitting and interconnection challenges, supply-chain traceability, cybersecurity, and how AI and data-center demand are driving interest in behind-the-meter gen...

Episode Summary In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan speaks with Sachu Constantine, Executive Director of Vote Solar, about why state-level policy is becoming increasingly important to the future of solar. They discuss major industry challenges including interconnection delays, permitting, policy uncertainty, and rising electricity demand from AI, data centers, EVs, and ele...

Episode Summary In this milestone 300th episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan is joined by longtime friend and co-host Nate Jovanelly, Founder and CEO of SunRaise Capital. Benoy and Nate reflect on how much the solar industry has changed since the podcast began and explore where the market is headed next. They discuss the evolution of residential solar, the growing importance of bat...

Episode Summary Benoy Thanjan, host of the Solar Maverick Podcast, sits down with Li Wang, Head of Marketing for Reneu Energy and the Solar Maverick Podcast, for a deeply personal conversation about surviving the attacks on the World Trade Center and how that day changed the course of his life. Benoy shares what he experienced inside One World Trade Center when the first plane struck, the chaos of...

In Episode 54 of The League, Benoy Thanjan and David Magid examine how clean energy is becoming increasingly connected to national security, grid resilience and government policy. They discuss Michigan’s new statewide permitting process, which could overcome local zoning barriers and accelerate utility-scale solar development. They also explore Westinghouse’s proposed nuclear microreactor at Fort...

In Episode 53 of The League, Benoy Thanjan and David Magid discuss how the solar industry is becoming more complex as policy uncertainty, storage, cybersecurity, and grid constraints reshape project development. They look at growing concerns around inverter supply chains and national security, as well as the impact of changing rules on financing and project timelines. The conversation also covers...

In Episode 52 of The League, Benoy Thanjan and David Magid discuss several major developments shaping the future of power markets. The conversation begins with a significant New York court ruling that classified battery energy storage as a public utility, potentially giving developers a stronger path through local zoning and permitting challenges. They discuss why this legal precedent could accele...

Episode Summary On this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan speaks with Jacob Yang, a clean energy marketing and communications professional who has worked across the solar, energy storage and climate tech industries. Benoy and Jacob discuss how marketing in renewable energy has evolved, some of the biggest mistakes clean energy companies make when communicating with customers, an...

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan joins Peter Pongracz of Soliverse for a wide-ranging conversation about how the global solar market is changing. They discuss why early-stage development capital has become more difficult to secure, why investors increasingly prefer later-stage and lower-risk projects, and why solar-plus-storage is becoming the new standard in many marke...

The League Episode #51 – Show Notes In this episode of The League, Clean energy demand continues to accelerate as utilities, data centers, manufacturers, and large commercial customers seek more power. Solar, storage, transmission, and nuclear all have major opportunities, but the next phase of industry growth will depend less on demand and more on execution. In this episode of The League, we disc...

Recorded at the ACORE Finance Forum, Benoy Thanjan speaks with James Gutman of S&P Global about the findings from S&P Global’s latest report created for ACORE on the state of renewable energy finance and investment in the United States. James discusses the continued flow of capital into solar, battery storage, and other energy infrastructure, while examining the transmission, permitting, a...

Episode Summary In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan speaks with Matt Coleman, CEO of Davis Hill Development and Principal of Skyview Ventures. The conversation centers on Davis Hill's partnership with HiveTracks, an innovative program that uses beekeeping and honey analysis as a biodiversity monitoring tool on solar sites. Matt explains how HiveTracks analyzes honey, polle...

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan speaks with Noelle Paige, Vice President of Project Development at Aspen Power. Noelle shares her journey from classical ballet and public administration into renewable energy, including her work at Cypress Creek Renewables, Sol Systems, Summit Ridge Energy, Onyx Renewables, and now Aspen Power. She discusses what it takes to lead projec...

Episode Summary: In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan speaks with Eric Ries, bestselling author of The Lean Startup, about his new book, Incorruptible. Eric explains why successful companies often lose their mission as they grow, take on outside capital, and face pressure to prioritize short-term shareholder returns over long-term value. He explores how founders can protect...

Episode Summary: In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Bill Taylor, CEO and owner of DCE Solar, about his 17-year journey building one of the solar industry's most resilient racking and construction companies. Bill shares how DCE Solar grew from a racking supplier into a group of businesses spanning racking systems, construction services, engineering and design, carports...

The League Episode #50 – Show Notes In this episode of The League, Benoy Thanjan and David Magid break down the latest clean energy trends. They discuss litigation surrounding alleged battery leaks in Suffolk County, the revocation of a permit for a major Ohio solar project, and the growing regulatory risks confronting developers. They also explore why data centers, warehouses, and other large ene...

Episode Summary: In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Inigo, co-founder and CEO of Concentro and founder of Folio, about how AI is helping streamline clean energy project finance. Inigo shares the story behind Concentro and how tax credit transferability created new opportunities in the market.  The conversation focuses on Folio, an AI-powered platform created by Concen...

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan speaks with Russell Laplante, Chief Financial Officer of Convergent Energy and Power, one of the leading battery storage developers and operators in the United States. Russ shares his nearly two-decade journey in renewable energy from his Goldman Sachs training program to becoming the first employee at wind startup Own Energy in 2007, th...

Episode Summary: In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan speaks with members of the Solar Sisters about their organization, their partnership with Let’s Share the Sun Foundation, and their recent delegation to Puerto Rico around International Women’s Day. The conversation features Abby Hopper, Noelle Paige, Yejdie Olutosin, Addie Momyer, and Erin Greeson, who share how the Sol...

Episode Summary In this special episode of Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan sits down with Russell Laplante, Flavia Cabral, and Stephen Jordan to reflect on the November 2025 Puerto Rico delegation with Let’s Share the Sun. The group reflects on their time in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, where they helped install solar and storage systems, spent time with beneficiary families, and saw firsthand why...

Episode Summary In this episode, Benoy Thanjan sits down with Victoria Stulgis, President of Black Bear Energy, to explore one of the most underrated opportunities in the solar industry: commercial real estate. Black Bear Energy acts as an owner’s representative for institutional property owners, helping them deploy on-site solar and battery storage across their portfolios at scale. Victoria discu...

The League Episode #49 – Show Notes In this episode of The League, Benoy Thanjan and David Magid break down the latest clean energy trends. Benoy discusses why policy certainty matters for solar and storage, how clean energy tax credits impact project economics, and why commercial real estate owners are increasingly treating behind-the-meter solar as a profit center. David covers solar module cost...

Episode Summary: In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan speaks with Kellie MacPherson, Executive Vice President of Compliance and Security at Radian Generation and a board member of the Solar Energy Industries Association. Kellie is one of the leading experts in NERC compliance and cybersecurity for renewable energy assets. In this timely conversation, she explains why the Ma...

In this special live episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, host Benoy Thanjan moderates a panel discussion from the MSSIA(“Mid-Atlantic Solar and Storage Industries Association”) Solar and Storage Conference focused on one of the most important topics in renewable energy today: how AI is accelerating solar development, asset management, and O&M.  The panel explores how AI is both creating new...

The League Episode #49 – Show Notes David Magid and Benoy Thanjan break down major clean energy market updates, including New York’s ASAP Act, rising MISO interconnection costs, Virginia’s storage and shared solar expansion, and Freedom Forever’s bankruptcy.    Host Bio: Benoy Thanjan Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, solar developer and consulting firm, and a strategic advisor...