S1E2 episode overview

In this episode of Watt Matters, Ana talks with Benoy Thanjan, founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, about the key levers and barriers to financing and developing solar projects.

Drawing on his experience in project originations, environmental commodities, and structuring solar deals, Benoy provides a grounded view of what’s working — and where things break down — for solar today.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why securing financing is often the make-or-break moment for solar projects — and how perception of risk can shift the game.

• How Benoy thinks about navigating the “valley of death” during pre-construction, and what strategies help push projects across to completion.

• Why small and large developers face different hurdles, especially in permitting, site evaluation, and interconnection.

• How environmental commodities (like SRECs / RECs) and off-take agreements factor into project economics — and how being savvy here can tip margins.

• The importance of high-quality engineering, organized processes, strong financial modeling, and automation in making solar development less risky and more repeatable.

• Why efficiency, not just scale, might define the next phase of solar growth — with better tools, more transparent data, and improved teamwork.

Chapters

00:00 Opening – Who is Benoy Thanjan
02:30 Reneu Energy: from project finance to developer & advisor role
05:50 Identifying project risk early
09:10 The pre-construction Valley of Death
13:00 Structuring finance: debt, equity, and environmental commodities
16:40 Permitting, interconnection & process bottlenecks
20:15 Tools, automation & engineering quality
24:00 Future Trends & Scaling Smart

To learn more about scaling solar projects profitably and how Reneu Energy supports developers, financiers, and startups, visit www.reneuenergy.com