SMP 62:  Impact of Renewable Energy on the Future of Real Estate

 
Episode Summary
This episode of Solar Maverick Podcast is a live panel discussion from the Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar held in Dallas, Texas from October 2019.  Lisa Brown from Johnson Controls, Susan Nickey from Hannon Armstrong, Benoy Thanjan from Reneu Energy and Todd Samson from Deloitte & Touche participated in a panel discussion on the role of renewable energy in real estate.
 
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.
 
Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown joined Johnson Controls in 2003. As national director for municipal infrastructure and smart cities, Lisa is responsible for the growth of the local government market in North America, including the development of strategies, offerings, and innovations for local government service and systems markets. In 2015, Lisa created Johnson Controls' local government urban growth initiative, which combines smart city solutions with community outreach and workforce enhancement for midsize to large municipal customers. Lisa is consistently sought out to deliver keynote presentations and participate on smart city and IoT panels to discuss how data can assist cities to become "smarter" and its relation to climate resiliency, smart infrastructure, and economic growth.
Lisa was recently nominated to join the Women of Municipal Government committee for the National League of Cities and the Smart Communities Advisory board for the International City Managers Association. For the past three years, she has been the leader of the East Region Women's Resource Network of Johnson Controls and served as a global ambassador for International Women's Day. Lisa served 15 years with the Junior League of Montclair-Newark, four of those years as director of community development and outreach in Newark, New Jersey. Lisa currently is a board member of the Rumson-Fair Haven Education Foundation. In 2016, she was honored as a NY Women of Valor and received the Humanitarian Award from St. Francis Food Pantries and Shelters, which support 1.5 million food-disadvantaged New Yorkers annually.
 
Susan Nickey
Susan Nickey is a Managing Director at Hannon Armstrong, a leading provider of debt and equity financing to the energy efficiency and renewable energy markets. Susan has over 25 years of executive leadership in the energy and finance sectors. She has focused her efforts on proving that creative solutions and innovation can make the production of clean energy more profitable, competitive, affordable and mainstream. Most recently, she founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Threshold Power. Prior to working at Threshold, she served as Chief Financial Officer at ACCIONA Energy North America. She was named one of Women’s eNews’ 21 Leaders for the 21st Century for her leadership in sustainable development. Susan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.
 
Todd Samson
Todd Samson is a Certified Public Accountant and Tax Partner with Deloitte & Touche in the greater Chicago area.  Todd was the moderator for the Impact of Renewable Energy on the Future of Real Estate at the Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar in 2019 and has presented about renewable energy at the Deloitte 2017 Power & Utilities Fall Seminar. He graduated from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in 2003 with a master's degree in business and a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
 
Insights from this episode:
Details on how the role of renewable energy has changed and grown over the past several years and the future role renewables will play in the real estate market.
Details on what is driving interest in renewable energy such as sustainability and concern for climate change.
Strategies for addressing and overcoming concerns from government agencies regarding the implementation of renewable energy sources. 
How software will be very important to monetize different energy technologies and storage through for example resiliency and demand reduction.
Strategies municipalities are employing to create new revenue streams and monetize the renewable energy market.
Details on where the most significant opportunities exist in real estate in regards to renewable energy. 
How to overcome the challenges of financing renewables in real estate.
Details on the United States renewable energy market versus the international renewable energy market and where innovation is going to come from in the future.

 
Quotes from the show:
On the mission of Johnson Controls: “Building renewables into the fabric of our overall holistic projects is definitely a priority for us and we help owners and building developers really pivot toward being more environmentally conscious.” – Lisa Brown, Episode #62
“Renewables are converging with energy efficiency and other technologies which is exciting to see.”  – Susan Nickey, Episode #62
On solar power: “As a technology, people have gotten very comfortable with it in a very short period of time … so the conversations are a lot easier than they were.”  – Benoy Thanjan, Episode #62
On people and businesses moving and working in urban areas: “They are demanding, as part of the mandate when they move in, that they need green [renewable energy] and that they are willing to pay higher for it.” – Lisa Brown, Episode #62
“The world is watching what North America is doing so developers and municipal leaders … need to be progressive in order to survive.”  – Lisa Brown, Episode #62
“Corporations have been the big drivers and they are forcing cities and states to open up the market to renewable energy.”  – Susan Nickey, Episode #62
“It is very difficult for America, at least for the states, to be able to do sweeping innovation (across) the entire United States because we all adhere to different rules and different forms of government.” – Lisa Brown, Episode #62




Resources Mentioned:
2019 Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar
Investment Tax Credit (ITC)
Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

Stay Connected:
 
Benoy Thanjan
Email: info@reneuenergy.com
LinkedIn: @bthanjan
Website: Reneu Energy
 
Lisa Brown
LinkedIn: Lisa Brown
Website: Johnson Controls
 
Susan Nickey
LinkedIn: Susan Nickey
Website:  Hannon Armstrong
 
Todd Samson
LinkedIn: Todd Samson
Website: Deloitte LLP
 
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, and owner representation in all areas of solar photovoltaics (PV) for the Commercial & Industrial and Utility markets.
At Schwerd Consulting they like to say that We Know Solar. We don’t just Do Solar. What sets them apart is their 100% focus on solar and understanding the business of their clients.  
In its 5 years of business, Schwerd Consulting has provided services for approximately 450 MW of PV across over 330 sites and 15 states plus the Caribbean. That total includes 300MW of completed designs and engineering, and 150MW of consulting and owner rep services. 
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 at admin@schwerdconsulting.  Schwerd Consulting’s website is www.schwerdconsulting.com.
Steve Schwerd who is the Owner of Schwerd Consulting was interviewed on Episode 17 and Episode 48 of the Solar Maverick Podcast and Episode 42 of which he was on panel discussion on How Solar Technology is Changing the World.
 
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