Solar Maverick Podcast

Recent Episodes

1. SMP 294: Solar’s New Reality: Capital, Storage, and the Race to Execute

   Aug 4, 2026

   Benoy Thanjan, Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and host of the Solar Maverick Podcast, discusses the dramatic shift in solar development capital, market consolidation, and the rising complexity of project execution. He and host Peter Pongracz examine why early-stage solar projects struggle to attract investment, why solar-plus-storage is becoming the market standard, and the critical role of local relationships and regulatory navigation in project success. The episode highlights the paradox that while solar technology is simple, the financing, permitting, interconnection, and delivery mechanisms have become increasingly complex.

2. SMP 293: Why Execution Will Decide the Next Clean Energy Winners

   Jul 29, 2026

   Benoit and David discuss key takeaways from the Solar Energy Industry Association's recent finance, tax, and buyer seminar in New York City (June 23-24, 2026). They cover clean energy market strength, execution challenges including permitting and interconnection delays, policy uncertainty around tax credits, and domestic manufacturing investments. The episode also examines ISO New England's transition cluster study results showing significant infrastructure upgrade costs, and trends in nuclear project development concentrated in the Southeast, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

3. SMP 292: Where the Capital Is Flowing: Inside S&P Global’s Clean Energy Investment Trends Report

   Jul 21, 2026

   James Gutman, Senior Principal Analyst at S&P Global Energy Capital Insights, discusses findings from S&P Global's Clean Energy Investment Trends Report produced in partnership with ACORE. The conversation covers record capital flows into U.S. renewable energy, Texas's dominance in solar and wind deployment, the critical role of transmission infrastructure, FIAC compliance concerns, battery storage economics, and the emerging challenge of data center power demand reshaping electricity markets. Gutman also addresses the industry's transition toward market-based competition as federal tax credits phase out.

4. SMP 291: How Bees, Biodiversity Data, and Agrivoltaics Are Transforming Solar Farms

   Jul 15, 2026

   Matt Coleman, CEO of Davis Hill Development and Principal of Skyview Ventures, discusses the company's innovative partnership with HiveTracks, a biodiversity monitoring program that uses beehives as environmental biosensors on solar sites. The conversation covers how HiveTracks analyzes honey, pollen, and environmental DNA to track ecosystem health, inform habitat restoration decisions, and demonstrate community stewardship. Matt also explores agrivoltaics initiatives including grazing, hay production, and cranberry bog projects, the importance of long-term farmer partnerships, and Skyview's broader portfolio spanning renewable energy credits, venture investing in cleantech startups, and EV charging infrastructure.

5. SMP 290: Community Solar, Storage, and Getting Projects Done with Noelle Paige of Aspen Power

   Jul 8, 2026

   Noelle Paige, Vice President of Project Development at Aspen Power, discusses the company's focus on community solar and distributed generation projects across stable markets like New York, Illinois, and Maryland. She shares her decade-long career path from classical ballet and public administration through roles at Cypress Creek Renewables, Sol Systems, Summit Ridge Energy, and Onyx Renewables, emphasizing her leadership philosophy of working for her team rather than the reverse. The conversation covers project development bottlenecks, the ITC sunset impact on solar economics, battery storage opportunities, and Noelle's involvement with Solar Sisters and the Let's Share the Sun delegation to Puerto Rico, highlighting the importance of women's leadership and diversity in renewable energy.

6. SMP 289: The Author of The Lean Startup Explains How to Build an Incorruptible Company

   Jun 30, 2026

   Eric Ries, bestselling author of The Lean Startup, discusses his new book Incorruptible with Solar Maverick Podcast host Benoy Thanjan. Ries explains how successful companies lose their mission as they grow and take on outside capital, and explores governance structures, legal frameworks, and aligned incentives that protect mission integrity. The conversation covers case studies including Costco, FedMart, and Anthropic, along with practical tools for mission-driven companies—particularly those in renewable energy and climate tech.

7. SMP 288: Why Solar Racking Can Make or Break a Project

   Jun 24, 2026

   Bill Taylor, CEO and owner of DCE Solar, discusses his 17-year journey building one of the solar industry's most resilient racking and construction companies. Starting with a background in engineering and robotics, Taylor founded DCE Solar in 2009 and expanded from a racking supplier into a diversified group serving the full solar project lifecycle—racking systems, construction services, engineering and design, carports, ground mounts, rooftop systems, and single-axis trackers. The conversation covers Taylor's philosophy of financial discipline, strong company culture, and long-term customer relationships over price competition, along with technical expertise in challenging terrain and cold climates, DCE's exclusive U.S. partnership with Spain's Axial Structures, and the critical role of reliable power for AI and data center growth in U.S. energy strategy.

8. SMP 287: Solar Surpasses Coal in the U.S. but Legal and Political Risks Are Rising

   Jun 19, 2026

   David Magid and Benoy Thanjan discuss emerging legal and regulatory risks in the U.S. solar and energy storage sectors, including battery leakage litigation in Suffolk County and a major 600+ MW solar project permit revocation in Ohio. They explore how data centers and large commercial users are increasingly adopting behind-the-meter solar and storage to overcome grid interconnection delays and ensure reliable power. The episode highlights solar's historic milestone of surpassing coal in U.S. electricity generation in May 2026, and examines why pairing solar with battery storage enhances value and grid flexibility.

9. SMP 286: How AI Is Making Project Finance 10x Faster

   Jun 11, 2026

   Inigo, co-founder and CEO of Concentro, discusses his clean energy entrepreneurship journey and the creation of Folio, an AI-powered diligence software platform for renewable energy project financing. Concentro operates as a tax credit transfer broker helping IPPs, developers, and project owners convert tax credits to cash, while Folio streamlines document processing, diligence workflows, and asset management using AI document classification and extraction. The episode covers how Folio evolved from an internal tool into a standalone product that reduces diligence timelines from weeks to days and improves data accuracy across M&A, lending, and tax credit transactions.

10. SMP 285: How Battery Storage Is Powering the Future of the Grid with Russell Laplante, CFO of Convergent Energy and Power

    Jun 4, 2026

    Russell Laplante, CFO of Convergent Energy and Power, discusses his nearly two-decade career in renewable energy spanning wind, utility-scale solar, and battery storage. The conversation covers Convergent's business model developing and operating behind-the-meter and utility-scale battery storage projects, including how they save commercial and industrial customers up to 40% on energy bills and help utilities defer costly infrastructure upgrades. Laplante explains the financing structures specific to distributed energy resources, including tax equity, debt, and portfolio approaches, and addresses emerging opportunities in data center power supply and FEOC compliance challenges.