SMP 101: Leader of the Largest US Solar Installer Discusses Current Innovations and Future Trends in Solar and Storage

Solar Maverick Podcast

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy talks with George Hershman who is the President of Swinerton Renewable Energy and SOLV. Swinerton Renewable Energy (SRE) is the largest Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC), and Operations & Maintenance Company through SOLV for solar photovoltaic plants and energy storage facilities throughout North America. George speaks about a lot of interesting topics about new innovations and efficiencies in the solar and storage industry, reasons for significant change in the energy demand curve that will lead to more renewables, and Biden’s infrastructure plan.

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.

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.

George Hershman

George Hershman is an industry veteran who has led Swinerton Renewable Energy for 13 years and currently serves as board chairman at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). He is president of Swinerton and SOLV.

George Hershman began his tenure at Swinerton in 1997, working in project management until his promotion to San Diego Division Manager of Swinerton Management & Consulting in 2006. In response to a growing demand for renewable energy, George took on the task of building Swinerton’s presence in the renewable energy sector in 2008 and SOLV, Swinerton’s stand-alone solar operations and maintenance group, was formed in 2014.

Sponsor: Summit Ridge Energy

Thank you to Summit Ridge Energy for sponsoring this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast!

Summit Ridge Energy is the leading owner-operator of community solar projects in the United States. The team has been a strong force within the U.S. commercial solar market for years and was instrumental in the creation of "virtual" power purchase agreements and associated financing structures. Summit Ridge Energy has leveraged this experience to launch Summit Ridge Capital, a dedicated funding platform that acquires pre-operational community solar and battery storage projects.

SRE also works with land owners across the country to maximize the value of their acreage by offering predictable lease income to host their solar farms.

From site identification and system design, to take-out financing and construction management, Summit Ridge is the most complete solutions provider in the community solar space.

https://srenergy.com

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Benoy Thanjan

Email: [e-mail]

LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan

Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com

George Hershmann

Website: https://www.swinertonrenewable.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgehershman/

Company Linkedin Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/swinerton-renewable-energy/

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