SMP 111: Innovative Data Driven Solar Insurance Solutions

Episode Summary In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy talks with Jason Kaminsky who is COO at kwh Analytics which is insuring the energy transition through the most comprehensive renewable energy data.  Jason speaks about many interesting topics like how kwh uses data to create insurance products like their solar revenue put product, how hail storm in Texas damaged a solar plant and how that impacted the insurance market, and underperformance of solar projects is common based on the forecast production.  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. Jason Kaminsky Jason Kaminsky is the COO at kWh Analytics. Just prior to joining kWh Analytics, Jason spent more than three years as a Vice President of Environmental Finance at Wells Fargo Bank. As a senior member of the Wells Fargo deal team, Jason originated, underwrote, and financed tax-equity investments during a time when the bank added nearly $1bn of solar assets. Prior to joining Wells Fargo in 2011, Jason worked at SPG Solar, where he supported the CEO on strategic corporate initiatives. Jason received both his B.S. in Mathematics and his B.S. in Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Environmental Sciences from UCLA. He holds an M.S. degree in Environment and Resources from Stanford University, and also completed his M.B.A. at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: [email protected]  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Jason Kaminsky Website:  https://www.kwhanalytics.com Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkam/ Email:  [email protected] Contact US at kwh Analytics https://www.kwhanalytics.com/contact Email:  [email protected] Solarscape(formerly Lendscape): https://www.kwhanalytics.com/solarscape 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 [email protected]  Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on iTunes,Podbean, youtube, and most of the major podcast platforms. This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)