SMP 184: How Catalyze is scaling solar & storage project ownership for C&I and Distributed Solar Projects?

In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy interviews Jared Haines, CEO and COO of Catalyze.  Catalyze is accelerating the large-scale transition to clean, renewable energy by making it easy and profitable to integrate smart energy resources into new and existing infrastructure.  Jared speaks about how Catalyze differentiates from other Independent Power Producers(“IPPs”), how the company is able to scale asset ownership, and what states they are focused on.   Benoy Thanjan Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies.  He has extensive project origination, development, and financial experience in the renewable energy industry and in the environmental commodities market.   This includes initial site evaluation, permitting, financing, sourcing equipment, and negotiating the long-term energy and environmental commodities off-take agreements. He manages due diligence processes on land, permitting, and utility interconnection and is in charge of financing and structuring through Note to Proceed (“NTP”) to Commercial Operation Date (“COD”). Benoy composes teams suitable for all project development and construction tasks. He is also involved in project planning and pipeline financial modeling. He has been part of all sides of the transaction and this allows him to provide unique perspectives and value. Benoy has extensive experience in financial engineering to make solar projects profitable. 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 was the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners which is a national solar installer where he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects.  He also worked for Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund, where he analyzed potential investments in renewable energy projects and worked on maximizing the financial return of the projects in the portfolio.  Benoy also worked on the sale of all of the renewable energy projects in Ridgewood’s portfolio.     He was in the Energy Structured Finance practice for Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young.  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. He has a MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University.  Benoy was an Alumni Scholar at the Stern School of Business.     Jared Haines Jared Haines brings over 20 years of senior leadership experience to Catalyze in his role as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operations Officer. Prior to his current role, Jared was Catalyze’s Vice President of Project and Business Development, leading his team in co-developing and acquiring Solar and Storage opportunities across the US with a focus in the NY Metro area. Jared boasts an impressive expertise in the solar sector, co-founding Mercury Solar Systems in 2006 and overseeing several business units as the company’s President before a merger in 2014 with RGS Energy. At RGS, he managed the commercial division as the Chief Revenue Officer. Jared also has experience developing the solar distributed generation team as the Head of Origination for Nextera energy, and providing Community Solar development and consulting services for solar projects as a Principal for Sol Alliance. Jared earned his bachelor’s degree from Tufts University.     Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: [email protected]  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Jared Haines Website:  https://catalyze.com/ LInkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-haines-4282b66/       We would like to thank Positive Deviancy for sponsoring this episode of the podcast.   Jade Garrett, founder of Positive Deviancy, is a Power Connector for the DOE’s American-Made Program. Since 2018, Positive Deviancy has helped over 400 teams access $14 million in innovation funding from the American-Made Challenges.    Email:  [email protected] Website:  www.PositiveDeviancy.com/  Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jadegarrett/    Contact Jade directly via email to get help to apply for these Energy Prizes:     Community Power Accelerator Round 3 Prize - Due  December 17th, 2024 The Community Power Accelerator R3 Prize is designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and codevelopers to grow multiple successful community-benefiting distributed solar projects. 25 teams are each awarded up to $400k.   TCU Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize - Due December 4th, 2024 The Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize encourages Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to develop student-led demonstration projects that increase their knowledge on clean energy and food sovereignty on TCU campuses. 30 TCUs can be awarded up to $250k for energy projects.    Join Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the Winter Solstice Fundraiser Celebrate the holidays with us at the Winter Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy, Positive Deviancy, and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Wednesday, December 4th, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. We'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy.  Event Highlights: Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with an open bar from 6 PM to 8 PM and delicious food throughout the evening. Tickets: Early Bird Pricing of $65 per person.  The pricing would be $75 starting on 11/27.   You can RSVP using the link provided below. Partnership with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia: We're excited to partner with Grand Stand Sports & Memorabilia, who will be offering sports memorabilia and experiences for sale. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Let's Share the Sun Foundation. Sponsorship Opportunities: If you're interested in sponsoring this event and helping make a difference, please contact us at [email protected].   https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1448299