SMP 77: Expert Insights: Driving Growth in the Energy Storage Industry

SMP 77:  Expert Insights: Driving Growth in the Energy Storage Industry Episode Summary In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Kelly Speakes-Backman who is the first CEO of the U.S. Energy Storage Association (“ESA”) discusses about the many benefits of energy storage.  She also talks about how the cost is decreasing exponentially and the storage capacity keeps increasing significantly, how it is a game changer for intermittent power sources, and many other interesting topics. Our Host 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. Our Guest Kelly Speakes-Backman is the first Chief Executive Officer of The U.S. Energy Storage Association (ESA), the national trade organization for the energy storage industry. Serving as CEO since 2017, Kelly leads the association’s efforts to represent the interests of energy storage in the United States, including policy, external relations and industry leadership. Kelly has spent over 20 years working in energy and environmental issues in the public, NGO and private sectors, including United Technologies, SunEdison and Alliance to Save Energy. She is a former Commissioner of the Maryland Public Service Commission.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: @bthanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Kelly Speakes-Backman ESA Phone Number:  +1 202 293-0537 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @KSpeakesBackman Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyspeakesbackman/ Energy Storage Association Website:  https://energystorage.org/   Sponsor: Thank you to Silverline Communications for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. Sillverline Communications, an integrated marketing and PR agency focused on clean and emerging tech, is headquartered in DC with satellite offices in Chicago and Salt Lake City. To learn more about Silverline, go to teamsilverline.com.  You can reach Silverline at 703-286-5500 or [email protected]. We interviewed Laura Taylor who is the CEO and Founder of Silverline Communications on Episode 59: Lessons Learned from Clean Energy Entrepreneur. Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, Podbean, youtube, and most other podcasting platforms. This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)