The Solar Frontier: A GreenHomeNYC x Solar Maverick Podcast collaboration

This forum will take a look at some of the lesser known, but critical parts of the solar energy industry that are helping open new markets, are at the forefront of innovation, and in the early stages of development and growth. After speaker presentations, we will have a special 30 minute Q&A panel moderated by Benoy Thanjan, Host of the Solar Maverick Podcast. Join the discussion around pushing the limits of technology and policy for Agrivoltaics, the co-location of solar energy and agriculture production

Doors open at 6:15 PM. Refreshments will be served. Stick around for networking afterwards!

Date: Wednesday, August 21st

Time: 6:30PM - 8:00PM

Location: Häfele America Co. Showroom, 20 West 22nd Street, #suite 201, New York, NY 10010

Speakers for this event include:

Dylan McAuliffe ///// Vice President of Project Development, Pfister Energy

Jack Clayton ///// Utility Solar General Manager at SolarEdge

Jeremy Wyble ///// Senior Project Manager, Large-Scale Renewables at NYSERDA

Benoy Thanjan ///// Founder and CEO, Reneu Energy & Host, Solar Maverick Podcast

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Dylan McAuliffe

Dylan McAuliffe is the Vice President of Project Development at Pfister Energy. He has been working in the Renewables Industry in various roles since 2015. Dylan’s areas of specialization include Behind-the-Meter Commercial and Industrial Solar integration, Battery Storage, and Community Solar project development, with a particular focus on how policy developments create project opportunities. Dylan works closely with key stakeholders such as engineers, site owners, and electric utilities in every phase of the development process to ensure each project creates the most value with the highest likelihood of success. He sits on the board of directors for the Mid-Atlantic Solar and Storage Association (MSSIA), and the Chesapeake Solar and Storage Association (CHESSA).

Before entering the Renewables Industry Dylan was a schoolteacher for ten years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Music Studies from William Paterson University. Dylan is a member of the American Political Science Association. His hobbies include playing the guitar and violin and playing baseball with his son. Dylan is a JLPT level two Japanese speaker and was formerly licensed as a General Securities Representative with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

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Jack Clayton

In 2008, after a 23-year Engineering career at Intel, Jack left to pursue a career in Solar. He joined Advanced Energy, a Semi-conductor power supply manufacturer with a new product to enter the Solar industry. He and his team brought Advanced Energy to number one in Solar inverter space with Central inverters from 20KW to 1MW. In 2014 he joined Power Electronics, a Spanish Drives company in their movement into the Utility Solar space. Power Electronics went to number one with 2-3.5MW central inverters. In 2018 he joined Sungrow and by 2022, Sungrow was number one Utility Solar inverter with 2.5-4.4MW central inverters and a 7GW annual sales. SolarEdge invited him in 2022 to be the Utility Solar GM and together they have developed several innovative solutions for Agri-PV, Community and small Utility Solar.

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Jeremy Wyble

Jeremy Wyble is a Senior Project Manager for NYSERDA’s Large-Scale Renewables Program. He has over 18 years of experience in the solar energy industry. Jeremy’s current responsibilities at NYSERDA include management of REC contracts for approximately 20 large-scale renewable energy projects in various stages of development, construction and operation, while serving as the primary point of contact with internal and external stakeholders related to these projects. Additionally, Jeremy is the lead project manager for the New York State Agricultural Technical Working Group (A-TWG), including the A-TWG’s Agrivoltaics Specialist Committee whose purpose is to encourage further deployment of agrivoltaics in New York State that is beneficial to farmers and their communities while maintaining and demonstrating viable commercial agriculture operations.

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Benoy Thanjan

Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, an advisor for several solar startup companies, and host of The Solar Maverick Podcast.

Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016. 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. He was in the Energy Structured Finance practice for Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young. 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.

The Solar Maverick Podcast is where discussion on the solar and energy markets intersect with entrepreneurship and trailblazing. Benoy is known for his passion, leadership and style. Always eager to truly learn from his guests, he digs deep and provides a tangible blueprint for his listeners to put what he’s learning to immediate use - making the show not only funny but entertaining, energetic and hyper-useful. The Podcast is on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Goalcast, Stitcher Radio, and Podbean.

If you have any questions, please contact the GreenHomeNYC Forums group at forums@greenhomenyc.org.

Since 2002, GreenHomeNYC has been promoting an energy efficient and sustainable built environment, and supporting green professional development in NYC.

Visit www.greenhomenyc.org to learn more!