The Renewable Energy Leadership Podcast

Michael Thornhill
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  • Management
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The Renewable Energy Leadership Podcast goes beyond the technology and the megawatts into the people, the decisions, and the culture behind the energy transition. Honest, unscripted conversations with the senior leaders driving the transition. Not just what they are building. How they lead. If you lead in this sector, or aspire to, this is the conversation you have been waiting for.

Episodes

  1. 4 days ago

    Design the Permits Before the Project | Malaquias Encarnacion on BESS Development

    Most developers walk into battery storage using a solar playbook. Malaquias Encarnacion says that's exactly where projects go wrong. Storage is a different animal, and it deserves its own process, from the very first site visit through to decommissioning twenty years later. Malaquias Encarnacion is Partner and Head of Development at Carina Energy. He led the design, construction, and commissioning of the first grid-connected lithium-ion battery storage system in the US in 2008, and the first storage project to generate revenue in a US power market, PJM, in 2009. From there, his career took him through AES, Fluence, EDF Renewables, Leeward Renewable Energy, and Qcells North America, building multi-gigawatt storage pipelines across nearly every major US power market. When he started Carina Energy, he named it after that first project, the one that started it all. In this conversation, Malaquias explains why his team designs the permits before they design the projects, and how that sequencing avoids the bottlenecks that sink most storage developments. We get into how he handles community pushback on battery projects, including the misinformation he regularly has to correct in public hearings, and why he believes storage would still matter even if the broader energy transition stalled out completely. In this episode we cover: Why storage needs its own development process, and why treating it like solar leads projects into troubleHis firm's approach of designing permits before designing the project itself, and why sequencing is the real difference-makerThe industry's talent shortage, and why he believes developing your own in-house expertise matters more than chasing scarce hiresHow he handles community pushback and misinformation in public hearings, and why the goal is never to argue but to build trust before the questions are even askedWhat a world without battery storage would look like, and why he compares a battery system to an iPad that saves energy, a tool whose full potential hasn't been unlocked yetThe story behind Carina Energy's name, and the project that started his career in battery storage back in 2008 If you develop, finance, or work anywhere near utility-scale battery storage, this conversation is for you. Connect with Malaquias Encarnacion: linkedin.com/in/mencarnacionConnect with Michael Thornhill: linkedin.com/in/michael-thornhill-b42603367

  2. 21 Aug

    "Batteries Don't Generate Electricity, They Generate Solutions | Christian Sanchez"

    "Batteries don't generate electricity, they generate solutions," Christian Sanchez says. It's a line that gets at something real: if you're not selling energy the way a solar or wind plant does, you have to work out exactly what you are selling, and prove it to a bank. Christian Sanchez is Head of Power Systems Engineering at TAR. At the time of this recording, he was Corporate Director of BESS and Engineering at Zelestra, where he led teams building custom battery storage solutions across five business units. His 13-plus years in renewable energy include roles at Sargent & Lundy, AES, and S&C Electric, alongside a master's in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Indiana University. In this conversation, Christian breaks down why bankability on BESS projects starts with engineering, not finance, and what he actually looks for when hiring engineers onto his team. We get into how he leads across cultures, time zones, and languages managing teams spanning the US, Europe, and Latin America, why listening to his own team produced better results than leading with his own answers, and the simple question he asks himself before reacting to a tight deadline. In this episode we cover: Why bankability on battery storage projects is fundamentally an engineering conversation, not a finance oneThe two things Christian actually looks for when hiring engineers: drive and character, neither of which shows up on a resumeLeading global teams across the US, Europe, and Latin America, and what he's learned managing across cultures, time zones, and languagesWhy the best management decisions on his team rarely came from him, and what that taught him about listening as a leadership toolHis approach to deadline pressure: solving for one variable at a time instead of trying to fix everything at onceWhy he asks "why are we here" before reacting to any tight deadline, and how that reframes failure as part of execution rather than a threat to itWhat draws people into the clean energy transition, and why Christian believes the industry needs far more talent, technical and non-technical, in the years ahead If you lead engineers, or any team navigating complexity across borders, this conversation is for you. Views shared are Christian's own, and not those of any organisation he's been affiliated with. Connect with Christian Sanchez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiansanchezpe/ Connect with Michael Thornhill: I help renewable energy companies find exceptional talent and develop the leadership and culture that makes them stay. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-thornhill-b42603367

  3. 22 Jul

    Battery Storage Has Passed the Tipping Point | Mark Duxbury, iWell

    Some businesses trying to electrify their fleets are discovering the real barrier isn't cost, it's power. A new grid connection can cost over a million pounds, if it's even available at all. This week's guest spends his days helping businesses work around exactly that problem.Mark Duxbury is UK Country Director of BESS and EMS Solutions for iwell, a commercial battery storage and energy management company operating across four countries from its Dutch headquarters. He spent close to a decade at E.ON, followed by roles at E.Energy Group and ISTA Energy, before taking on iwell's UK expansion, backed by the company's track record of more than four hundred projects across Europe. Mark leads with a clear philosophy: give every team member a crystal clear vision of where the company is headed, and lead with empathy for what they are carrying outside of work. In this conversation, Mark explains why grid constraints are now stalling business expansion across the UK, sometimes at a cost of over a million pounds just to secure a new connection. We get into why battery storage has passed what Mark calls the tipping point on commercial viability, with returns now landing in under four years, how iwell is building the UK's first community-owned battery storage project in Oxfordshire, and what it actually takes to build an agile, energetic culture from scratch in a brand new market. In this episode we cover: Why grid constraints, not just rising energy prices, are now the bigger barrier to business expansion in the UKThe full accountability model: why iwell designs, installs, and operates every asset for ten years rather than selling and walking awayThe UK's first community-owned battery storage project in Oxfordshire, where local investment funds local energy efficiency workWhy battery storage has passed the tipping point on commercial viability, with ROI now landing in under four yearsMark's leadership philosophy: giving teams a crystal clear vision and leading with empathy for what people are carrying at work and at homeWhat agriculture, particularly poultry farming, reveals about hidden energy costs most people would not expectHis advice for leaders considering a move from a traditional corporate into a smaller, more agile business If you are thinking about where energy costs, grid capacity, and leadership collide, this conversation is for you. Connect with Mark Duxbury: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-duxbury-21ab454b Connect with Michael Thornhill: I help renewable energy companies find exceptional talent and develop the leadership and culture that makes them stay. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-thornhill-b42603367 www.thornhillgrid.com

  4. 17 Jun

    There Is No Bad Organization, Only Bad Leadership: Saurabh Chatterjee on Retention, Trust, and Leading Global Teams

    Most organisations treat retention as a problem that starts when someone hands in their notice. By then, you have already failed. That is how this week's guest sees it, and it sets the tone for one of the most direct conversations we have had on the show. Saurabh Chatterjee is Vice President of Renewables at WSP in the US, leading a team of 100 engineers and managing P&Ls in excess of $25 million. He previously served as Global Head of BESS at EDP Renewables and led negotiations on Zelestra's first utility scale battery storage project, a 935 MWh system in Chile. With over 15 years of engineering expertise across EPC, owner's engineering, IPP, and consulting, he has sat in nearly every seat in the industry, and that 360-degree view shapes everything about how he leads. In this conversation, Saurabh makes the case that there is no bad organisation, only bad leadership. We get into the real cost of losing people, why employees leave when their question of what's next goes unanswered, how to bring clarity into chaos when projects accelerate faster than planned, and why reframing failure is one of the most underrated leadership tools available. In this episode we cover: Why Saurabh believes there is no bad organisation, only bad leadership, and how that belief shapes the way he runs his teamsThe real cost of losing someone: roughly 28 weeks to reach full capacity, and $50,000 to $100,000 to replace them once they are goneWhy people do not leave when they are unhappy, they leave when what's next goes unansweredHow to bring clarity into chaos when client demands and project timelines accelerate faster than plannedReframing failure as part of execution rather than a threat to it, and why fear of failure quietly limits performanceA career built from the ground up: what moving through EPC, owner's engineering, IPP, and consulting taught him about leading global teamsIf you lead a team in renewables, or anywhere energy is moving fast, this conversation is for you. Connect with Saurabh Chatterjee: linkedin.com/in/besssolarhybrid Connect with Michael Thornhill: I help renewable energy companies find exceptional talent and develop the leadership and culture that makes them stay.linkedin.com/in/michael-thornhill-b42603367www.thornhillgrid.com EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction: there is no bad organization, only bad leadership01:04 Saurabh's background and path into renewables03:38 What a ground-up career teaches you about leading operations05:44 The seat that changed him most as a leader08:14 Leading global teams across cultures: US, Chile, Asia Pacific10:56 Why retention starts long before someone hands in their notice13:20 The question every leader needs an answer to: what's next?18:08 Why people choose WSP and what organic growth really means28:22 Bringing clarity into chaos when projects move faster than planned33:42 Reframing failure: execution over outcome37:00 Where the industry is headed and the case for all forms of energy

  5. 29 May

    The Grid Is Not Short on Generation, It's Short on Orchestration - with Mitch Berglund

    What does it actually take to lead distributed energy programmes when the grid is the deadline? Mitch Berglund is Vice President of Sales and Grid Programmes at Texas Solar, founder of iTrust Power, and a 17-year veteran of the US distributed energy industry. He has generated over $150 million in cumulative revenue including $67 million in a single year at Lumio, built and led teams of more than 50 people, and pioneered Virtual Power Plant programmes across ERCOT and CAISO. A Golden Door Award recipient recognised for top 1% national performance in sales leadership, he brings rare field-level execution experience to the VPP and storage space. In this conversation we get into what alignment really means when the grid is the deadline, how to build trust at scale across functional teams, why the leaders winning right now are operators first and talkers second, and what the arrival of AI and data centres means for distributed energy and VPPs. We also cover retention, the player-coach mentality, and why the grid is not short on generation, it is short on orchestration. In this episode we cover: Why Mitch's leadership shifted from performance-driven to execution-driven, and what that looks like in practiceWhat alignment actually means across sales, operations, financing, compliance, and market policyHow to build trust quickly inside high-growth teams and across functional boundariesWhy retention is the most underrated lever in the energy transitionVPP deployment in ERCOT: what field reality looks like versus the conceptual hypeWhy battery storage installations are fundamentally more complex than solarHow AI and data centres are creating a new class of grid customerWhy the next phase of the grid will be defined by who orchestrates the fleet, not who installs the most assetsIf you lead teams in distributed energy, storage, or grid programmes, or you are building the next chapter of your career in the energy transition, this conversation is for you. Connect with Mitch: linkedin.com/in/mitch-berglund-593389a4Connect with Michael: linkedin.com/in/michael-thornhill-b42603367 CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction and the orchestration era01:15 Mitch's background: from residential solar to grid programmes04:10 Leadership when the grid is the deadline08:10 Operators vs. talkers: what real leadership looks like09:05 What alignment actually means10:00 How to build trust at speed15:40 Advice to your younger self18:00 VPPs: hype vs. execution reality in ERCOT20:44 Why battery storage is harder than solar22:20 Retention: the most underrated lever in the energy transition27:30 The player-coach mentality and the abundant mindset34:00 Large companies vs. small teams: where people feel valued36:40 AI, data centres, and the new grid customer40:40 VPPs as the flex and shock absorber of the grid43:17 The new wave: leading in the orchestration era47:08 Wrap-up and how to connect with Mitch

  6. 6 May

    It Should Work Is Not Good Enough: Julija Kaladžinskaitė on Building a Specialist BESS Team in the Baltics

    Description: What does it take to build a specialist BESS team from scratch in a market where the margin for error is almost zero? Julija Kaladžinskaitė, CEO of Best Solutions, has done exactly that, assembling a seven-person expert team across commercial, industrial, and utility-scale BESS solutions in the Baltic States, one of Europe's fastest moving energy markets. In this conversation, we get into why she refuses to accept "it should work" as an answer, how she thinks about quality assurance in a way most companies in this space simply don't, and what transformative leadership actually looks like when you are running a startup in a complex technical market. We also cover when to walk away from a market niche, how Scandinavian business culture shaped the way she builds partnerships, and why she believes people, not technology, are the core asset of every energy company. In this episode we cover: Why "it should work" is never good enough and what she does insteadHow she brings all stakeholders, suppliers, aggregators, investors and policymakers into the same room and why it transforms client trustWhy she only hires experienced people and what she does to test BESS solutions before they ever reach a client siteThe cultural gap between European and Asian suppliers and how she bridges itWhat Solar Explain taught her about education, structured knowledge, and knowing when to walk away from a market nicheHow she balances giving people freedom to make mistakes with keeping projects on track and on deadlineWhy clarity of expectations before hiring makes every leadership decision easier afterwardsIf you work in BESS, lead a specialist team, or are building a business in a fast-moving technical market, this conversation is for you. Connect with Julija Kaladžinskaitė:linkedin.com/in/julija-kaladžinskaitė Julija Kaladžinskaitė is CEO of Best Solutions, where she built the company from the ground up in C&I and utility-scale energy storage, recruiting and shaping a top-performing team and leading the execution of its first key projects. Known for her ability to turn vision into reality, she has created new business lines in complex, fast-moving energy markets. With over a decade of experience in solar, BIPV, and renewable energy business development, Julija combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution to drive impact. She is also the founder of Solar Explain, a platform dedicated to simplifying renewable energy through education and consultancy, helping businesses and professionals confidently navigate the market. Connect with Michael Thornhill:I help renewable energy companies find exceptional talent and develop the leadership and culture that makes them stay.linkedin.com/in/michael-thornhill-b42603367

  7. 6 May

    From Siemens Director to Founder: Farshid Arman on Falling in Love With the Problem & Building Businesses That Last.

    What separates the leaders who build things that last from the ones who don't? Farshid Arman has lived that question across every stage of the energy industry: from a hydrogen storage startup with no roadmap, to 13 years commercialising energy technologies at Siemens, to VP of VPP Operations at AutoGrid, to founding FlexEnergi, a capacity-as-a-service business serving utilities across the US and Canada. In this conversation, we talk about the four questions he asks before committing to any new venture, why knowing when to walk away is the most underrated leadership skill, and how to fall in love with the problem rather than the solution. We also get into the remote work debate, what great hiring actually looks like at a startup, and why the climate problem has never been more urgent even when governments keep looking the other way. In this episode we cover: The four questions Farshid asks before committing to any new venture, and why vehicle-to-grid fails one of them right nowWhy making a hundred million dollars at Siemens felt like almost nothing, and what that taught him about impactThe difference between leading at a 500,000-person company and a ten-person startupWhy focusing on how much you have left to do matters more than how much you have already doneHow FlexEnergi is building differently from the competition, starting with the distribution grid rather than the thermostatThe Steve Jobs hiring philosophy Farshid subscribes to and how he applies itWhy mandatory office days are backwards thinking, and what a genuinely productive hybrid model looks likeStaying heads down on the climate problem when administrations keep undoing each other's workIf you work in energy technology, lead a team in the renewables space, or are weighing up a startup opportunity against a corporate role, this conversation will sharpen how you think. Connect with Farshid Arman:linkedin.com/in/farshid-arman Farshid Arman is President of FlexEnergi, where he leads the company's efforts in delivering advanced distributed energy and virtual power plant solutions. Prior to FlexEnergi, he served as Vice President of VPP Operations at AutoGrid, overseeing large-scale VPP deployments across utilities of varying sizes. Earlier in his career, Farshid worked at Siemens AG across wind power, gas power, smart grid, and energy storage. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and is the inventor on numerous patents. Connect with Michael Thornhill:I help renewable energy companies find exceptional talent and develop the leadership and culture that makes them stay.linkedin.com/in/michael-thornhill-b42603367

  8. 6 May

    100% Retention in Renewable Energy: How Weronika Nowak Builds Teams That Stay

    What does it actually take to build a renewable energy team where nobody leaves? Weronika Nowak, Country Manager for Green Volt USA and incoming CEO for Green Volt Power Poland, has done exactly that. Since launching the US business, not a single person has left and she hasn't had to let anyone go either. In this conversation, we go deep on the leadership and culture decisions behind that 100% retention record: the hiring philosophy that takes months rather than weeks, why she ignores standard interview questions, and how she led her team through 18 months of existential uncertainty in the US renewables market without losing a single person. We also cover the knowledge transfer gap threatening the energy transition, the cultural differences between US and European renewable energy markets, and why making yourself irreplaceable is actually the biggest leadership failure of all. In this episode we cover: Why Weronika's hiring process takes months, not weeks, and what she is actually looking for in those conversationsHow she brings candidates into the office to meet the whole team before any offer is madeWhat it tells her when a candidate leads with their title expectationsHow she led her team through 18 months of existential uncertainty without losing a single personWho thrives in utility-scale renewable energy development and who struggles, even when they are technically strongThe irreplaceability trap: why making yourself impossible to replace is a leadership failureThe knowledge transfer gap between senior and junior professionals in the energy transitionNavigating the cultural differences between US and European renewable energy marketsIf you work in renewable energy development, lead a team, or are thinking about your next career move in the energy sector, this conversation is for you. Connect with Weronika Nowak:linkedin.com/in/weronikanowak Connect with Michael Thornhill:I help renewable energy companies find exceptional talent and develop the leadership and culture that makes them stay.linkedin.com/in/michael-thornhill-b42603367

  • 8 Episodes

About

The Renewable Energy Leadership Podcast goes beyond the technology and the megawatts into the people, the decisions, and the culture behind the energy transition. Honest, unscripted conversations with the senior leaders driving the transition. Not just what they are building. How they lead. If you lead in this sector, or aspire to, this is the conversation you have been waiting for.

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