From Rural Roots to Grid Reform: Shanelle Montana on Building Trust in Clean Energy

In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, host Wes Ashworth sits down with Shanelle Montana, Chief Development Officer at Arevon. As one of the country's largest utility-scale renewable energy developers and operators, Arevon has nearly 200 solar, storage, and hybrid projects across the U.S.

Shanelle brings two decades of experience spanning Capitol Hill, ethanol, wind, solar, and storage. She now leads a 9+ gigawatt and growing development pipeline and one of the most active teams in the industry.

What makes her stand out is not just the scale of her work. It's her people-first approach that’s redefining how clean energy earns trust and creates lasting value in rural America.

In this episode, we unpack:

• How clean energy became political and what we can do to fix it
• The development trifecta and how to align EPC, PPA, and interconnection timelines
• Tactics for turning local opposition into long-term support
• Grid myths and how to communicate the basics with clarity
• Why optionality is the key to project resilience in volatile markets
• What happens when developers truly listen to community needs

Shanelle also shares a powerful story of how a rural wind project helped fund broadband and reverse population decline. This conversation goes beyond energy policy and project mechanics. It's about trust, empathy, and impact.

If you're a developer, policymaker, investor, or simply curious about the future of energy, this episode is full of hard-earned insight and practical perspective.

Links: 

Shanelle on LinkedIn

Arevon's Website 

Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/

• Email: wes@leegroupsearch.com
• https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/
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