Rhone Resch is the President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). At SEIA, Rhone is responsible for all aspects of the association's operations and implementation of the industry’s strategic priorities. SEIA’s recent legislative successes include the 8-year extension and expansion of the investment tax credits for solar, creation of the DOE grant program and expansion of the loan guarantee program for renewable energy. He has over 15 years of experience in the public and private sector working in clean energy development and climate change issues. Rhone served as Program Manager at the EPA's Climate Protection Division during the Clinton administration, and has also supported the U.S. Department of Energy's Environmental Management Program.

He holds an MPA in Management from Syracuse University's Maxwell School, a Master of Environmental Engineering from SUNY Syracuse, and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. 

Mr. Hemig has 18 years of experience in the energy industry, including eleven years developing and managing solar and conventional power projects for NRG.  As Vice President of Development, Mr. Hemig is responsible for bringing cost-effective and highly viable utility scale solar power projects to NRG’s utility and municipal customers throughout the southwest U.S.  Presently, Mr. Hemig manages NRG’s portfolio of solar projects in development totaling over 2 GWs of capacity in California, Arizona, and New Mexico.  Of that portfolio, 86 MW is in operation, 682 MW is in construction, 367 MW is expected to start construction this year, and over 1.2 GW have power purchase agreements in place.  Prior to his position at NRG Solar, Mr. Hemig wasthe Director of Environmental Business of NRG’s power generating assets in California and Nevada, representing approximately 2,200 MW of power generating capacity.

Aaron Johnson joined PG&E in 2008, and currently serves as Director of Renewable Energy Policy & Strategy.  Mr. Johnson’s responsibilities include developing policy positions on renewable energy, planning commercial strategy for renewables, and ensuring regulatory compliance.  Prior to coming to PG&E, Mr. Johnson worked at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for nine years, including serving as energy advisor for two commissioners.  Mr. Johnson has a Bachelor’s in engineering physics from the University of Rochester, and a Master’s in electrical engineering from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, where his research focused on solar cells and systems.

Jim has been with Duke Energy since 1998.  He started his career at Duke Energy as a plant operator in the Nuclear Generation Department.  After several years in Operations at McGuire Nuclear Station, Jim obtained a Senior Reactor Operator license and served as a Shift Technical Advisor and Senior Reactor Operator at McGuire Nuclear Station.  In 2007, Jim joined the Chief Technology Officer’s organization and was responsible for renewable generation technology development.  Jim transitioned to his current role as Director of Renewable Market Analysis in 2010.  He leads the development and maintenance of Duke Energy’s regulated utilities viewpoint on renewable energy resources.  Prior to Duke Energy, Jim served in the U.S. Navy Submarine Force for 12 years.  Jim has undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering and earned his M.B.A. with a Finance concentration as a McColl Senior Fellow at the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte.

Mr. McLanahan was one of the original founders of the solar development company Renewable Ventures, which became FRV US and was acquired by SunEdison in the third quarter of 2011. Mr. McLanahan is responsible for sourcing, negotiating, and closing external solar project opportunities for the company to complement internal development activities. Previously, Mr. McLanahan was with Gap Inc. for seven years, most recently as Director of Company Planning with responsibility for business planning and financial risk management. Prior to that, he was on the EMEA financial planning team for Compaq Computer in Munich, Germany. He has more than ten years of business planning experience in corporate and startup environments. Mr. McLanahan has a Master’s Degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree in International Business from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Mr. McLanahan has extensive international experience and is proficient in Spanish and German.

Mr. Mendelsohn has 20 years of experience in various facets of the energy industry.  He is currently a Senior Financial Analyst with the National Renewable Energy Lab where he tracks project finance trends and barriers, develops tools to support financial analysis, and evaluates the effectiveness of tax incentives and other government initiatives to spur private investment in renewable energy.  Prior to joining NREL, Mr. Mendelsohn worked as an economist in the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, as a consultant, and as a clean energy advocate.    Mr. Mendelsohn holds a B.A. in Computer Science from Ithaca College and a M.S. in Energy Management and Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.  

Sanjay Ranchod is Director of Government Affairs and Senior Counsel at SolarCity, the nation’s largest full-service photovoltaic solar power and energy efficiency provider for residential, commercial, and government customers. Sanjay leads and manages SolarCity’s legislative, regulatory, and advocacy interests in California and other states. He also provides legal advice and analysis to company business units. Prior to joining SolarCity, Sanjay represented renewable energy companies and other businesses on environmental and energy regulatory matters under California and federal law as an attorney at the Paul Hastings law firm.

Sanjay received a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.A., magna cum laude, from Brown University. He serves on the board of directors of The Sierra Club Foundation and is an alternate member of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, a state agency.

Travis Bradford founded the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development, a nonprofit organization focused on harnessing the power of the business sector to develop cost-effective and sustainable solutions in technologies, including energy, water, food, and recycling. Bradford also founded Atlas Capital Investments, LP, a global hedge fund dedicated to investing in sustainable technology companies in energy, water, food, and materials. Previously, he has served as a deal partner at Steel Partners II, LLC, in New York; deal principal at the Holding Capital Group in New York; and statistical and financial analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta.

Since 2008, Bradford has been a professor of renewable energy for MBA students at University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, and has lectured on finance, entrepreneurship, and alternative energy economics to a wide audience including many of the world’s top institutions. His published works include Solar Revolution: The Economic Transformation of the Global Energy Industry, published by the MIT Press.

Bradford earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Georgia State University in 1992 and an MBA in 1996 from the NYU Stern School of Business with distinction in finance, management, and international business. In 2006, he received a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Angiolo Laviziano has over 10 years experience in the global solar market and is a Founder of several downstream solar companies in the US, Mexico, and other countries. Until recently he was the CEO of Mainstream Energy Group which he grew to be one of the largest US solar downstream companies with over 600 employees and several 100 MW installed and sold.

Before establishing Mainstream Energy, Angiolo was CFO and Chief Sales Officer of Conergy. Prior to Conergy, Angiolo worked at an investment bank in Hong Kong and at the Prime Minister’s Office of Laos where he helped the country to become an eco-tourism destination. Angiolo received a Masters degree in Business in Germany and a Ph.D. degree in Financial Economics in Hong Kong.

Angiolo is driven by the vision of bringing solar PV to the mainstream, and does so by regularly involving himself in early stage solar market. Part of his current focus is on Latin America.

Adam is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Vote Solar Initiative, a non-profit organization with the mission of bringing solar energy into the mainstream. Vote Solar got its start with a successful ballot initiative for a $100 million solar revenue bond in San Francisco in 2001, and since then has been working with state and municipal governments on pro-solar policies with the goal of jumpstarting the national transition to renewable energy.

Prior to Vote Solar, Adam spent eight years with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s San Francisco office, where he won the Agency’s top pollution prevention award for developing a program that reduced air emissions of mercury from gold mines in Nevada by over five tons annually.

Adam received a BA with Distinction from Swarthmore College in 1992, and served with the Peace Corps in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.

A Fortune 500 veteran, Mr. DeLine brings 20 years of expertise in brand and product management from both the high-tech and energy segments. Most recently, he served as the Chief Marketing Officer for Applied Materials’ Energy and Environmental division, responsible for market strategy, business development and outbound communication initiatives to grow the company's solar and lighting businesses. Prior to this he spent 15 years at Intel Corporation, where he held numerous leadership positions including brand manager for the Centrino® and Atom® processors, and marketing director for the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr. DeLine has a Masters in Business Administration and Information Technology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dan Berwick is Borrego Solar’s Director of Policy and Business Development, based out of the New England regional headquarters.  Dan’s primary focus is on shaping Borrego Solar’s unique business strategies and product offerings across various geographic markets and solar incentive jurisdictions, with a particular focus on guiding Borrego’s SREC market participation.  Prior to joining Borrego Solar, Dan worked on renewable energy policy reform at the Texas House of Representatives.  He’s also worked in the utilities practice area at The Brattle Group, an economic consulting firm, and he supported Federal policy efforts for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.  Dan earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Sloan School of Management and his Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Mr. Jimmy Chuang is the Director and Global Head of Structured Finance at GCL Solar Energy Inc., Asia’s largest poly-silicon producer, world's largest wafer supplier, and a top green energy enterprise in China. Previously, Mr. Chuang was the Director of Structured Finance at Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, where he was responsible for acquiring, developing, and investing in various renewable energy projects as well as leading tax-advantaged equity capital, construction financing, and permanent debt raising efforts. He also led the company’s $75 million early stage venture capital fund and played an instrumental role in MMA Renewable Ventures sale process to Fotowatio S.L. in 2009. To date, Mr. Chuang has raised over $800 million of construction / permanent debt facilities and $500 million of tax equity investment, and financed more than 140MW of solar PV projects in the U.S. Earlier in his career, Mr. Chuang worked at Chanin Capital Partners, Standard & Poor’s Corporate Finance, UBS Capital Markets and Merrill Lynch Investment Banking Division. Throughout his career, Mr. Chuang has executed various transactions for an aggregate value of $50 billion. Mr. Chuang received a BS degree in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, selected as a Bill Gates Scholar and honored as a University of California Regents’ Scholar.

Mit Buchanan is one of 20 professionals who originate, structure and execute energy investments at JPMorgan Capital Corporation.  Since 2003 that team has been responsible for approximately $6.7 billion of tax equity for over 6,700 megawatts of wind power in 67 wind farms representing an approximate market share of 45%.  In addition, the team recently closed 53 MW of geothermal projects.  With respect to solar, Ms. Buchanan led the transaction team which was the lead investor for the largest solar transaction ($266MM) in the U.S. in 18 years and recently closed a distributed generation portfolio which results in a $60 MM investment.  The team is also actively pursuing similar investments in biomass projects.  She has been with JPMorgan and its predecessor companies since 1987.

Mit is a frequent panelist and speaker for a variety of organizations in the renewable energy industry. Ms. Buchanan completed her MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and has an AB in Economics from Duke University.

Bob Gibson is Vice President of Market Intelligence for the Solar Electric Power Association, an educational non-profit based in Washington, D.C. focused on helping electric utilities integrate solar power into their energy portfolios. Gibson leads SEPA’s efforts in market and business analysis, research, technical services and education.  Gibson came to SEPA from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, where he led NRECA’s analysis of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and business models. Bob also worked at ECO, an alternative energy services company, marketing fuel cells, microturbines, photovoltaics and other technologies to electric utilities, and at the Utility Photovoltaic Group, a utility-focused non-profit supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.  Bob’s diverse background includes work on projects to bring electricity to rural communities in developing countries in Asia and Latin America, as an award-winning magazine and newspaper editor, writer and photographer, and service as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the West Indies. 

Eric Romano serves as the Strategic Marketing Manager for DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions (DPVS), a leading supplier of  materials and technologies to the photovoltaic industry. Eric joined DPVS in 2008 as the Strategic Accounts and Business Development Manager.  Prior to this appointment, he held positions in new business development, sales, new venture leadership, product management and market segment leadership across several businesses in DuPont.  Eric joined DuPont in 1984.

Eric holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware and an MBA from the University of Michigan.  He lives in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife and family.

Karen Wong has been a partner in the Global Project Finance Group of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP since 1996 and is resident in the Los Angeles office.

Her practice focuses on the representation of sponsors and financing parties in connection with the development, acquisition, financing and/or restructuring of power, petrochemical and other infrastructure facilities in Asia and North America. In her over twenty-five years of practice, she has led numerous development, financing and acquisition transactions involving generation assets (including large scale coal, gas and LNG fired cogeneration plants, as well as hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, biomass, waste energy and other renewable energy facilities), transmission lines, and oil and gas pipelines. Ms. Wong has extensive experience in complex commercial and financial transactions and has participated in numerous project financings, restructurings, private placements, acquisitions and dispositions, as well as leveraged and synthetic leases, municipal finance transactions, aircraft financings, and monetization transactions. In addition to her specialty in the energy sectors, she has also worked on development and financing transactions involving satellites, telecommunications, technology companies, and real estate (including office buildings, hotels, stadiums, golf courses, amusement parks and other entertainment complexes).

Ms. Wong’s current transactions include various development and financing transactions in the renewables (wind, solar and biomass), as well as several developments of coal gasification projects throughout the United States. She is also currently advising the sponsors of a mine-mouth lignite fired project in Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Ms. Wong received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern Californiamagna cum laude in 1982 and received a Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California in 1986. She served on the editorial boards ofMajor Tax Planning and the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal (formerly known as Computer/Law Journal). Ms. Wong is listed in the 2010 edition of Chambers USA for Projects and The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, and has been recommended in PLC Which Lawyer? for banking and finance. She is admitted to practice in California.

Edwin F. Feo is a pioneer in renewable energy development and finance.  Currently,  he is a co-founder and managing director of USRG Renewable Finance (USRG RF), a renewable energy finance company. In 2011, USRGRF arranged the senior debt financing for 375 MW of rooftop PV projects over in multi-year development programs.  Mr. Feo is also a managing director of Seaward Road Capital, a private equity firm focused on providing growth capital and strategic management to sustainable infrastructure companies.

Prior to 2010, Mr. Feo was the co-chair of the Global Project Finance practice at the international law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP where he spearheaded the development of one of the first law firm practice groups devoted to renewable energy.  Under his leadership, the group closed more than 200 renewable energy transactions for more than $35 billion in capital,  and consistently captured every top ranking presented to law firms in the industry.

Mr. Feo is an advisor or board member of a number of sustainable energy companies, including Clean Power Finance; Greentech Capital Advisors; and California Ethanol & Power.

Mr. Feo is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including

·         “Attorney of the Decade” by the National Law Journal.

·         One of the “Five Most Influential People in Renewable Energy” by Euromoney/Institutional Investor.

·         “Attorney of the Year” by California Lawyer Magazine in the energy category.

·         “Deal Maker of the Year” by American Lawyer.

For the past 15 years, Dan has worked in a wide variety of energy finance, energy marketing, and power project development roles. In 2008 Dan joined the Building Technologies Division of Siemens Industries in Chicago, where until recently he was their Head of Renewable Energy Finance.  In this role he was responsible for arranging financing for Siemens' energy performance contracting business, as well as all solar PV, landfill gas, wind, and other renewable energy projects in North America.  While in this role, Dan persuaded senior Siemens management that there was a role for Siemens capital in the US solar market.  As a result, just recently (in May 2011) Dan took on a new role with Siemens Financial Services, heading up the Siemens Solar PV Investment Program.  This program provides 100% financing for solar projects where the host customer cannot maximize the economic benefits created by solar, including both the various tax benefits and SRECs.  

Prior to joining Siemens, Dan worked in a senior credit position at a large energy trading firm in Chicago.  Before that, he was at a southern California utility where he negotiated a variety of Enabling Agreements and PPAs for both new and existing generation. 

Dan got his start in energy project finance in 1996, when he went to work for the EBRD at the Russian Project Finance Bank, and then at the investment banking division of ABN AMRO Bank, both in Moscow.  During his 2.5 years in Russia, Dan helped execute several billion dollars worth of financing for that country's largest natural gas, oil, and steel companies.

Dan has earned an MA in International Economics from American University in Washington DC, and a BA in both International Relations and Russian Studies from Northern Illinois University.  

With more than 15 years sales, sales management and business development experience Marius Kroksjø, Managing Director Americas, is responsible for the sales of REC photovoltaic modules in the U.S. and in the Americas.

Mr. Kroksjø has held various executive management positions in multiple international markets and has successfully grown market share for leading technology companies including Computer Associates and Ingram Micro.

He has a degree in business from the Norwegian School of Management and resides in California.

Mr. Goyal brings more than 16 years of technology leadership and business development experience to AREVA Solar, having executed large, complex projects on a worldwide basis. He is responsible for driving North American sales for AREVA Solar. Prior to joining AREVA Solar, Mr. Goyal was Director of Solar Business Development for AREVA Renewable Inc., where he led worldwide sales and business development.

Prior to AREVA, Mr. Goyal was AVAYA’s Director of Business Development, where he was responsible for worldwide market introduction and business development of new products. 

Mr. Goyal holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science and an MBA from the University of Colorado.

Juancho Eekhout is currently Director of Origination & Portfolio Design with San Diego Gas & Electric. In this role, Mr. Eekhout leads the team that creates strategic plans for the procurement of renewable energy, and conventional resources beyond one year, and executes transactions via a competitive framework. In 2011, Mr. Eekhout’s team has executed 16 renewable Power Purchase Agreements adding around 1,300 MWs, of which 63% were solar. Mr. Eekhout’s team also considers tax equity investment opportunities where SDG&E’s participation enhances the viability of the project and reduces overall costs to ratepayers.

Prior to this role, Mr. Eekhout was a Director with the Mergers & Acquisitions team of Sempra Energy at its headquarters. Sempra Energy is a Fortune 500 Energy Company headquartered in San Diego, CA. In this position, Mr. Eekhout participated in 6 major international transactions, both buy and sell-sides, worth about $5 billion.

Before joining Sempra Energy, Mr. Eekhout worked for BP for 8 years in a series of commercially-focused international roles. His last appointment was Trading Manager within the commodities trading organization. Prior to that, Mr. Eekhout worked for ING Bank both in the money markets trading and investment banking divisions.

Mr. Eekhout holds a BA in Economics from the UCAB University in Venezuela, where he is from, and a Masters in Public Policy, with honors, from the University of Chicago. He has published various articles, co-authored a book, and spoken at energy conferences in the US. 

Chris Robine brings executive leadership experience in building and scaling teams to drive growth and establish operational excellence. Chris spent over 14 years at General Electric (GE) where he most recently was the CFO for GE Renewable Energy. In partnership with the Commercial and Operations teams, GE Renewable Energy division became recognized as a global industry leader in renewable energy and more than doubled its multi-billion dollar revenue. Chris has also served on the board of PrimeStar Solar, an emerging solar thin-film technology and manufacturing company. Since early 2010, Chris has made significant contributions to SPG Solar as SVP and CFO, where he has quickly established operational excellence and launched the Structured Finance group, providing a variety of additional solutions for customers. Chris holds a degree in Finance and Management from the University Of Cincinnati College Of Business.  

Jim Morgenson is the director of business development for the Power Plant Solutions (PPS) sales group at SMA America, the U.S.-based subsidiary of global solar technology leader SMA Solar Technology AG.

Morgenson is responsible for developing new business opportunities by engaging with key players in the value chain. He is also responsible for acquiring and verifying market and comparative data for projects to expand growth, financial profitability, and strategic market trends affecting the company.

Prior to joining SMA, Morgenson was the vice president of business development at PV Powered, where he was responsible for establishing and executing partner sales strategies and programs.

John Balbach comes to CleanPath with a twenty-five year track record building, scaling and financing environmental and infrastructure companies, projects and investment funds. He has served as a policy-maker, operating executive and investor.  Prior to building CleanPath, he served as Managing Partner of the Cleantech Group, where his teams facilitated financings of over $1.8 billion for cleantech companies and projects, and advised over three thousand investors, companies and governments globally on clean technology asset allocation and market adoption strategies.  A co-founder of three international agencies, Mr. Balbach was instrumental in the strategy and financing of over 30+ civil infrastructure projects in over 15 countries. As a venture capitalist and operating executive, he has led targeted capital raises of $400 million including fund placements, early, growth and secondary offerings as well as a number of acquisitions, restructurings and wind-downs across cleantech, wireless and media sectors.  Prior to his private sector career, Mr. Balbach held positions in the United States Senate focused on international environmental and national security policy including the Senate Foreign Relations Environment Subcommittee and Staff Director, Congressional Task Force on Afghanistan.  He has also been an advisor to President Vicente Fox, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, President Mikhail Gorbachev and President Eduard Shevardnadze. Mr. Balbach holds a Bachelor’s in International Relations from George Washington University. 

Jon Previtali is a Renewable Energy Consultant with Black & Veatch (B&V) Energy specializing in solar power engineering. He oversees B&V’s solar performance testing service and has provided a wide range of consulting services for dozens of utility scale projects and commercial rooftop PV portfolios. Prior to B&V, Jon worked for SunEdison, the largest solar power developer and system operator in North America. Previtali holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University and a M.S. with a specialization in solar power from the University of Colorado.

Nancy Hartsoch is Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for SolFocus, with responsibility for global marketing as well as business and market development. She joined SolFocus in 2006 when the company had just begun manufacturing early prototypes. Since that time she has led the development of SolFocus’ leadership position in the CPV market, and its global footprint of product deployment. Nancy also led the formation of the CPV Consortium, a global industry organization founded in 2008, to facilitate the proliferation of CPV technology. She is on the Board of Directors of that organization, and has served as its Chairperson for three years. Prior to joining SolFocus Nancy was CEO of Pacific Technology Group which she co-founded in partnership with Taiwan-based Acer Labs Inc. to provide marketing, sales and applications engineering to launch an existing product line into the global market. Her 25 years of technology experience includes five years as COO and VP of Marketing and Sales for Acer Labs, Director of Marketing for Appian, and six years running her own marketing consulting business. She has an MBA and a BA from San Jose State University.

Mr. Robert Petrina is the Managing Director for Yingli Green Energy Americas, Yingli's wholly owned subsidiary. Mr. Petrina has more than 10 years of experience in international business development and entered the solar sector in 1998 when he spent time with Atersa (currently Elecnor, S.A.) in Madrid and Valencia, Spain. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Petrina worked at Chori America, Inc. where he was responsible for Mitsubishi's product sales in Latin and South America. Mr. Petrina has focused on the solar sector exclusively since 2002 when he worked at AstroPower, Inc. for two years, where he was responsible for the company's silicon sourcing in Asia, Europe and North America. Prior to joining Yingli in 2007, Mr. Petrina was responsible for global silicon procurement during his time at General Electric's Solar Technologies business unit. Mr. Petrina received his bachelor’s degree in Applied Economics and Management and his master's degree in Business Administration from Cornell University where he was a Park Fellow.

Jurgen W. Krehnke is the president and general manager of SMA America and president of SMA Canada, the North American divisions of global solar technology giant SMA Solar Technology AG. In these roles, Krehnke is responsible for all sales, marketing, finance, logistics, and service in the North and Central American regions.

A native of Hamburg, Germany, Krehnke earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. After starting his career as an integrated circuit designer for Dutch electronics giant Philips Electronics, Krehnke accepted an opportunity in 1994 to move to the U.S. He quickly took on management roles within Philips, leading him to run businesses and startup activities in the U.S. and Europe. When Philips spun out its semiconductor division (now privately owned as NXP) in 2007, he took the opportunity to become the chief marketing officer of Silicon Valley-based IntellaSys, where he was responsible for the commercial launch of its revolutionary high-performance, low-power parallel computing platform. Krehnke brings a unique global view of product development and deployment, as well as an intricate understanding of how solar inverters currently integrate with public utility grids in both Europe and the U.S., the challenges PV has faced and future steps needed to foster widespread domestic adoption.

SMA is the world leader in solar inverter technology and manufacturing with subsidiaries on four continents and takes pride in a product range of inverters compatible with any module and power class, for grid-tied as well as off-grid and backup applications.

Michael C. Dorsey, is a Managing Partner of the Westly Group, a Menlo Park, CA based venture capital firm that is primarily focused on investing in clean technology.  He serves on the Board of Directors of Glacier Bay Technologies, Lunera Lighting and Revolution Foods.

Prior to joining The Westly Group, Mr. Dorsey co-headed the Bay Area Equity Fund, a $75 million double-bottom line venture capital fund that achieved top quartile returns based mostly on cleantech investments. In this capacity he raised and managed the fund, serving on the investment committee from the fund’s inception. The fund invested in Powerlight, acquired by Sunpower (SPWR), Tesla Motors (TSLA), Pandora Media (NYSE-P), Brightsource (S-1 filed, in registration), Solar City and eMeter. He continues to serve on its investment committee.

Before the Bay Area Equity Fund, Mr. Dorsey worked as an investment banker, primarily to technology companies, for 20 years. He served as Head of Technology Investment Banking of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Cowen & Co. In this capacity he worked with most leading venture capital firms as an agent and made venture capital investments as a principal.

Mr. Dorsey holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Yale School of Management. He serves on the Board of Directors of United Way of the Bay Area and advisory boards of Stanford University.   

Josh Goldberg is one of the three founders of Astrum Solar, Inc., one of the nation’s largest residential solar installers. Josh currently serves as vice president of policy and business development. He also acts as Astrum’s general counsel and manages its Solar Renewable Energy Credit trading business.
Prior to co-founding Astrum Solar, Josh was an attorney at Ballard Spahr, LLP where he focused on mergers and acquisitions and venture capital transactions. He also co-founded a private equity fund dedicated to real estate investment and management, and served as a policy advisor to U.S. Congressman and other elected officials.
Josh earned a B.S. in Finance and a B.A. in History from the University of Maryland and received his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law where he served as an editor of the Maryland Law Review. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Maryland Clean Energy Center and was recently appointed by the Governor of Maryland to the Advisory Board of the Maryland Strategic Energy Investment Fund.

Chase Weir is co-founder and CEO of Distributed Sun. A serial entrepreneur, he has raised $40 million in angel, seed, series A/B/C equity and debt commitments in Principal, CEO and Chairman roles for TinselVision, Readiness Company, ASI Entertainment and Consumer Dynamics.

Mr. Weir founded and Chairs the EarthShot Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to accelerating clean energy adoption in the US, and serves on ACORE’s Leadership Council and Speakers Bureau. He previously served as an executive-in-residence to a global renewable energy portfolio in Dubai, UAE, and was senior advisor to over $100 million of renewable development and generation projects in the US and Germany.

Melisa Wilson is a Senior Vice President of the Leasing and Asset Finance Division (LAFD) of Union Bank, N.A. The group provides financing to the power industry, including structured financings, leveraged leases, single investor leases, term loans, construction loans and partnership investments for the renewables industry which encompasses wind farm and solar facilities. A part of LAFD for over 12 years, Ms. Wilson responsibilities include client management, transaction execution, internal credit process management, and contract reviewing.

Previously, Ms. Wilson spent five years as a member of the Project Finance Department in Energy Capital Services where she worked on providing project and corporate financing for coal, gas-fired and geothermal power plants. Her other responsibilities included credit analysis, modeling and reviewing contracts. While at Energy Capital Services, Ms. Wilson was promoted to senior vice president. Prior to that, Ms. Wilson served as a lender in the Utilities Department.

Ms. Wilson joined Union Bank in 1990 as an assistant vice president in the Marketing Support Department where she performed both marketing and financial analysis.

Ms. Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and business from UCLA, and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. She also completed the Kellogg Graduate School of Management Executive Program at Northwestern University. 

Guy Blanchard is Senior Vice President Sales and Corporate Development at Amonix, Inc., the best choice for utility-scale solar power in sunny and dry climates. He joined the company in late 2009, augmenting the Amonix senior management team with his extensive capital markets experience, as well as project finance and business development capabilities.

Mr. Blanchard joined Amonix through the acquisition of Sunworks Solar LLC, where he was co-founder and led the development of Sunworks’ project pipeline (2008-2009). From 2005 – 2008 at Fortress Investment Group's Drawbridge family of funds, Guy focused on investment opportunities in renewable energy, nuclear energy, aircraft, and financial services sectors. He served as Managing Director there from 2006 – 2008, and before that was a joint venture partner. Prior to Fortress, Guy was Vice President of Corporate Finance at GATX Corporation from 2001 – 2005, and held various corporate and structured finance positions at the company since 1998. From 1990 – 1996, Guy was a Systems Analyst and eventually Chief Financial Officer at Johnson Trading Company.

Mr. Blanchard holds a BS in Managerial Economics and an MBA, both from the University of California, Davis. He resides in California with his wife and two children.

Jesse Gronner is Managing Director of Business Development at Iberdrola Renewables where he is responsible for all wind, solar and biomass project development activities in the Western United States.  He oversees a team of project developers and land acquisition specialists who manage Iberdrola’s western pipeline of projects from initial inception to actual construction.  His responsibility area includes the WECC, SPP and ERCOT transmission regions.           

Mr. Gronner has been with the company including predecessor companies PPM Energy and PacifiCorp Power Marketing, for ten years and has led the development of over 1,000 MW of renewable energy projects that are currently in operations or under construction.  He holds a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and lives in Portland, Oregon.

Iberdrola Renewables is the world's leading provider of renewable energy with over 13,000 MW in operation globally now and a pipeline of over 20,000 MW of new renewable opportunities in the U.S.

Chet Farris is one of the most experienced executives in the solar industry, with 13 years of experience running solar panel manufacturers and nearly 30 years total in the semiconductor industry. He was previously the President of Shell Solar Industries in Camarillo, CA and its predecessor Siemens Solar Industries. At Siemens / Shell, Chet managed global operations for the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels, and the first company in the industry to reach 100 megawatts of production. Under his leadership, Siemens / Shell also became the first company to produce and sell a non-silicon thin-film panel. During this time, Chet also played a key role in industry advocacy efforts, serving as President of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and a Founding Board Member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Center for Photovoltaics. Prior to working in the solar industry, he held management positions at Hughes and Rockwell

Paul Grana is the Director of Marketing for Tigo Energy, where he is responsible for all technical marketing and communications. He also oversees the development of Tigo Energy's analytics program. He previously worked for Abound Solar, the CdTe module manufacturer. Paul holds an S.B. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Todd Glass is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where his practice focuses on the representation of project developers, utilities, investment banks, and venture capital firms in the energy and clean technology sector in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia.

Todd has extensive experience with the development, purchase, and sale of renewable and thermal generation projects; structuring, negotiation, and implementation of energy transactions and financings; and state and federal regulation of the energy industry. He served various enterprises as lead project counsel in the commercialization, project development, regulatory approvals, and financing of alternative energy projects and technologies, including solar photovoltaic, concentrated solar, and solar thermal projects. Notably, he has led some of the most significant solar deals in North America, including the 14.2 MW Nellis AFB Solar Project, BrightSource Energy's power purchase agreements (totaling 900 MW) with PG&E, and the North Star Solar-PG&E PPA (60 MW) and related state regulatory commission approvals.  In addition, Todd represents utility-scale solar and other renewable energy clients in their power sales and renewable energy credit (REC) transactions, national and international joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and various equity and debt financings. He also represents investment banks and VCs with regard to their investigation, due diligence, and funding of clean tech companies and projects.

Andrew has over 15 years of commercial and technical experience in the clean energy sector.  Prior to SolarReserve, Mr. Wang successfully negotiated over 800 MW and managed over 2,200 MW of wholesale power purchase agreements at Southern California Edison (NYSE: EIX), a major investor-owned utility and the leading buyer of renewable power in the United States.  Previous responsibilities included both marketing and sales positions for Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ: CPST), the world’s leading provider of microturbine distributed generation products, as well as program manager for refining landfill gas to compressed natural gas vehicle fuel at Puente Hills Landfill, one of the largest municipal solid waste landfills in the United States.  Mr. Wang holds a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California Berkeley, a Masters of Science in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, a Masters of Business Administration from the Anderson School at UCLA, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in California.

Declan Flanagan is founder and CEO of Lincoln Renewable Energy (LRE), a developer, owner and operator of renewable energy projects focused primarily on utility scale solar.   Since its formation in 2009 LRE has grown quickly to become a leading independent developer of solar PV projects in the United States.   The company’s New Jersey Oak Solar project, the largest non-utility owned solar project in the eastern US, entered construction in mid 2011.

Previously Declan served as CEO of E.ON Climate & Renewables North America Inc. a subsidiary of E.ON AG, the world’s largest investor owned utility.     Declan joined E.ON in 2007 through its acquisition of Airtricity North America where Declan also served as CEO.   Declan held various senior management positions with Airtricity in Europe before relocated to the US in 2003 to establish Airtricity North America.    In four years from a standing start, Airtricity North America grew to a valuation of $1.4 billion when sold to E.ON.    During Declan’s tenure with E.ON he led the deployment of over $3 billion in project investment and the company grew its US renewable generation portfolio eightfold becoming a Top 5 owner of wind power capacity in the US with an operating portfolio of over 1,700 MW.   As a Board member of E.ON’s global renewables business Declan also worked on E.ON’s investments in solar PV, solar thermal, biomass and offshore wind power.

Declan is active in industry groups and is a former member of the board of the American Wind Energy Association and a current member of the Leadership Council of the American Council on Renewable Energy.   Declan has also served a Grand Final Judge in the MIT Clean Energy Prize.     Declan is a member of the board of Velocitel Inc., a company which provides engineering, procurement and construction serves to the wireless telecommunications and solar PV industries.

Declan holds a B.Sc. in Environmental Science from the National University of Ireland, an M.Sc. from the University of Ulster and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

In this role John is deeply involved with the financial and contractual aspects of Enfinity’s project development and acquisition efforts.  Previously he worked as a Manager at Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, where he focused on the development and financing of distributed generation solar photovoltaic projects.  He has also worked at Energy and Environmental Economics (E3), a San Francisco consulting firm specializing in electricity markets and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change in Washington, DC.  John is the co-author of Climate Change: What’s Your Business Strategy?, holds a BS and MS in from Stanford University, and is currently pursuing his MBA through a joint executive program with the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley and Columbia Business School.

Mr. Taggart’s career spans 24 years across aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy industries. Since starting his career in aerospace at Lockheed’s famous Skunk Works, Mr. Taggart has held leadership roles in four start-ups in the CleanTech sector including Hypercar, Inc., PowerLight (now SunPower) and later at OptiSolar.

Now at Belectric Inc., Mr. Taggart leads the North American operations of the world’s largest integrator of utility-grade PV power plants, providing industry leadership in long term performance guarantees, optimized project economics, and turn-key execution. 

Mr. Taggart holds a BS in Metallurgical Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA, a MS in Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY, and Class B and C-46 construction licenses.
 

Alan Yuan is a veteran in semi-conductor and PV industry, who was appointed as CMO and Senior Vice President of Astronergy in 2009. He is primarily responsible for setting company’s sales strategy, overseeing business development and developing and maintaining client relationship. Prior to joining Astronergy, Alan had been engaged in semi-conductor area in Silicon Valley over 10 years, and held the position of Vice President at a Nasdaq-listed PV company in China, achieving great successes in sales and marketing.

Alan Yuan was born in China in 1968, holding a MBA degree from Rutgers, State University of New Jersey.

Ms. Polly Shaw is the Director of External Relations of Suntech America, based in San Francisco, California.  Suntech America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suntech Power Holdings, a global leader in manufacturing solar photovoltaic cells, panel modules, and building-integrated solar solutions.  Ms. Shaw leads Suntech America policy and government affairs issues and represents Suntech on the board of key U.S. industry associations, including the Solar Energy Industries Association, Solar Alliance, and the Large Scale Solar Association.  She has worked for 18 years to design policy models and programs that advance clean, efficient energy use and climate protection in the U.S., and energy efficiency and methane capture programs in the U.S. and China. Prior to joining Suntech in 2007, Ms. Shaw was a Senior Regulatory Analyst at the California Public Utilities Commission, where she led implementation of a $2.2 billion California Solar Initiative solar incentive and R&D program.  Prior to the CPUC, Ms. Shaw served as a Program Officer at the Energy Foundation and supported EPA climate programs while at ICF, Inc.  Ms. Shaw received a B.A. from Tufts University and a Certificate in Chinese Law from the University of London and speaks English, French, and Chinese.

Obadiah Bartholomy is a Project Manager in the Energy R&D group at SMUD. He currently works on solar R&D, including intermittency impacts and forecasting, evaluation of high penetrations of PV on the distribution system, utility scale solar siting, commercial and residential solar mapping tools including the SMUD Solarmap, and utility scale solar evaluation for meeting SMUD’s Renewable Portfolio Standards. He also leads SMUD’s Climate Change and Energy Efficiency R&D programs. He earned a BS in mechanical engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and an MS in Transportation Technology & Policy from UC Davis, and is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of California.

Yuri Horwitz has led the strategic development of Sol Systems’ SREC financing platform launched in 2008, and SolMarket, the transaction driven community Sol Systems launched in 2011.  Mr. Horwitz currently oversees the day-to-day operations of SolMarket, and is focused on the long-term strategic growth of Sol into a highly efficient global renewable energy finance platform for institutional and private capital.

Mr. Horwitz has been involved in the energy and environmental policy fields for the last decade and is a recognized subject matter expert on solar finance and SRECs.  Prior to Sol Systems, Mr. Horwitz was an attorney at Alton & Bird, assisting clients with the development and financing of wind and solar facilities throughout the United States. He has also provided pro-bono assistance to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Southern Environmental Law Center, and the Surfrider Foundation.  He serves on the Board of the regional SEIA chapter, and has presented at dozens of solar finance conferences and guest lectured at Georgetown University and the University of Maryland. He regularly consults with states and Public Utility Commissions on solar markets and SREC programs, and has helped a number of states and regional transmission organizations to implement their solar renewable portfolio standards.

Mr. Horwitz holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia and a dual BA from the College of William and Mary. 

Billy Owens has 25 years of development experience in a variety of infrastructure projects in California, in other parts of the US and internationally. Mr. Owens is currently responsible for the developing new solar business and for selected solar projects for STA Development, LLC (formerly Solar Millennium, LLC).

Mr. Owens has permitted several electric power facilities using solar, biomass, wind energy, coal and natural gas. In addition, Mr. Owens has also developed a seawater desalination plant in Huntington Beach, California and LNG offshore terminal in Oxnard, California. Mr. Owens has utility and energy policy experience at the federal level. Mr. Owens is a graduate of the University of Florida.

Nick Chaset is a solar energy executive with more than six years experience in renewable energy and the policy surrounding it. He is currently the director of market development and government affairs for Q-Cells North America, where he is responsible for leading Q-Cells’ North American strategic marketing efforts, as well as representing Q-Cells with local, state and federal government agencies. Prior to Q-Cells, Nick served as government relations manager for Renewable Funding where he managed the PACENOW coalition and successfully worked to introduce legislation in the US House of Representatives to the nations PACE programs. Nick also served as one of the founding members of the California Public Utilities Commission team that designed, implemented and continues to oversee the California Solar Initiative. Nick received his bachelor’s degree in international relations at Tufts University and his MBA from Georgetown University, where he founded the Georgetown Energy and Cleantech Club.

As General Manager, North America, Elliott Gansner leads pvXchange’s efforts in the USA and Canada. During his tenure at pvXchange Elliott prepared the fundraising process that resulted in WHEB Partners recent investment and has led the company’s entry into North America.

Prior to pvXchange, Elliott was a consultant at Bain & Co. strategy consulting. While at Bain & Co. he focused primarily on advising private equity clients. This included strategic reviews of portfolio companies andnumerous commercial due diligence projects. These projects included the acquisition of Swedegas AB by EQT‘s Infrastructure fund and several renewable energy related investments. In addition, he managed multiple restructuring and change management initiatives at major Nordic industrial firms. 

Elliott’s work at Bain & Co. and now pvXchange has allowed him to build on a long-standing passion for renewable energies. In 2008 he directed IESE Business School's "Doing Good and Doing Well" sustainable business conference, attended by Gamesa, Iberdrola Renovables, Acciona Energia, the Econcern Group, BP Alternative Energy, Good Energies, Santander, and Deutsche Bank. In 2007 he worked for the American Council on Renewable Energy in Washington, DC.

Elliott earned a bilingual MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain in 2008 and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts, with honors, in Political Science from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts in 2002.

Brad Bowery has served as CEO of SRECTrade since the firm launched in 2008. SRECTrade provides transactional services and software to customers in the solar industry. In the retail sector, the firm works through a channel of 250 installation partners to aggregate and sell SRECs for over 50 MW of residential and small commercial projects. Among larger, institutional clients, SRECTrade is well known for its SREC brokerage services and portfolio management tools. The firm also provides solar procurement software designed specifically for the utility industry. As CEO of SRECTrade, Brad has been active in promoting effective solar policy across the U.S. He has advised several state advocacy and legislative groups, written papers on effective SREC market design and is a regular speaker at conferences. Brad started his career at Experience.com, an online software firm. He later joined The Investment Fund for Foundations where he evaluated alternative asset investments for the $8B network of non-profit foundations. Brad completed his undergraduate degree at Brown University in History and Business Economics and received his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

As Director of Product Management for SunRun, Ken helps the company evaluate and enter new markets, and to develop offerings designed to deliver the best financial option for homeowners switching to SunRun solar service. Ken has over ten years of experience in technology investing and management and before joining SunRun he was a Vice President at venture capital firm Advanced Technology Ventures. Previously, Ken worked in senior management positions at PayPal, and as an investment analyst at Menlo Ventures. He has a Bachelors in phyciss from Middlebury College, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Alan King, General Manager for the United States Division of Canadian Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ), is responsible for leading the U.S. organization including development of the U.S. sales strategy, overseeing its implementation, managing operations and contributing to the country organization’s critical path of success through his industry experience and leadership.

Prior to joining Canadian Solar, Mr. King worked for almost a decade with Evergreen Solar, Inc. as the Americas Sales Director managing OEM and development and sales for distributors, dealers and the utility market. He was responsible for managing more than a billion dollars’ worth of long-term contracts with both domestic and international integrators and distributors. He also developed a channel marketing strategy leading to more than $100 million in sales. Mr. King has established sales networks and developed consistent pipelines driving sales volumes of over $200 million. He has a long history in sales and business development working in several privately held companies in the equipment and industrial automation industries, as well as the solar industry.

Mr. King has hands-on experience with U.S. solar policy on both a national and state level and is actively involved as a member of the Solar Alliance and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). He was also a board member of the Solar Energy Business Association of New England (SEBANE). Mr. King is a sought-after speaker on solar industry trends and global markets, and has presented at a variety of tradeshows and conferences, including Intersolar North America and the Distributed Solar Summit.
 

Shayle Kann is the Vice President of Research for Greentech Media. He has spoken in conferences around the world and been cited in publications such as The Economist, New York Times, Wall St. Journal, Washington Post, Forbes, Bloomberg, Reuters, Financial Times, and more. He has also testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee on the state and future of the U.S. solar market. Mr. Kann joined GTM Research upon returning from Australia, where he was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar studying renewable energy project finance during the credit crisis. Prior to this, Mr. Kann worked in the Clean Energy Markets division of Conservation Services Group, focusing on voluntary and compliance markets for renewable energy certificates. He has a Bachelor’s cum laude, phi beta kappa from Pomona College.

Shyam Mehta is a Senior Analyst at GTM Research, focusing on global solar markets. Before joining GTM Research, Shyam was a Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research where he covered equities in the alternative energy sector, primarily solar companies. Prior to Goldman, Shyam was a Research Analyst at The Brattle Group, an economic consulting firm, where his work focused on problems within the electricity industry. Shyam received his Bachelor's in Mathematics from U.C. Berkeley.

Brett Prior is a Senior Analyst with GTM Research, focusing on renewable energy. Prior to joining GTM Research, Brett served as the Director of Business Development for Solasta, a thin-film solar startup backed by Kleiner Perkins. Brett also worked as a summer associate in the strategy group at Evergreen Solar. Before business school, Brett spent six years working for mutual fund companies as a buyside equity research analyst covering energy and other sectors. Originally from the U.S., Brett lived in England for two years, where he earned an MBA with distinction from London Business School. Brett holds a BA in Political Science and International Studies from Yale University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

See all of Brett's reports.

MJ Shiao is a Senior Analyst for GTM Research with a focus on PV inverters, electronics, thin flm PV and U.S. non-utility markets. A 5-year veteran of the solar industry, MJ has experience ranging from fabrication of crystalline silicon solar cells to PV project development. Before joining GTM Research, MJ managed and designed over 5 MW of residential and commercial PV projects with Solar Design Associates. Prior to project management, MJ consulted with the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) on residential solar rebate programs and with the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on PV experience curves by technology. MJ holds a bachelor's in electrical engineering from the University of Delaware, where he was named a National Truman Scholar. A believer in the social benefits of solar power, MJ has researched, installed and tested rural off-grid PV in India and Thailand and currently serves on the Steering Committee of SustainUS, a non-profit engaging U.S. youth in sustainable development advocacy.

Prior to joining Greentech Media, Eric Wesoff founded Sage Marketing Partners in 2000 to provide sales and marketing-consulting services to venture-capital firms and their portfolio companies in the alternative energy and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Wesoff has become a well-known, respected authority and speaker in these fields. He also was the publisher of the Venture Power newsletter, a subscription-only newsletter covering venture-capital investment in renewable energy.

Eric's expertise covers solar power, fuel cells, biofuels and advanced batteries. His strengths are in market research and analysis, business development and due diligence for investors. He frequently consults for energy startups and Silicon Valley's premier venture capitalists.