Sunrun acquired REC Solar's Residential Division (solar sales, design, and installation), AEE Solar (distribution) and SnapNrack (mounting systems). The value of the transaction was not disclosed. That makes Sunrun a vertically integrated solar installer and financier with a direct sales force like SolarCity and Vivint. You can't go public in solar without trucks.

According to a release, "Lynn Jurich will lead the company as Chief Executive Officer, while co-founder Ed Fenster will continue in his operating role under the new title of Chairman. Tom Holland assumes the role of President and will guide the company's strategy and execution. Mainstream Energy CEO Paul Winnowski joins Sunrun as Chief Operating Officer and Timothy Ball, Chairman of Mainstream Energy Corp., will join Sunrun's board of directors."

REC's commercial unit continues under the REC name with a new CEO, Paul Detering, formerly of Tioga Energy.

 

Speaking of Sunrun, Matt Eggers, former VP of Operations and Software, is now VP Sales of Tesla North America.

 

CIGS thin film solar panel aspirant Siva Power added solar energy expert Charlie Gay, Ph.D. to its Technical Advisory Board. Dr. Gay joins Rommel Noufi, Ph.D., John Benner, and Markus Beck on the board. Dr. Gay began the early part of his career working for ARCO Solar. In 1994, he was elected director of NREL. From 2001 to 2005, Dr. Gay served as chairman of the SunPower Advisory Board. He then joined Applied Materials' Solar Business Group in 2006 as corporate VP and GM. 

 

Elliot Mainzer has been named Administrator and CEO at Bonneville Power Administration, after having served as Acting Administrator since July 2013. BPA is the nonprofit federal agency that markets power from Columbia River hydroelectric dams and the region's one nuclear plant, as well as operating most of the high-voltage power grid across the Pacific Northwest.

 

Brian Farhi, formerly VP of Business Development and Marketing at SolarNexus, is now part of the business development unit at Nest.

 

Michael Pearson will join Michael Nacson, Kurt Metzger, Dr. Zhengrong Shi and Deyong He on Suntech's Board. Mr. Pearson is the co-founder of Fund Fiduciary Partners Limited, "specializing in providing independent governance to a limited number of select investment vehicles," according to a release.