Solar & Energy Storage Summit 2025

Jenny Fink

Director of Asset Management

Key Capture Energy

Jenny Fink is Key Capture Energy’s Director of Asset Management where she leads a team maximizing the value of KCE’s 620+ MWs of operational battery energy storage. Prior to joining KCE, she worked in Asset Management with EDF and EDP Renewables. She holds a BA in Art History from Carleton College and an MBA from the University of Houston.

Zoë Gaston

Principal Analyst, US Distributed Solar

Wood Mackenzie

Zoë Gaston is a principal analyst on the US Distributed Solar team. Her areas of focus include residential solar policy and project finance, and the residential installer and financier competitive landscape. Zoë contributes to the quarterly publication of the Solar Market Insight report in collaboration with the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA). Previously, Zoë worked on the Genscape Energy Management team. She held various roles, including leading the regulatory team. Her team provided a full suite of operational services for retail suppliers and renewable generators, including the management and strategising of energy, capacity and REC offtake. She also wrote weekly analyses on legislation and energy market trends and developed multiple product offerings.

Teresa Barnes

DuraMat Director

NREL

Teresa Barnes is a Principal Scientist, the Director of the DuraMAT Consortium for module materials research, and a Distinguished Member of the Research Staff at NREL. DuraMAT focuses on PV module and system reliability, including accelerated test development, materials and interface modeling, reliability forecasting, sustainability, and field performance. Teresa has worked in PV at NREL for 20 years on thin-film PV, flexible devices, reliability and sustainability. She is currently on detail to the Loan Programs Office of DOE as a technical advisor on clean energy manufacturing and deployment. She is a Chemical Engineer with a PhD from the Colorado School of Mines and a BS from the University of Maryland.

Arpit Chaturvedi

Senior Product Manager - Battery Energy Storage System

Schneider Electric

A multilingual strategic business leader with a passion for product management. A positive track record of delivering stellar results in the domain of product management, marketing, and strategy. Subject matter expertise in the domain of hardware, software, and services concerning the energy management industry. A fierce advocate of mentorship, diversity, and inclusion. Currently leading Product Line Management for Commercial and Industrial (C&I) - Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at Schneider Electric

Andre Pujadas

CEO

OnePlanet Solar Recycling

Senior executive with a record of delivering results of consequence to the P&L of some of the largest metals manufacturers in the world. André has led plant startups, operations, and management for heavy industrial production facilities ranging from steel manufacturing to alternative iron processes such as, (direct reduced iron, hot briquetted iron, and iron carbide) to ferrous and non-ferrous scrap recycling along with advanced recovery plants. Across his career, André has been accountable for overall P&L, operations, risk mitigation, safety, and compliance.

Joao Salvação Barreto

Chief Executive Officer NA Distributed Generation

EDP Renewables

Mr. Barreto is the Chief Executive Officer at EDPR NA Distributed Generation (EDPR NA DG), the distributed generation business of EDPR North America, responsible for overseeing teams working in investments, M&A, business development, and community solar. During his previous years at EDP, he and his team completed several key projects, covering a wide range of geographies and technologies, mostly related to Renewables and Power Networks. These included EDP’s exit from gas generation and distribution networks in Iberia, setting up the Ocean Winds JV focused on Offshore Wind, equity raises at EDP and EDP Renewables, and strategizing the company’s entry into the transmission segment in Brazil. Mr. Barreto later completed the strategic portfolio repositioning and subsequent delisting tender offer for EDP Brazil. Between 2020 and 2023, he was additionally responsible for the coordination of EDP’s Investment Committee, analyzing multiple investment and divestment opportunities- mostly focused on renewables – across the different geographies where EDP is present, supporting EDP’s vision to lead the energy transition. These included the expansion of EDP’s distributed solar generation footprint, namely through the acquisitions of Sunseap (now EDPR APAC) and C2 (now EDPR NA DG). Previous to his career at EDP, Mr. Barreto performed M&A, strategy, and international business development functions in the telecoms, logistics, and financial services sectors. He holds a Master’s Degree in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Nova School of Business and Economics in Portugal.

Raja Sundararajan

Executive Vice President – Strategy and Customer Solutions

Alliant Energy

Ingrida Soldatova

Senior Vice President

Prudential Private Capital

Ingrida Soldatova is a Senior Vice President in the Power group, located in Dallas. She leads a team responsible for marketing, originating and managing investments in structured and corporate finance for electric utilities, power cooperatives and power projects based in Eastern US and Canada.

Tony Archibald

Chief Operating Officer

Copia Power

David Hebert

Vice President of Business Development

Wärtsilä

Mohamed Kassamali

Director, Energy Storage Solutions

Nexamp

Mohamed is the Director of Energy Storage Solutions at Nexamp , an Independent Power Producer (IPP) based in Boston. Mohamed is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in energy storage products, safety, permitting, and analytics. Mohamed leads a team of policy strategists, energy storage engineers, product managers, and analysts to support the development, construction, and operation of energy storage projects across the United States. Mohamed brings over eight (8) years of experience performing due diligence on energy storage and energy efficiency technologies and projects. He has led or took part in the Independent Engineering (IE) review of the world’s leading energy storage manufacturers, integrators, and developers/IPPs. He has worked extensively in the energy storage industry alongside communities and municipalities, including fire departments, moving energy storage projects forward. This includes advising both DG-hub CUNY and NYC Department of Buildings’ (DOB) Office of Technical Certification and Research (OTCR) on structuring guidance and processes related to permitting within New York City. Prior to Nexamp, Mohamed spent five (5) years at DNV, with his last role at the company being the Energy Storage Safety Practice Lead.

Adam Landstrom

Head of North American Land Acquisition & GIS

Recurrent Energy

Adam Landstrom serves as the Head of North American Land Acquisition & GIS at Recurrent Energy. A licensed attorney and seasoned landman, Adam brings over 14 years of experience in the energy industry. He began his career in oil and gas in the Bakken before transitioning to renewable energy with Recurrent Energy. In his current role, Adam leads a team dedicated to identifying and developing large-scale utility solar (PV) and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects across the United States and Canada. Based in Austin, TX, Adam lives with his family and contributes to the industry as a Trustee for the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law.

Abigail Ross Hopper

President and CEO

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

Abigail Ross Hopper is the president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the national trade organization for America's solar and storage industry. Ms. Hopper is a visionary leader who has transformed SEIA into an advocacy powerhouse and the leading voice for the U.S. solar and storage industry. She has overseen tremendous industry-wide growth, most notably, the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, a historic piece of climate and clean energy legislation. She is also working to shepherd the next generation of the solar workforce by championing diversity efforts in the industry and through her Solar Sisters initiative.

Gigio Sakota

Vice President, Energy Markets

Avantus

Gigio Sakota is Sr. Director of Energy Markets at Avantus (formerly 8minute Solar Energy), the largest independent solar and solar plus storage power developer in the United States. Gigio is focused on the CAISO, WECC in general, and ERCOT, especially on the evolving role and demands of the utility scale PV and battery energy storage systems in the western markets. Prior to Avantus, Gigio was at Southern California Edison (SCE) where he was responsible for optimization of SCE’s wholesale market energy assets, including one of the nation’s largest renewable and storage portfolios. Over the past 16yrs, Gigio has worked in a range of roles, from long term resource planning to trade floor operations and bidding strategy, including stints in regulatory advocacy, portfolio planning, and resource economics.

Kathleen Himber

US CEO

Akuo Energy

Benjamin Lavoie

Sr. Director, Energy Storage & EV Solutions

Ameresco

Ben Lavoie is Sr. Director of Energy Storage and Electric Vehicle Solutions with Ameresco, a leading cleantech integrator and energy services company operating in North America, the UK, and Europe. In this role, he focuses on energy storage, microgrid, and renewable energy project development for U.S. Federal Government and Utility customers. Ben’s experience in the energy storage & EV industries spans over 14 years, including prior roles at A123 Systems, NEC Energy Solutions, and GM Energy. His areas of focus include solar + storage project development, technology assessment, and technical and economic analysis of energy storage use cases. Ben holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Energy Systems both from Northeastern University, and is a Fellow of the Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership. He resides in Portland, Maine.

Denise Tait

Chief Investment Officer

Arevon Energy

Kaitlin Fung

Research Analyst, North America Utility-Scale Solar

Wood Mackenzie

Kaitlin Fung is a Research Analyst within Wood Mackenzie’s Power and Renewables practice. Her research focuses on market dynamics, project financing, and sustainability of utility-scale solar projects in the United States and Canada. Before focusing on utility-scale solar, Kaitlin worked on Wood Mackenzie’s Americas Power team to support their long-term investment horizon outlooks. She primarily focused on ISO New England and Eastern Canadian energy markets, long-term utility-scale forecast integration, and modeling renewable portfolio standards (RPS). Kaitlin attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. During her time at Amherst, she worked on research focusing on patent searching with an application to wind energy technologies.

Robin Lunt

Chief Commercial Officer

Guzman Energy

Robin is an accomplished executive in the energy sector with deep policy, regulatory and commercial experience. She joined Guzman Energy in 2018 and works across the business developing wholesale power solutions for distribution utilities and creating solutions to facilitate the energy transition through new renewable and dispatchable generation assets. Robin spent almost a decade in Washington, DC where she worked state and federal energy policy, and advised a commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on legal and policy matters in the western electric grid, RTO development, and oil and gas dockets. Her experience in shaping power generation and delivery solutions and validating them against commercial and regulatory frameworks serves her well in her work today as a strategic advisor to wholesale customers seeking better economic and sustainable power solutions. In addition to her time in DC, Robin previously worked as an attorney in private practice and as the general counsel of a demand side management company in Colorado. Robin is a graduate of Brigham Young University Law School and Pomona College. She resides in Denver with her husband and two children, and enjoys being an active member of her community.

David Carroll

Chief Renewables Officer & Sr. VP, North America

ENGIE North America

David Carroll is responsible for the Renewables activities that encompass utility scale wind and solar, distributed generation and storage, he is focused on development, engineering, construction, operations, and maintenance – including partnership management. In addition, Dave has oversight of all business support functions for North America. He joined ENGIE North America in August 2020 as Vice President for Grid Scale Renewables. David has more than 15 years of experience leading construction, engineering and program management teams across the renewable energy industry, including wind, solar, bioenergy, and storage technologies, contributing to more than 7 GW of renewable energy globally.

Frank Sherman

Senior Director, Renewables/Low Carbon M&A and Development

JERA Americas

Michael Grasso

Chief Revenue Officer

Sunnova

Mr. Grasso has served as Sunnova’s Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer since May 2021, prior to which he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer from April 2018 to May 2021, and as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer from January 2018 to April 2018. Mr. Grasso previously served as Chief Marketing Officer of Sunrun Inc., a publicly traded provider of residential solar electricity, from 2014 to 2017 and as Chief Marketing Officer of TXU Energy Retail Company LLC, a provider of residential, commercial, and industrial electricity, from 2009 to 2014. Mr. Grasso held various executive and brand management roles at the United Services Automobile Association from 2007 to 2008 and at AT&T Inc. from 1992 to 2007. Mr. Grasso brings to Sunnova more than two decades of marketing experience with companies in the energy, financial services, internet, video, and telecommunications industries. Mr. Grasso received his Master of Science degree in Telecommunications Management from Washington University and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science and Applied Statistics from St. Mary’s University.

Jeff Cramer

President & CEO

Coalition for Community Solar Access

Jeff is the President and CEO of the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA), and has served in that role since CCSA’s founding in 2015. CCSA is a national coalition of over 100 businesses and non-profits working to expand customer choice and access to solar for all American households and businesses through community solar. Prior to CCSA, Jeff co-founded and served as a Partner at 38 North Solutions, a Washington DC public affairs firm that focused exclusively on federal clean energy and sustainability policies and advocacy. In his role at 38 North, Jeff served as the State Policy Director for the Energy Storage Association (merged with American Clean Power in 2021), and advocated on behalf of clients in the solar, wind, industrial recycling, vehicle electrification, and methane waste mitigation on federal legislative and administration priorities.

Scott Graybeal

CEO

Caelux

Scott Graybeal is a veteran executive who led the Energy Solutions Segment at Flex Ltd (NASDAQ: FLEX), a $2B division within the company serving the solar, energy storage, and LED lighting markets. Under his leadership, Flex Energy became the third largest producer of PV modules outside of mainland China, and patented several key solar manufacturing innovations. Scott’s career spans several industries from construction tech to solar to semiconductors. Before joining Caelux, Scott was COO of Veev Group & CEO of Veev Build and has held key leadership roles at Intevac, Amonix, Oerlikon Solar, Veeco Instruments, Applied Materials, and General Electric. Scott has guest lectured on renewables and entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown. He served with distinction as a nuclear submarine officer and is a certified nuclear engineering officer by the Departments of the Navy and Energy. Scott earned his MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management and his BS in Chemistry from UC San Diego.

Leni John

Senior Vice President of Business Operations and Chief Procurement Officer

Strata Clean Energy

Leni John has over 23 years of experience developing procurement strategies and managing supply chain operations in various industries. The past 16 years of his career has been with top renewable energy firms, where he led the procurement and subcontracting activities for the construction of over 2 gigawatts (GWs) of utility-scale wind and solar power plants as well as battery energy storage systems. He has also championed the service and spare parts needs to support the operation and maintenance of over 5 GWs of clean energy power plants. Leni is currently the Senior Vice President of Business Operations and Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) at Strata Clean Energy leading various core functions including strategic sourcing, supply chain, information technology, business systems, commissioning and technical services.

Luke Lewandowski

Vice President, Global Renewables Research

Wood Mackenzie

Luke brings more than 15 years of experience in renewable energy, spanning equipment and solutions sales, forecasting and analysing markets, developing a global research portfolio, and managing a research practice. Luke joined Wood Mackenzie via the acquisition of MAKE in 2017. Having spent nearly 10 years at MAKE, he had helped to develop the company’s brand and service and establish its presence in North America. Earlier in his career, he was an industry analyst for LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business. Since joining Wood Mackenzie, Luke has played an integral role in the integration and development of our Power & Renewables Practice. He transitioned from managing our global wind research to focusing on management of our research practice in the Americas across power, wind, solar, energy storage and the grid edge. He now heads our Global Renewables Research team, which includes wind, solar, and energy storage.

Brenden Frazier

US Product Manager

Trina Solar

Brenden is the lead PM for Trina’s Engineering Center and works closely with product improvements, testing, certifications, and launches in the US. Brenden earned a master's degree in solar energy engineering from the University of Freiburg, where he gained in-depth knowledge and skills in photovoltaic (PV) development and fabrication, while also working as a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy. Previously, he was the lead development engineer at Solarus Smart Energy Solutions, focusing on developing a PVT (Photovoltaic Thermal) module and PVT based energy solutions. He also served as an energy engineer and co-founder of Intuitive Energy Analysis & Studies, and currently sits on the board of the Kentucky Solar Energy Society. Now at Trina Solar, Brenden is passionate about engineering a more efficient world with innovative energy and solar technology.

Edmund Crooks

Vice Chair Americas

Wood Mackenzie

Ed Crooks joined Wood Mackenzie in 2019. Based in New York, he covers the full range of commodities, technologies and sectors, with a particular focus on climate policy, economics and the energy transition. He writes Wood Mackenzie’s popular Energy Pulse newsletter, analysing the latest developments in the world of energy, and also hosts Energy Gang, one of the world's most popular energy-focused podcasts. Before Wood Mackenzie, Ed was an award-winning energy editor for the Financial Times, first in London and then in New York. He joined the FT in 1999 as economics editor. He previously worked as an economics correspondent for BBC News, a reporter for Investor’s Chronicle magazine, and an economic researcher at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He has also served on the UK government’s Sustainable Development Commission.

Sarah Noll

Manager VPP Innovation & Strategic Initiatives

Arizona Public Service

Hanna Nuttall

U.S. Distributed Storage Research Analyst

Wood Mackenzie

Sy Kim

Vice President

CBRE Renewables

Sy Kim has direct responsibility for CBRE Renewables’ off-site community solar and on-site renewables. In this capacity, he drives transactions and deal structuring between renewable energy developers and Fortune 500 companies. Sy also has oversight responsibilities for CBRE Renewables’ business operations. Before joining CBRE, Sy was managing director of a boutique consulting firm and advised renewable energy development firms such as Nexamp, Pacific Current, Onswitch, and NRG Energy. Previously, he managed Clearway Energy’s community solar origination and distributed generation development teams. Earlier in his career, Sy drove onsite development for SunPower while acting as a commercial liaison to policy and regulatory affairs. With over 15 years in the renewable energy sector, Sy leverages his deep expertise of facilitating transactions and deal structuring between renewable energy developers and Fortune 500 companies, while also ensuring efficient management of the CBRE Renewables business.

Nina Rangel

Senior Research Analyst

Wood Mackenzie

David Sandbank

VP Distributed Energy Resources & Transportation

NYSERDA

David Sandbank is a recognized leader in renewable energy with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. As Vice President of Distributed Energy Resources at NYSERDA, he oversees New York’s solar, energy storage, and clean transportation initiatives, managing $5 billion to advance the state’s clean energy goals. Under his leadership, New York has become a national leader in distributed solar, surpassing 6 GW of installed capacity and on track to exceed 10 GW ahead of the 2030 target. David has played a pivotal role in shaping the state’s clean energy landscape, driving the implementation of the Value of Distributed Energy Resources tariff to support clean energy growth, establishing the nation’s leading community solar program, expanding New York’s energy storage market, and leading the state’s energy storage fire and safety working group. His work has expanded clean energy access, enhanced grid efficiency, and accelerated the transition to a more resilient and sustainable energy system.

Priscilla Barbour

Director, Policy & Communications

Primergy Solar

Priscilla Barbour is the Director of Policy & Communications at Primergy Solar. With a decade of experience in policy and public affairs, Priscilla oversees Primergy's external communications, stakeholder engagement, government affairs, and public policy strategies. Before joining Primergy, Priscilla managed state government affairs and policy in Texas, California, Connecticut, and federal government affairs for Vistra Corp. She also has experience as a Congressional staffer, having worked for former Congressman Cedric Richmond (LA-02) and the House Energy & Commerce Committee.

Thomas Grant

Global Manager of Energy Initiatives

Wendy's

Sylvia Leyva-Martinez

Principal Analyst, North America Utility-Scale Solar

Wood Mackenzie

As a principal analyst on our Power and Renewables team, Sylvia researches market dynamics, business models, market developments and financial strategies of utility-scale solar PV projects in the US and Canada. Previously a senior consultant for the Power and Renewables team, she brings six years of experience in power markets, the energy transition, renewables and ESG. Before Wood Mackenzie, Sylvia worked for Accenture Strategy Energy, where she supported cost and portfolio optimisation and talent management for NOCs in Latin America. She also worked in solar project development for SPIE Sud-Est in France.

Elissa Pierce

Research Analyst, Solar Module Technology and Markets

Wood Mackenzie

Elissa is an analyst in Wood Mackenzie’s power & renewables practice. Her research coverage includes solar module markets, technologies and supply chains across the globe. Before joining Wood Mackenzie, Elissa was a solar design engineer and worked on rooftop and ground-mount residential solar PV and battery storage projects.

Véronique Oomen

Director Division of Clean Energy

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

Todd Olinsky-Paul

Senior Project Director

Clean Energy States Alliance

Todd Olinsky-Paul is Senior Project Director for Energy Storage at nonprofits Clean Energy States Alliance and Clean Energy Group. He directs the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP), which aims to accelerate electrical energy storage deployment through collaborative efforts between state energy agencies, US DOE Office of Electricity and Sandia National Laboratories. Todd also leads CEG/CESA's energy storage policy program, directing energy storage working groups, conducting independent research and analysis, providing direct policy and program support to state energy agencies, and collaborating with Sandia and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories on energy storage policy and regulatory reports and webinars. His recent work includes the development of state policy and program models to support formation of customer-based virtual power plants.

Chris Seiple

Vice Chairman, Energy Transition and Power & Renewables

Wood Mackenzie

Chris is the Vice Chairman of Wood Mackenzie’s Power & Renewables group. He is responsible for ensuring thought leadership, advising on the strategic direction of the business, and senior stakeholder engagement and relationship management. Chris brings 30 years of global power industry experience to this role. His career has spanned strategy consulting work for power companies and banks at Cambridge Energy Research Associates (now part of IHS/S&P), debt and equity financing of power-related investments at GE Energy Financial Service and managing a portfolio of power plants owned by EFS. He also led the power organisation at Genscape, where he expanded its real-time power markets monitoring business into analytics and software service businesses through both organic growth and acquisitions. Chris came to Wood Mackenzie through its acquisition of Genscape and now works with our 250 researchers across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

King Look

Director of Research and Development

Con Edison

Mr. Look is currently the Director of Research and Development (R&D) at Con Edison, responsible for the Company’s R&D programs and initiatives. He is leading and coordinating Con Edison’s R&D efforts into the investigation and development of new low carbon resources, including overseeing Con Edison’s anchor sponsorship of the EPRI / GTI Energy Low Carbon Resources Initiative. He is a member of EPRI’s Technology Innovation Committee and, also the Chair of the New York Joint Utilities’ Advanced Technology Working Group. Prior to his current role in R&D, Mr. Look held the position of Director of Electricity Supply where he was responsible for managing a portfolio of electric supply contracts, generating assets and financial hedges to supply retail customers who chose to remain with Con Edison as the provider of their electricity supply. And prior to his Electricity Supply position, he was the Director of Resource Planning, responsible for developing the electric, gas and steam demand forecasts for capital planning and, also responsible for economic and reliability assessments of new resources, such as offshore wind and new transmission lines. He joined Con Edison as a management intern in 1983. Mr. Look also received the Outstanding 50 Asian American Business Award in 2015. Mr. Look graduated summa cum laude from Cooper Union with Bachelor and Master of Engineering degrees in Chemical Engineering; from Manhattan College with Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering; and from Baruch College with an MBA in Computer Information Systems.

Paul Zavesoff

Vice President, Asset Management

Gridstor

Nicholas Gladd

Partner, Energy and Climate Solutions

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Nic Gladd is senior counsel in Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s energy and climate solutions practice. Nic’s practice spans the transactional, regulatory, and litigation realms. He advises independent power producers, clean energy project developers, data center developers, technology companies, and investors in complex transactions. He regularly represents clients in proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, and state public utility commissions. And he provides counsel and strategic business advice to entities seeking to interconnect with and participate in the markets administered by PJM, NYISO, ISO-NE, CAISO, SPP, MISO, and ERCOT. He is experienced in helping clients both navigate and shape regulatory frameworks at the federal and state levels, counseling on power market design, and structuring and negotiating commercial agreements for clean energy generation and energy storage projects and operating assets. Before entering private practice, Nic held several high-level positions at FERC, including as legal advisor to both FERC Chairman Kevin J. McIntyre and Commissioner Tony Clark and as an appellate litigator in the FERC Solicitor’s Office.

Byron Pollard

Director, Power & Renewables Consulting

Wood Mackenzie

Catherine Griffin

Vice President, Investments

Soltage

Catherine Griffin is a Vice President of Investments at Soltage. Catherine has over ten years of experience in the energy industry, beginning her career in power and gas and before transitioning to renewables. Prior to joining Soltage, Catherine worked at DSD Renewables and led the project valuations for M&A activity across various markets. Catherine holds a B.A in Economics from Union College and M.B.A from Columbia Business School.

Daniel Clark

Director, BESS Safety & Standards

Terra-Gen

Feizhen Lu

Senior Vice President of Procurement and Supply Chain

Hecate Energy

Ronald Schoff

Director, R&D - Renewable Energy and Fleet Enabling Technologies

Electric Power Research Institute

Melissa Lott

Partner General Manager, Energy Technologies

Microsoft

Arshad Mansoor

President & CEO

EPRI

Jennifer Downing

Engagement Officer

US Department of Energy Loan Programs Office

Jen is an Engagement Officer at the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office, leading business development efforts for the Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program. In her former role on LPO’s strategy team, Jen led the publication of DOE's Pathways to Commercial Liftoff report for Virtual Power Plants. Prior to joining DOE, Jen was a Senior Manager at Bain & Company in the Sustainability and Strategy practice areas. She holds a BA in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale and MBA from Harvard where she was a Baker Scholar. Jen is based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Meghan Semiao

Director of Asset Management and O&M

Copia Power

Meghan is the Director of Asset Management and Operations at Copia Power, a Carlyle Portfolio Company, headquartered in Dana Point, CA. Her team oversees the operations of both BESS and Solar assets, mostly centralized in Arizona. Meghan is active as a Board Member for both Clean Energy NH and the South Dakota Wind Energy Association. She also leads various committees for American Clean Power. Prior to Copia, Meghan worked for three other Renewable Independent Power Producers. Meghan holds a B.A. degree in Political Science and Business Economics from the University of Maine. In addition, she has her JD and MBA from Suffolk University. Meghan and her husband, Nathan, and their daughter, Rose, reside in New Hampshire.

Troy Renken

VP of Engineering and Product

Shoals Technologies

Nicole Steele

Director of Climate Partnerships Banking

Amalgamated Bank

Nicole Steele is a nationally recognized leader and expert with over 20 years’ experience in clean energy, focusing on equitable deployment and workforce development. She recently joined Amalgamated Bank as the Director of Climate Policy where she will lead the bank’s efforts to ensure U.S. climate policy is supportive of private capital markets in executing the clean energy transition. Prior to joining Amalgamated, she was instrumental in the development of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) programs including the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF), Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), and Solar for All (SFA) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and worked in partnership with the U.S. Treasury on the Inflation Reduction Act’s solar tax credits including the Low-Income Communities Bonus Tax Credit. She was also the Program Manager of the Workforce and Equitable Access Team in the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the head of the National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP) that created the Community Power Accelerator and many other initiatives that developed solutions for the rapid deployment of clean energy with true meaningful benefits. Prior to joining the federal government, she was the founding executive director of GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic, policy director at the Alliance to Save Energy, and ran the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program for Loudoun County Virginia. She started her career in affordable housing, community and land-use planning, and grassroots advocacy. She is an AmeriCorps alumni and passionate supporter of community service.

Mahdi Motalleb

Director, Energy Storage & Electrical Engineering

SB Energy

Larry Sherwood

President Emeritus

Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC)

Emily Backus

Sustainability Director

Vantage Data Centers

April Montgomery

Chief Development Officer

EIP Storage

April Montgomery is the Chief Development Officer of EIP Storage. She has over two decades of experience in project development, including wind, solar and storage projects. Her work has supported gigawatts of clean energy projects across the country. Prior to joining EIP, April served as Client Services Director – Generation for SWCA Environmental Consultants, a national environmental services firm company that acquired REAP in 2019. REAP was founded by April in 2013 to assist public and private sector clients build sustainable projects that balance environmental and economic development. April graduated with a BA in History and Design from Florida State University and a Master of Art in Urban Planning from the University of Florida.

Petter Skantze

Vice President of Infrastructure Development

NextEra Energy

Petter Skantze is Vice President, Infrastructure Development, a newly created role with oversight of all Energy Resources grid-scale power, origination, and transmission businesses. Previously, Petter was Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy for NextEra Energy, engaged in M&A and Corporate Strategy across NextEra’s regulated and unregulated businesses. Petter also led Project Accelerate, an annual effort which sources and implements opportunities for growth and operating improvements from all employees and leaders across the entire enterprise and examines the deployment of new technologies to drive growth for the company. Prior to joining NextEra in 2011, Petter was an investment banker in the power and utilities groups of Deutsche Bank and Bear Stearns, and a consultant in the energy practice of the Boston Consulting Group. Petter received his BS, M.Eng. and PhD in Electrical Engineering from MIT.

Kasim Khan

Senior Research Analyst, Storage

Wood Mackenzie

Caitlin Connelly

Senior Research Analyst, Distributed Solar

Wood Mackenzie

Declan Flanagan

Chairman & CEO

Bluestar Energy Capital

Declan Flanagan is a former EVP at Orsted as well as former CEO of Orsted’s onshore renewables business. He was the Founder & CEO of Lincoln Clean Energy (acquired by Orsted in 2018). Declan has led over $10 billion in capital investment in global clean energy. He has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and earned his BSc at the University of Galway.

Becca Jones-Albertus

Director, Solar Technologies Office

US Department of Energy

Dr. Becca Jones-Albertus is the Director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy in the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. SETO has an annual budget of over $300 million to advance solar technology and support an equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system. This includes innovative research on photovoltaic and concentrating solar-thermal power technologies, grid integration, and analysis and technical assistance to reduce soft costs and increase access to affordable solar energy. Dr. Jones-Albertus also works with DOE leadership and interagency partners on key issues such as supply chains, grid modernization, and workforce training. Dr. Jones-Albertus has spent her career advancing solar technology and working to reduce regulatory barriers to solar deployment. Prior to joining the Energy Department, Dr. Jones-Albertus worked in the private sector, where she led efforts to develop solar cells that twice achieved world-record efficiencies. Dr. Jones-Albertus graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. She has more than 10 patents and 40 technical publications.

Allison Weis

Global Head of Storage

Wood Mackenzie

Allison leads our global research into energy storage. She joined Wood Mackenzie in 2023 from Ascend Analytics, where she was VP of Battery Solutions. In that role she built out a storage valuation product and consulting practice as well as operational platform optimising storage, hybrid and renewable bids into day-ahead and real-time power markets. Earlier in her career, Allison was an engineer at Tesla, focused on modelling stationary energy storage for large-scale renewables integration and analysis of revenue and battery degradation in different wholesale power markets.

Nick Perugini

Chief Executive Officer

Solaris Energy

Nick specializes in non-residential project sourcing, analysis, development, and structured finance, while building strategic partnership alliances. He contributes a diverse background and passion for solar and energy efficiency (since 2008) built upon a lengthy business to business professional career. He has lead efforts on hundreds of successfully operational solar projects across the nation. Nick is the former Board Chair of the Colorado Solar and Storage Association (COSSA), the solar and storage trade organization in Colorado. He is also the former president of New Energy Colorado (NECO) an educational non-profit that manages the Metro Denver Green Homes Tour and Solar CitiSuns.

Xizhou Zhou

Executive Vice President, Head of Power & Renewables

Wood Mackenzie

Xizhou Zhou oversees Wood Mackenzie’s Power and Renewables’ function. He's responsible for the content development and commercial growth of the business line, ranging from new product development to regional expansion.  His expertise is in electric power and clean energy market analysis and forecasting, power market design and policy analysis, renewable energy business models, and company strategies. Prior to Xizhou joining Wood Mackenzie in 2024, he was vice president leading S&P Global Commodity Insight’s power and renewables practice globally. In his capacity as Head of the Power, Gas, Coal, and Renewables division in the Asia Pacific region for IHS Markit before its merger with S&P Global, Xizhou played a pivotal role in the substantial expansion of the firm's reach by establishing new research and consulting teams in key locations including Beijing, Singapore, Penang, Delhi, Seoul, Tokyo, and Brisbane, fostering the growth of the company's energy business in the region. Before starting his career at S&P Global through one of its predecessor companies, Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), he worked as a consultant on regulatory economics for Industrial Economics, Inc. in Boston and as a research analyst at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C. Xizhou holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Environmental Management, both from Yale University. He is based in Washington, D.C.

Sagar Chopra

Senior Research Analyst, Solar

Wood Mackenzie

Sagar is a senior research analyst on our Power & Renewables team, focused on PV system pricing for US and LATAM regions. He also supports research on global system pricing, and covers floating solar market research. Prior to joining Wood Mackenzie in 2021, Sagar worked as an electrical engineer, designing and commissioning utility-scale PV projects in the New England and New York region.

Martin Pochtaruk

President

Heliene Inc.

Martin Pochtaruk has 35 years of experience managing manufacturing and innovation businesses across Europe and the Americas. He founded Heliene, a technology leading high quality solar PV manufacturer in 2010, the company is challenging the solar industry status quo by putting customers first. It’s doing so as well by manufacturing high quality, competitively priced solar PV modules made to order in North America. By supporting customers with its in-house logistics team and just in time supply chain solutions. And by being remarkably responsive. Prior to founding Heliene in February 2010, he was the VP of Business development at Algoma Steel Inc., a Canadian Public Company, where he was responsible for driving the company’s value-chain integration strategy, creating and increasing value to shareholders (Dec 2004 to June 2009). Before Algoma Steel, Pochtaruk spent over fifteen years at Tenaris (NYSE: TS) in Argentina, Italy, the USA and Canada, on positions ranging from applied research (1990), product development for stringent applications (1991-1994), marketing (1995-1996), M&A (1997-1999) and supply chain management (2000 to November 2004). Relevant experience to project execution: • 1996 to 1998 – Take over and turn around of Dalmine, Italy (Tenaris) • 2000 – start up of the idled Sault Ste Marie pipe factory for Tenaris, • 2010 – start up of Heliene in Sault Ste Marie, • 2018 – replacement of the Mountain Iron, Minnesota manufacturing facility for Heliene. • 2022 – investment and start up of Mountain Iron line 2 for Heliene, • 2023 – raised USD$ 170 million to accelerate the growth of Heliene. In 1989 Martin graduated in Physics from University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Martin is fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and English.

Samantha Frick

Director of Community Relations and Impact

Pivot Energy

Carolyn O'Brien

Director of Permitting & Entitlements

Black Mountain Energy Storage

Carolyn currently serves as the Director of Permitting and Entitlements with over 10 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Black Mountain, Carolyn managed the design and permitting for a variety of projects nationwide including industrial, educational, retail and mixed use. Carolyn earned her Bachelor of Science & Master of Science degrees in Environmental Engineering with a concentration in Water Resources from Drexel University in 2012.

Michael Bennett

Chief Transformation Officer

Powin

Michael Bennett serves as the Chief Transformation Officer at Powin Energy, a global leader in energy storage solutions. In this capacity, he leads the company’s analytics, program management, cell sciences, and knowledge management teams, driving innovation and operational excellence. With over 14 years of experience in data and analytics, predominantly within the energy and renewables sector, Michael has a diverse background that includes roles in data services, market consulting, and now, cutting-edge hardware that powers the grid. At Powin, he is dedicated finding ways to leverage AI and machine learning to enhance the safety and efficiency of grid-connected industrial devices, contributing to more reliable energy infrastructure and supporting the global transition to a cleaner, sustainable future.

Benjamin Boucher

Senior Data Analyst

Wood Mackenzie

Colleen Christmas-Garner

Director of Development

RES

Colleen Christmas-Garner is a dynamic and accomplished Power Engineering and Development Executive with over two decades of experience in project management and development within the power-energy industry. She brings a robust background in managing engineering for multi-disciplinary generation projects, overseeing permitting, pre-construction activities, and environmental management. Colleen has also led the development of utility-scale solar, wind, and battery storage projects, leveraging her deep understanding of real estate matters, environmental risks, and regulatory compliance. Her career spans strategic planning, real estate negotiations, financial planning, contract management, and compliance. She has consistently demonstrated expertise in navigating complex regulatory environments while driving large-scale energy projects.

Jorge Iragorri

Managing Director – Head of Renewable Energy Investments

Morgan Stanley

Max Issokson

Research Analyst, US Distributed Solar

Wood Mackenzie

Max Issokson is a research analyst on our Power and Renewables team. He supports research and data collection for the US Distributed Solar practice. Prior to joining Wood Mackenzie in October 2022, Max worked at National Grid where he held positions in distributed generation and pricing and regulatory.