SolarCity's employee base has grown 67 percent since the end of 2013, with the firm adding 2,900 employees in 2014 to date, according to a statement. SolarCity is the nation's largest solar employer, with more than 7,000 full-time employees in the U.S.
As we recently reported, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) is on the verge of bankruptcy and was seeking to fill a Chief Restructuring Officer role. Barron's has noted that the utility is struggling with $10 billion in debt. Last week the utility announced that Lisa Donahue has been appointed to the CRO role. Donahue currently is the leader of the Turnaround and Restructuring Services group at AlixPartners. She previously served as EVP and CFO of Calpine, an independent power producer. In 2013, 68 percent of Puerto Rico’s electricity came from petroleum, 15 percent from natural gas, 15 percent from coal, and 2 percent came from hydropower. The island's utility has five main power plants with a capacity of approximately 3,900 megawatts for its 1.5 million customers. Puerto Rico's 24-cents-per-kilowatt-hour electricity is largely generated with oil imported from Brazil.
Plug Power named Chris Hutter as its new CFO. Plug Power builds fuel cells that power forklifts in warehouses for customers such as Wal-Mart, CVS, and Procter & Gamble. Hutter was most recently EVP and CFO of PowerSecure, an energy products and services firm.
Itron appointed W. Mark Schmitz as EVP and CFO of the smart grid and metering company. Most recently Schmitz served as the CFO of Alghanim Industries. He previously served as CFO of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Tyco International Limited’s Worldwide Fire and Security Segment and Plug Power.
Greg Rosen has left his role as Chief Investment Officer at solar investment and loan platform Mosaic, according to his LinkedIn profile, which lists him currently as a principal at High Noon Advisors.
Solar Grid Storage EVP and CTO Luis Ortiz has left the firm.
Raj Pai has joined AutoGrid, an energy-focused big data and cloud computing firm, as its new Global Head of Product Management and Marketing. Prior to joining AutoGrid, Pai co-founded Claritics (acquired by Systems in Motion), a cloud-based big data analytics provider to retailers, game publishers and social media platforms. Utilities such as Oklahoma Gas & Electric, Austin Energy, E.ON and the City of Palo Alto Utilities use AutoGrid’s technology to boost operations reliability.
The Sustainability Consortium named Sheila Bonini as CEO. Bonini was previously with McKinsey & Company.
Randall MacEwen has been named CEO of fuel-cell developer Ballard Power Systems. Previously, MacEwen was EVP of Stuart Energy Systems, an onsite hydrogen production company, and CEO of Solar Integrated Technologies. John Sheridan, the current CEO of Ballard, is retiring after serving in that role since 2006.
Stem, an energy storage integrator and services provider, named Karen Butterfield as chief commercial officer. Most recently, Butterfield served as managing director of national account sales for SunPower.