Solarplaza Summit | Asset Management Texas

Josh Corbitt is an energy and construction executive applying his expertise to help owners of large-scale solar and energy storage projects realize the full value of their assets. His in-depth understanding of procurement, operations, project management, and contract negotiations adds significant value to the experience of each Origis Services’ customer. Prior to Origis, Josh accumulated nearly a decade of solar industry experience working with MaxGen Energy Services and SunPower.

A native of the Panhandle, Alison left Texas 20 years ago to pursue a career in solar energy and couldn’t be happier that big solar has taken root the Lone Star State. After kick-starting her 15-year career with the German Solar Industry Association in Berlin, Alison has sold roof top solar, helped grow a US monitoring and controls provider into a global brand, took a short foray into supply chain and distribution, and is now happily focused on utility-scale projects. As the Business Development Manager for SOLV Energy’s Services Division, Alison rustles up new opportunities for the #1 Global Affiliated O&M Services Provider as ranked by Wood Mackenzie for five consecutive years. SOLV currently manages over 9.5 GW of renewable energy assets across the U.S. When she’s not working with IPPs and project owners to construct, operate, and repower their assets, she’s chasing her two kids or riding her horses through the sage brush.

Lauryn is an Asset Manager at Orsted Americas. She has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Francis Marion University. Lauryn has several years’ experience in the renewables industry, assisting on various sustainable initiatives during her time. She works directly on the Asset Management team for Onshore projects and has assisted in the management of ~800 MW of wind & solar projects. In the last few years, Lauryn & her colleagues have launched an initiative to outline a PV module EOL recycling program. They are driving the module recycling industry and earmarking Orsted Americas as an industry leader by banning landfilling of modules worldwide.

Michael Enger, currently the Director of Energy Market Operations, joined Austin Energy in 2001 after graduating from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Economics and a brief stint with a mutual fund company. Michael has spent nearly all of his 21 years at Austin Energy within the Energy Market Operations group performing or overseeing a variety of wholesale market and risk management tasks and projects but takes the greatest pride when identifying new opportunities, programs, or revenue streams that create additional benefit to the Austin Energy customer.

Dr. Janell Hills is Director of Workforce Programs at the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), an independent nonprofit working to build the foundation for rapid adoption of clean energy and energy efficiency. She has 17 years of experience in higher education, 13 years of experience in grant administration including development, implementation, and management. Dr. Hills has developed work-based learning and registered apprenticeship programs for innovative occupations such as pharmacy technician, information technology, and had the opportunity to enhance the plumber’s registered apprenticeship program by adding digital plumbing layout design equipment for course implementation. Dr. Hills is an enthusiastic leader who is passionate about education and workforce equity. She thoroughly enjoys creating sustainable and equitable career pathways for underrepresented and underserved populations and BIPOC communities.

Brian A. Korgel is the Rashid Engineering Regents Chair Professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He directs the UT Energy Institute, the Center for a Solar Powered Future (SPF2050)—an Industry/University Research Center (IUCRC) funded by the National Science Foundation—and the Nanotechnologies area of the UT|Portugal program. He is an Associate Editor of the journal, Chemistry of Materials. He works at the intersection of nano & mesoscopic materials chemistry and complex fluids, tackling problems in energy storage, chemical transformations, energy harvesting and conversion, and medicine. He is also an artist with a courtesy appointment as Professor in the Department of Art & Art History at UT Austin, exploring collaboration, language and human-artificial intelligence/robot cohabitation. He has published more than 300 papers and has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Alicante in Spain, the Université Josef Fourier in France and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. He has co-founded two companies, Innovalight and Piñon Technologies, and received various honors including the Professional Progress Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and election into the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Jeff Wang, an accomplished speaker and expert in the solar energy industry. Jeff holds a physics degree from the University of Hawaii and has been dedicated to the industry since 2006. With his expertise in DC cabling and connectors, Jeff has worked diligently to support customers in optimizing their CAPEX and minimizing their OPEX while improving safety in PV installation. He has had the privilege of visiting over 10GW of solar installation sites and has trained over 2000 installers since joining Staubli in 2017. Jeff is passionate about sharing his knowledge and expertise to help advance the industry. He has spoken at numerous conferences and events around the world and is always eager to learn from others.

Hilary Lefko is a Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright’s Washington D.C. office. She focuses her practice on all areas of federal income tax law, with a particular emphasis on tax controversy and renewable energy tax issues. She represents developers and investors in various energy and renewable energy projects, including transactions involving section 45 production tax credits, section 48 investment tax credits, and other renewable energy incentives. Most recently, Hilary has been advising clients on the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. She also advises US and foreign Tax planning for non-US businesses of US companies, offshore funds, domestic and international project finance and a variety of US inbound international business transactions. Earlier in her career, Hilary served as an aide to Senator Joseph I. Lieberman and to Congressman Cal Dooley. Hilary frequently represents purchasers and sellers of ownership interests in single renewables projects and portfolios of renewables projects. She also advises US and foreign Tax planning for non-US businesses of US companies, offshore funds, domestic and international project finance and a variety of US inbound international business transactions.

Martin leads Aurora’s US Research team, responsible for all US power market analytics and modelling, including long-term market forecasting and nodal pricing. He has a decade of experience in the energy transition, including roles with system operators, and utilities. Martin holds a Masters in Sustainable Energy Systems from the University of Edinburgh and a MMORSE from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.

Ms. Bybee has worked in the solar industry since 2003, first promoting renewable energy policy in Austin, TX while at Public Citizen, and then at Meridian Energy Systems, before finding her home at Namasté Solar. Ms. Bybee joined Namasté Solar in January 2006 as an early member of the team and held numerous roles over her 11 years, from technical sales & design to business development. While there, she worked to obtain a federal charter for a unique financial institution that funds clean energy products and services: Clean Energy Credit Union (www.cleanenergycu.org). This was only the 17th federal charter issued since 2010, and the first in the state of Colorado for over 30 years. She continues to serve as a volunteer on the Supervisory Committee of the credit union. Additionally, in 2016, she helped earn an award from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to found the Amicus O&M Cooperative (www.AmicusOM.com). The O&M Cooperative brings together a network of providers across the country to provide coordinated services for geographically distributed portfolios. She now serves as its CEO, and is committed to the mission “to ensure that solar PV fulfills its promise as a responsible and reliable energy source, for generations to come.” She obtained a BA in English and French from the University of Texas at Austin, and through solar, has found her “inner engineer.”

Eric Wright is a senior research analyst with the Clean Energy Technology team at IHS Markit (now part of S&P Global) and is responsible for the North American solar photovoltaic market, with an emphasis on downstream analysis. He has a background in state-level policy analysis and project implementation and contributes to country-specific publications, project tracking, and forecasts. Previously, he has worked as an energy analyst, assessing integrated resource plans, renewable portfolio and energy efficiency standards, distributed energy projects, and impacts of utility rate cases and new plant investments on clients and utility customer classes. Mr. Wright holds a Bachelor of Science in environmental science from the University of Missouri and a Master of Science in Climate Change and Society from North Carolina State University, both in the United States.

Scott Macmurdo leads the sales team at Deriva Energy (formerly Duke Energy Renewables), where he works to connect corporate and utility customers with large-scale solar, wind, and storage projects in ERCOT and throughout the United States. His work includes crafting offers, negotiating power purchase agreements, and managing customer relationships throughout the project development process. Prior to joining Duke Energy, Macmurdo worked in various capacities for NRG Energy, one of the nation’s largest independent power producers; the Corporate Eco Forum, a membership organization for sustainability executives; and the Council on Foreign Relations, a foreign policy think tank. Macmurdo is based in Austin, Texas.

Jaime Carlson is head of Commercialization and Market Risk at SB Energy, a climate infra-tech platform backed by Softbank and Ares Capital to develop high capacity solar and storage across the US. Prior to SB Energy, Jaime was Executive Vice President of Operations at Cypress Creek Renewables and Global Director of Finance at SunEdison’s TerraForm Group. Jaime also led M&A in the Americas for Rentech, Inc., a Blackstone-backed $550MM revenue natural resource company. Jaime served in President Obama’s first term as an advisor for finance and operations to former Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. During her three years, Jaime directly oversaw the deployment of over $35B in Recovery Act funds. Bloomberg New Energy Finance named her one of the country’s thought-leaders in Alternative Energy. Jaime received an MBA and MEM from Yale University and a BS from Tufts University. She is currently a Yale University alumni board member, Friends of the LA River board member, Aspen Institute scholar, advisor to UCLA’s Institute for Environment and Sustainability, and Truman National Security Project fellow.

Mr. Kezell is currently Director of Weatherization and Inspection at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Over the last ten years he has also worked in Senior Director and Director roles at CPS Energy in San Antonio, Texas and Seminole Electric Cooperative in Tampa, Florida respectively. Previously he worked with WorleyParsons (now Worley) in Reading, Pennsylvania and Chattanooga, Tennessee in several roles including Project Manager, Director of Construction Management, and General Manager of Chattanooga Operations.  Earlier in his career he worked for an independent power producer and consulting engineering firms in the San Francisco Bay area in California.  While there he helped to develop and execute new power projects and worked as an air quality compliance consultant. He is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and Arizona State University and is a licensed Mechanical Engineer in California.  David and his wife Anjanette are proud parents of three grown children.

Keith is a renewable and solar industry veteran with extensive international experience. He has worked in several leadership roles. Most notably he was an executive at technology provider Solmetric, which was acquired by Vivint Solar in 2015. At Vivint, Keith oversaw launching Vivint's C&I division. He has held executive level positions at HiQ and Sea Bright Solar. He is a regular speaker at industry events on the topic of cybersecurity for the grid. He received an MBA from Fordham Business School and holds degrees in Chemical Engineering and Economics from Rutgers.

Hesston Klenk is an experienced leader and policy and government relations specialist. His extensive experience includes land use policy, water policy, energy policy, renewable energy development, air quality, and state/federal permitting. Hesston currently leads state government relations in the Western and Central U.S. at AES Clean Energy. In this role Hesston and his team focus on policy initiatives which impact an evolving energy sector where he has a proven track record of finding common ground between government, private industries, landowners, and environmental groups on many complex issues. Prior to joining AES Clean Energy in 2022 Hesston spent 18 years working in the mining industry where he focused on government relations, communities and social performance, and Native American engagement. Hesston has led functional teams in several countries around the globe including Peru, Chile, and Australia.

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Cory leads the finance and accounting functions at Spearmint. Cory brings 15 years of infrastructure development experience working with world class investment funds at Blackrock, JP Morgan and Blackstone. His teams have raised $8B+ of project capital and successfully developed and constructed over 4 GW of power generation capacity across the globe. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Eboni currently serves as the Head of HR and Administrative Services for ConnectGen Management LLC. She joined ConnectGen in 2022 with over 15 years of experience across various functions within HR operations. Eboni received her Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications from Baylor University and Master of Science in Human Resources Management from Houston Baptist University. Which led to a 14 year career in the oil and gas industry plus a few years consulting with a focus on Organizational Talent and Transformation. Throughout her career, Eboni has had the opportunity to sit on many panels and volunteer across organizations to share advice for people at various stages of their careers as well as lead sessions on leadership development and coaching. She is excited to now lend her expertise in the renewables space and is looking forward to continuing to optimize opportunities to help individuals and organizations as they evolve.

James is the Commercial Manager of Growth Businesses in North America for Covestro, including the solar coating solutions business. Covestro is a leading manufacturer of advanced polymers and high-performance plastics, aiming to become a fully circular company by embracing the principles of a circular economy. Through James’ strategic guidance, Covestro’s solar coating solutions business continues to expand its footprint in the North American market, striving to help solar park owners boost solar park performance with ARCA solar coating solution. James’ diverse professional background includes new venture creation, market development, and business development for a wide range of products across multiple industries.

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Prior to joining KerTec, Needham’s journey of land stewardship began with a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University in Horticulture with emphasis in Turfgrass Management and a minor in Soil Science. He then spent time at a few of the Nation’s Top 100 Golf Clubs— Karsten Creek (Stillwater, OK) and The BROADMOOR East & West Courses (Colorado Springs, CO)— before relocating to sprawling cow-calf ranches in the Texas panhandle, serving as both Ranch Foreman and Senior Land Manager. Needham now serves as a Professional Services Consultant working with KerTec’s Administrative Team in business development and environmental consulting. Throughout the country, KerTec’s team of experts and technicians use science-based methodology and solutions for the three main timelines of a project: pre-construction, construction, and post-construction/O&M. KerTec offers consulting expertise regarding plant and soil science, in-house implementation of erosion control strategies and stabilization techniques in the field, as well as managing the vegetation and soils for the life of the project (mechanical, grazing, robotic, and chemical). In his free time, Needham enjoys spending time with family and friends, whether grilling and hosting get-togethers with his wife, Anna, at their home in Edmond, OK, or out on the golf course.

Armando joined Lightsource bp in 2019, bringing over 10 years of experience in utility-scale development and engineering in the Americas energy markets. To date, Armando has directly worked on utility-scale solar projects in over 10 countries totaling over 5GW in both development, execution, and operational stages. This experience includes various technologies such as bifacial modules, thin-film, and energy storage connected projects, as well as unique grid requirements. Armando works closely with Procurement on strategic supply partnerships as well as with Project Finance teams to represent the technical diligence to Independent Engineering firms to support successful debt financing and tax equity investment partnerships. At Lightsource bp, Armando manages teams in the US and in Brazil to deliver on all engineering needs across multiple teams and periods of project execution. Previously, Armando worked at Adapture Renewables (formerly Enerparc Inc) as well as Q CELLS (now 174 Power Global) where he started his career in the solar industry, mainly focused in international markets in Latin America and Canada. Armando holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.

Originally from the East Coast, Adewale moved to Southern California in 2007. Initially he worked at California State University, Dominguez Hills for the California African American Political & Economic Institute, a non-profit research organization that disseminated information into the Greater Los Angeles community. During the course of his employment, he took up the study of photovoltaics at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. It was at that time that he learned about and became involved with GRID Alternatives. Since then he has developed a passion for solar energy and all the possibilities its uses create. “To be able to stay involved in building healthy and sustainable communities keeps me grounded as an individual, while staying connected to humanity at large.” “I am excited about the future; I’ve found something in which I am passionate about, that I can build a career in, while helping to save the environment. Just as important is the fact that I am also empowered to help others in a way that that benefits us all. As a Workforce Development Manager, GRID Alternatives provides me with a great opportunity, not only in which to learn and grow, but also to give back.”

Josh Rogers is the Director of Safety, Workforce Training, and Operations at ACP. In this role, Josh leads the ACP team and committees focused on worker safety, workforce development, and operational excellence that will support the renewables industry growth. He brings over 15 years or operational industry experience. Josh spent several years as Director of Solar Operations for Duke Energy, which included responsibility for safety, organizational development, performance, and financial profits and losses at more than 60 facilities across the country. He has also developed standards, training, and operational leadership for at several leading companies such as: ABB, Sun Edison, First Solar, and most recently Fluence. Prior to joining private sector energy companies, Josh served in the United States Navy for nine years where he was certified as a nuclear operator and Master Training Specialist. Josh earned his Bachelor of Science in Technology from Excelsior University.

Charlene is a Product Manager at Fluence and has been with the company since 2018. She is responsible for developing asset performance management software for utility-scale energy storage assets globally. Prior to her current role, Charlene managed performance analysis on the service team at Fluence, which included analyzing the operational performance of Fluence's global energy storage fleet and measuring asset performance against contractual guarantees. She has 12 years of experience in the energy industry, including at AES, Pacific Gas & Electric, and NERA Economic Consulting. Charlene holds a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Environmental Science from Columbia University. Charlene was born and raised in Austin, TX and now lives in Washington, DC.

Swarup is the co-founder and CEO of Sensehawk and has been instrumental in defining the vision and direction of the company. He has helped place SenseHawk at the heart of the current technological revolution enveloping solar asset management and monitoring. Prior to SenseHawk, Swarup led SunEdison's rural electrification and solar irrigation business and was responsible for expanding its footprint across Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Through this and his earlier stints at Cypress Semiconductors, Swarup has had an excellent track record of conceptualizing and developing high-tech products across different industries.

CJ Fu joined LONGi Solar in 2020 as Director of Product & Solutions. CJ and his team lead the product management, product marketing, technical service, and qualification, contract negotiation and after sales for LONGi Solar, focusing on North America markets. CJ is a seasoned solar product management professional who has been a part of industry-leading organizations such as GCL System Integration Technology (2016-2020), SunEdison (2013-2016) and Suntech (2009-2013). CJ holds an M.S of Science from the University of California, San Diego and an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business. In his spare time, CJ likes to play tennis or watch movies with his family and friends.

Kara Gunn is an experienced and performance-driven executive with a 20+ year track record in delivering the safe, compliant, and value of energy assets throughout the US. As a senior leader within Lightsource bp, Ms. Gunn has played a pivotal role in developing and implementing the strategic operational framework for Lightsource bp’s U.S. solar operational pipeline. Ms. Gunn is passionate about leading a positive and value-driven diverse teams, as well as recruiting, retaining and developing the best talent in the industry. Ms. Gunn has lived in Texas throughout most of her life, and also receiving her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas in Arlington, Texas.

Sid manages Solarplaza's business development team, coordinating partnerships with solar organizations around the world for Solarplaza's portfolio of 25+ events annually. Sid joined the company as a sales representative in 2018 and has since been involved in close to a hundred events. He's gained previous professional experience in sales and advisory roles at ING Bank and T-Mobile. Sid holds a Master's degree in Strategic Management from the Erasmus University's School of Management (RSM) and a Bachelor's degree in International Business from the University of Groningen.