Energy Industry Veteran Thomas Rainwater Named CEO of SunEdison
Former TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Executive to Lead Utility-Scale Solar Development for North America’s Largest Solar Energy Services Provider
BELTSVILLE, Md. BELTSVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SunEdison, North America's largest solar energy services provider, announced today the appointment of energy industry veteran Thomas M. (Tom) Rainwater as CEO and a member of the Board of Directors, effective August 13, 2007. Rainwater, 49, has been a successful senior executive in the power generation and energy marketing industry since 1982, having held numerous leadership positions with traditional energy companies.
Most recently, Rainwater led global commercial operations and corporate development efforts as Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations and Development for TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a $2.8 billion revenue public company with a market capitalization of $5.5 billion and 9 gigawatts of power generation capacity.
SunEdison founder and current CEO Jigar Shah will continue on as Chief Strategy Officer and member of the Board of Directors. “We're excited that someone with Tom's credentials and traditional energy and utility experience has validated what we in the solar industry have known for a while: Solar's future is now,” said Shah.
Shah further noted, “Tom's experience with traditional utility generation strengthens SunEdison's position as the only company to successfully develop utility-scale solar. I look forward to working with Tom to capitalize on the opportunities ahead of us and to take SunEdison to the next level.”
Added SunEdison Board member David Buzby, “We're delighted to have an individual of Tom's caliber join the SunEdison management team. Tom brings world-class leadership to the most creative and entrepreneurial minds in the solar services industry and to SunEdison investors, including Goldman Sachs, Allco Finance Group, and MissionPoint Capital.” Buzby served on the CEO search committee.
“SunEdison's relationships with several forward-thinking utilities, such as the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and Xcel Energy, demonstrate the viability of utility-scale solar energy today as a part of the overall supply mix. These capabilities, combined with the company’s already impressive track record of solar system installations with leading retailers, and the backing of well-respected investors, is what originally attracted me to the company,” said Rainwater.
Rainwater further noted, “The energy and environmental challenges confronting all of us are profound and long-lasting. Fortunately, the solar industry in North America is positioned to drive down costs and achieve parity with traditional generation assets in the next few years to be an integral part of the solution. I look forward to bringing new levels of service to our current and future customers, and to ensuring solar energy becomes a significant part of the overall energy and environmental solution.”
SunEdison includes among its customers Wal-Mart, Kohl's, Staples, Whole Foods, the City of San Diego, the California State University system, and Caltrans. SunEdison simplifies solar by deploying multi-megawatt solar plants under power purchase agreements (PPAs). Via PPAs, SunEdison builds, owns and maintains the solar plants and sells the solar electricity to customers.
SunEdison is currently constructing an 8.2 megawatt solar plant – the largest utility-based photovoltaic project in the United States – in Alamosa, Colorado. Xcel Energy will purchase the solar energy generated from the plant in order to help meet part of Colorado's renewable energy standard. In addition, SunEdison Canada, a division of SunEdison, recently announced it will embark upon construction of two solar park projects in Ontario, totaling up to 20 megawatts.
About SunEdison
Sun Edison, LLC, is North America's leading solar energy services provider. SunEdison provides solar-generated energy at or below current retail utility rates to a broad and diverse client base of commercial, municipal and utility customers. For more information about SunEdison, please visit www.sunedison.com. The company headquarters is located in Beltsville, Md.
