Atlantic Power Taps New COO. March 27
Atlantic Power, which owns 32 biomass, wind, natural gas, hydro and coal power plants, announced that Ned Hall will become its new chief operating officer. Hall is moving from a job as COO at AES Corp.
PricewaterhouseCooper Names U.S. Cleantech Chief. March 25
Tom Solazzo, a smart grid expert with 30 years of experience in energy, will lead PwC’s American cleantech practice, which is making “significant investments” in companies in the energy, automotive, utilities, technology and industrial products industries, according to a company statement.
Alta Ventures Mexico Hires New Managing Partner. March 27
Michael J. Wolfgramm, formerly the chief technology officer at Ancestry.com, has joined Alta Ventures Mexico, an early-stage venture group with investments including social media app maker Juxta Labs and alternative energy company Energryn.
Solar Headquarters Set to Expand. March 21 & March 25
SolarCity plans to create hundreds of jobs at its new administrative offices in Las Vegas, according to a company press release. MiaSolé, a thin-film photovoltaic panel manufacturer, announced it will double its workforce from 200 to 400 at its administrative and manufacturing location in California.
Awards from WSJ, Facebook, EPA, and Video Game Co.
The Wall Street Journal’s award for top venture-backed cleantech company went to Recyclebank, which runs recycling rewards programs. The Call of Duty Endowment, created by the makers of the popular line of video games, awarded $250,000 to Veterans Green Jobs, a nonprofit that helps vets find work in green industries. Sunfunder, which uses crowdsourcing to fund off-grid solar projects in developing countries, won the $25,000 prize offered by Facebook and the Cleantech Group in the “Cleantech Goes Social” contest. Lumi-Solair, manufacturers of solar/wind hybrid off-grid power generators, won the EPA’s 2013 Environmental Quality Award.
Green Jobs Beat All Other Sectors. March 19
Green industries employed just over 3.4 million Americans in 2011, representing 2.6 percent of all jobs in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was a 4.9-percent jump over the previous year, making it the fastest-growing sector of the economy, the L.A. Times found.
Cody Nystrom Joins Venture Firm. March 15
SJF Ventures, a venture partnership focused on sustainability, resource efficiency and high-tech service companies, hired as managing director Cody Nystrom, who previously did M&A work in the energy and environmental fields at the Ewing Bemiss & Co. investment bank.
Fisker Resigns from His Own Company. March 13
Henrik Fisker, who co-founded Fisker Automotive to manufacture beautiful plug-in hybrid cars like this one, resigned from the company citing “several major disagreements” with executive management over business strategy, according to a statement made to Autocar magazine.