Bruce Stewart President & CEO Perch Energy

Bruce Stewart is a strategic business leader and operator with a career focused on successfully delivering business growth and transformation, and driving business results. Prior to joining Perch Energy, Bruce served as President at Direct Energy Home, and Co-President of Centrica US Holdings, where he led the successful sale of Direct Energy to NRG for $3.6B in January 2021, in addition to delivering a 33% increase in operating profit, renewed customer growth, operating cost efficiencies, 29% reduction in churn and top customer service results for the Direct Energy Home business. 

Jonathan Berke Managing Editor New Project Media

Jon Berke is the managing editor of New Project Media, where he covers capital markets activity across all of the major renewable generation verticals. He has been covering alternative asset classes over the course of his 20-year career in journalism, including of infrastructure and private credit.

Joel Gamoran Vice President & General Manager Arcadia

Joel Gamoran is an energy industry veteren and foundational leader within the community solar market. At Arcadia, Joel has overseen the company's community solar business since it launched in 2016. Joelsetsthe company's community solar strategy and manages the commercial teamsservingArcadia's client base of clean energy asset developers, owners, and operators. Joel brings deep expertise in consumer energy products and services, market expansion, utility program design and operations — including best practice for supporting residential, low-to-moderate income, and commercial customer. Joel also serves on the Executive Advisory Group for the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) trade association.

Prior to joining Arcadia, Joel led operations and business development at Yeloha, a 2016 Webby Award winner and Fast Company World Changing Idea of 2015. Before that, Joel led regulatory affairs for the energy efficiencysoftware division of C3.ai. Earlier in his career, Joel worked as a Senior Analyst for NERA Economic Consulting, where he supported oil and gas clients. Joel holds a B.A. in Economics with honorfrom Washington University in St. Louis.

Benjamin Cuozzo Director, DER Advisory New York Power Authority

Ben Cuozzo is a specialist in solar PV and distributed generation technologies. At NYPA, he works in developing renewable energy projects and programs for its customers. His principal responsibilities include preparing project economic forecasts, project scoping and system design, and, during the pre-development phase, researching and investigating the factors that may impact project success. He acts as a customer-facing point of contact for these projects as they move from conception to completion. Mr. Cuozzo also works with NYPA’s policy and regulatory affairs team on creating programs that enable greater, more efficient and more economical adoption of DERs (distributed energy resources) by our customer base.

Currently, Mr. Cuozzo is managing the implementation of over 100MW of distributed solar PV projects with numerous State and local government entities throughout New York.

Prior to joining NYPA in 2017, Mr. Cuozzo worked with both for-profit and non-profit development companies.

Annika Colston President & Founder AC Power

Annika Colston has been developing alternative energy projects for two decades. She has experience across all aspects of project development. Stakeholders she has led through the process range from the United Nations (via the Kyoto Protocol) to Fortune 500 companies, local municipalities, landowners, utilities, and more. In 2016, she founded AC Power to spearhead solar development on previously disturbed properties. As Founder and CEO, Ms. Colston's expertise and vision help resolve the inevitable challenges of redeveloping brownfield sites.

Megan Strand Co-Founder & Partner Trajectory Energy Partners

Originally from Honolulu, Hawai`i, Megan headed east to the University of Virginia for her undergraduate and law degrees. In between stints in Charlottesville, Megan worked for U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) in Washington, DC. As a Partner at Trajectory, she leads the legal, operations, and project finance teams.

Prior to co-founding Trajectory, Megan practiced law in the Project Finance Group of Chadbourne & Parke LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright).  Over the past 15 years, Megan has worked on the deployment of renewable energy across 34 states, including the financing and/or development of more than 9,000 MW of wind and solar projects in the US.

Outside of the office Megan is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center teaching a seminar on US renewables policy, financing and project development, and enjoys playing tennis and surfing.

Rebecca Noyes Director of Business Development - Community Solar Perch Energy

Rebecca Noyes is the head of Business Development at Perch. In her six years at Perch, Rebecca has had the opportunity to take on variety of roles in the BD space, from contracting anchor customers, to managing channel partners, and engaging with Perch’s developer and asset owner partners. In the last three years, Rebecca has facilitated bringing over 250MW of community solar project capacity across eight markets onto Perch’s platform.

Rebecca holds a B.A. in Environmental Policy from Northeastern University. Outside of the office, she enjoys any type of competitive board game and catching a movie at her favorite local theater.

Brian Granahan Director Illinois Power Agency

Brian Granahan is the Director of the Illinois Power Agency (IPA), an independent state agency tasked with developing energy procurement plans, conducting energy, capacity, and renewables procurement events, developing solar energy incentive programs, and providing financial incentives for the continued operation of at-risk nuclear plants. As Director, he oversees the development and implementation of plans to procure electricity and clean energy resources for customers of Illinois electric utilities. This includes development of the IPA’s Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan, which outlines the state’s approach to supporting new community solar projects, as well as overseeing programs providing incentives to support those projects.  

Previously, Brian served as IPA’s Chief Legal Counsel, beginning with the Agency in April 2014. In this role, he oversaw a variety of legal, policy, and strategic responsibilities for the IPA, including serving as the Agency’s legislative liaison and representative in negotiations around the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (2021) and the Future Energy Jobs Act (2016). Brian began his career as an associate with Sidley Austin LLP and worked as clean energy advocate and staff attorney with Environment Illinois before shifting to the public sector and serving as a policy advisor to two Chairmen at the Illinois Commerce Commission.  

Prior to joining the IPA, Brian was a Vice President with the strategic consulting firm of Tur Partners LLC working to incubate a startup low-profit, limited liability company (L3C) focused on cleantech adoption by municipal governments. Brian is a former board member of the Illinois Environmental Council and Green Economy Chicago, and presently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Clean Energy States Alliance Board of Directors. Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Iowa and a juris doctor degree from New York University School of Law.  

Spencer Tweed Vice President, Project Finance Foss & Company

Spencer Tweed joined Foss & Company in December of 2022. As Vice President of Project Finance, Spencer manages the closing and diligence process for renewable energy and sustainability funds. Prior to joining Foss & Company, Spencer worked in project finance for a utility scale solar developer with a focus on coordinating tax equity and debt. Spencer earned his BA in Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin and earned his MS in Finance from the University of Denver. He is based out of our Denver office.

David Arfin CEO and Co-Founder NineDot Energy

David Arfin is a globally recognized leader in creating innovative finance offerings that accelerate the adoption of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other clean technologies. He is the CEO and co-founder of NineDot Energy in Brooklyn, NY.

Previously, David invented SolarCity's SolarLease, a game-changing financing program that enabled over 1,000,000 American homeowners to adopt solar power, leading to SolarCity's acquisition by Tesla. David served as a Consultant to the US Department of Energy’s SunShot initiative and as Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Israel Cleantech Ventures. David has also been an emissary for the US Department of State in Angola, Israel, and Palestine.

He holds a BA in Political Science from UCLA, a Masters in Public Policy Analysis from Claremont Graduate University, and an MBA from Stanford University. David lives between New York and California.

Vikram Dhawan Director, Distributed Energy EQT Partners

Vikram is a Director in EQT's Infrastructure team, where he helps lead investing efforts across the energy and environmental services sub-sectors, with a particular focus on distributed energy and related services. As a key player in shaping EQT's strategy in the distributed generation market, Vikram has been at the forefront of identifying and executing investments that support the growth of decentralized energy solutions and environmental infrastructure.

Their expertise spans a broad range of energy-related sectors, from renewable generation to innovative technologies that promote efficiency and sustainability. Before joining EQT, Vikram served as an investment professional at Fortress Investment Group, where he focused on energy and transportation investments.

At EQT, Vikram is committed to driving transformative investments that meet the growing demand for clean, reliable, and decentralized energy solutions.

Tyler Nielsen Director Keybanc Capital Markets

Tyler is a Director on KeyBanc Capital Markets’ Utilities, Power & Renewable Energy Investment Banking team. He has more than 10 years of experience raising capital and providing advisory services to developers and sponsors in the renewable energy industry. Tyler holds a BSBA from The Ohio State University in Accounting and is a registered representative of KeyBanc Capital Markets with Series 79 and Series 63 designations.

Elina E. Coss (Moderator) Partner, Energy & Climate Solutions Wilson Sonsini

Elina Coss is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in the energy and climate solutions group.

Elina represents borrowers and sponsors in project and structured finance, acquisitions and project development transactions, with a focus on financing cash flow streams from the renewable energy technology sector (such as solar, wind, battery storage, EV charging, green fuels and carbon capture). She advises clients on complex asset-based financings at all levels of the capital stack, including joint ventures, construction, back-leverage and mezzanine financings, tax and cash equity financings, capital market securitizations, and forward flow financings. Elina also advises lenders, tax equity investors, private equity funds, and other investors in the renewable energy space.

Prior to joining the firm, Elina was an associate with Milbank LLP.

Johannes Rittershausen CEO Convergent Energy + Power

Johannes Rittershausen serves as Convergent's Chief Executive Officer and member of the board. Prior to co-founding Convergent with Chief Operating and Financial Officer Frank Genova in 2011, Johannes worked as a senior project manager in corporate strategic planning and the electric vehicle readiness unit at Southern California Edison (“SCE”) from January 2007 to November 2011. Johannes began his career in the utility industry in 2007 as an analyst in SCE’s power procurement business unit, performing functions in commodity trading, long-term resource planning, and ISO market settlements. Johannes holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, with a focus in Economics, from Pomona College and a Master of Arts from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Services.

Harsha Reddy Manager, Energy Markets ICF Consulting

Harsha Reddy is a Manager in ICF’s Energy Advisory group with expertise in Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and their participation in Wholesale and Retail Electricity Markets. Harsha has supported as a market advisor in several M&A transactions in the DER space spanning projects and portfolios including distributed generation, distributed storage, and virtual power plants. He has developed market intelligence reports and assessment frameworks for institutional investors and developers to evaluate opportunities and underlying market risks in this intricate and fast evolving segment of the energy transition. He also leads the development of ICF’s in-house modeling of long-term retail tariff forecasts and DER participation in electricity markets.

Harsha holds a master’s degree in engineering management (MEM) from Dartmouth College and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from IIT Madras.

Matt Eastwick Managing Director Javelin Capital

Mr. Eastwick is a Managing Director at Javelin where he focuses on renewable energy transaction origination and execution. He has established expertise in the sector with 20+ years of experience on both the buy-side and sell-side. He is noted for innovative financial structures and building successful businesses.

Prior to joining Javelin Capital, Mr. Eastwick was the Chief Investment Officer for CleanCapital, having led ~$500 million of investment into distributed renewable energy projects. Earlier in his career he held various leadership positions at Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch & Co and Global Environment Fund. He graduated from Princeton University with a BA in economics.

Jake Berlin Senior Vice President, Energy Services Stem

Jake leads Stem's product and go-to-market strategy and execution for utility-scale storage. He has a long history in clean energy, including roles with NYSERDA, ICF, Rethink Energy, the New York Power Authority, and Willdan Energy Solutions. He has been a consultant, an entrepreneur, a policymaker, and a solutions developer, and also teaches an MBA class on the clean energy transition at the NYU Stern School of Business.  

Julian Torres Chief Investment Officer Scale Microgrids

Julian Torres serves as Scale Microgrids’ chief investment officer and is primarily responsible for guiding the investment strategy, structuring, and deployment of Scale’s capital into distributed energy resources and energy infrastructure assets. In a professional career spanning two decades, Julian has assisted with closing over $12 billion in structured finance, tax equity, and project finance. Julian holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and is a CFA Charterholder.

Ken Meehan (Moderator) Founder & CEO New Project Media

• Ken is the Founder of NPM, based in Princeton.

• He was previously the Editor-in-Chief of Fixed Income information products globally for Acuris and a Senior Reporter for Refinitiv.

• He is an avid Liverpool supporter and an enthusiastic Knicks apologist.

Peter Schweyer State Representative Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Representative Peter G. Schweyer is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives serving the people of the 134th Legislative District in Lehigh County. He was first elected to this office in 2014 after being twice elected to City Council in his hometown.

Born and raised in Allentown, Schweyer is a graduate of Allentown Central Catholic High School and the Pennsylvania State University, State College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Schreyer’s Honors College. He went on to study elementary education at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia at the post-graduate level.

Prior to his election, Schweyer worked as director of community and government affairs for Sacred Heart Hospital in Center City Allentown, directing the hospital's community health and community development initiatives.

Immediately prior to his service with Sacred Heart Hospital, he served as chief of staff to former state Rep. Jennifer L. Mann for eight years. He had also served as legislative assistant for two other members of the PA General Assembly and had been a schoolteacher in the Philadelphia School District as a cohort member of the Teach Philadelphia program.

Schweyer’s legislative priorities include protecting and expanding access to health insurance, appropriately funding PA’s public schools and supporting policies to spur the creation of more family-sustaining jobs in the Lehigh Valley. He supports increasing Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, continued criminal justice reform, investment in sustainable, alternative energy and initiatives to better serve our veterans.

As State Representative, Schweyer serves as Majority Chairman of the Education Committee, and has served as a deputy whip in the House Democratic Caucus and as a past member of the House Appropriations Committee. In 2023, Speaker McClinton appointed Schweyer to the PHEAA Board of Directors where he serves as a member of the Committee on Needs Analysis and Aid Coordination.

Schweyer was also appointed by Speaker McClinton to serve on the Basic Education Funding Commission, which is a group of bipartisan lawmakers and officials who meet every five years to review and update the state's education funding formula for schools.

He also serves on several community organizations that strive to improve the quality of life in Allentown and surrounding communities. Most notably, Schweyer is a past board member and past chairperson of the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA).

He and his wife, Jennifer, are the proud parents of Sarah and Erin, who both attend Allentown public schools. They are homeowners in South Allentown. In his spare time, Schweyer enjoys baseball games and cheering for the Penn State Nittany Lions, as well as reading, poorly playing his guitar, boating and watching far too much Netflix and HBO.

Dan O'Brien SVP Direct Business DSD Renewables

In his role as SVP, Dan leads and manages the Energy Solutions - Direct vertical at DSD. This vertical is focused on working directly with customers to provide renewable energy technology solutions and projects to customers. The Direct vertical includes sales, project development engineering, project development, and project construction functions, with supplementary support from other DSD teams.

In his role as SVP, Dan leads and manages the Energy Solutions - Direct vertical at DSD. This vertical is focused on working directly with customers to provide renewable energy technology solutions and projects to customers. The Direct vertical includes sales, project development engineering, project development, and project construction functions, with supplementary support from other DSD teams.

Dan earned his B.A. in Business and Marketing from La Salle University and received his M.A. in Sustainable Energy from Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, in 2022. He lives in Haddonfield, N.J., with his wife and three children, and enjoys spontaneous adventures with his family.

Greg Pool VP of Development, National Accounts Verogy

Greg is VP of Development for National Accounts responsible for growing and serving National C&I clients. Greg graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Environmental Engineering. He lives in Bentonville, AR with his wife and five kids where he is active in his neighborhood and the local mountain biking community.

Joseph Fiori Head of Business Development & Sales EDPR NA DG

Mr. Fiori is the Head of Business Development and Sales for EDPR NA Distributed Generation(EDPR NA DG), where he oversees the company’s offtake origination and go-to-market strategy across product types and geographies. Mr. Fiori leads a team charged with growing the company’s solar portfolio across rooftop, ground-mount, and solar canopies, with a focus on behind-the-meter and front of the meter solar projects, including community solar. 

Prior to joining EDPR NA DG, Mr. Fiori spend almost ten years at Nexamp, with roles spanning from project development, to most recently overseeing the power origination team, in his role asVice President of Energy Sales.  Mr. Fiori was charged with enrolling customers across the entirety of Nexamp’s DG portfolio of community solar and virtual net metering projects, with customers ranging from hospitals and nonprofits to global manufacturers and Fortune 500 companies.  

He holds a B.A. from Middlebury College.

MK Houston (Moderator) Counsel, Capital Projects & Infrastructure Troutman Pepper

MK is counsel in the Capital Projects + Infrastructure Practice Group. Her practice focuses on the development, acquisition, and financing of large-scale infrastructure assets. MK has represented sponsors, infrastructure funds, commercial banks, institutional lenders, and contractors in the development, construction, financing, and operation of projects in the air, road, rail, social infrastructure, water, and renewable energy sectors. She has first-hand knowledge of the project and financing documentation for some of the most innovative, landmark infrastructure projects in the United States and Caribbean, including public-private partnerships.

Scott Wiater President & CEO Standard Solar

Scott Wiater, President and CEO of Standard Solar Inc., has transformed the company from a locally-based residential installer to a national leader in commercial and community solar assets. His strategic leadership has stabilized the company during the volatile early stages of the solar industry, focusing on profitability and shareholder value. Wiater, who has been featured in mainstream media and recognized by programs such as Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year, previously served as Executive Vice President at Peak Technologies and Director of Operations at Motorola (Symbol Technologies). He holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Jesse Grossman CEO Soltage

Jesse Grossman is an established leader in the solar industry and has over 15 years of experience in project finance, emerging markets and renewable energy. In 2005, driven to transform the US energy economy through the rapid deployment of renewable assets, Jesse co-founded Soltage, an independent renewable power producer that develops, finances and operates distributed utility solar and storage project portfolios across the U.S. Jesse has served as Soltage’s Chairman and CEO since its founding, and has directed over $1B into solar asset investment through Soltage, which currently owns and manages a solar portfolio of over 450 MWs across 15 states

Richard Dovere Founder & Chief Executive Officer Dispatch Energy

Rich is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of DispatchEnergy. Previously, Rich served as Chief Investment Officer of EDPR NA DG, where Rich led capital investment and overall market strategy for the platform’s $500M+ portfolio of operating and development assets. He has over a decade of experience developing, structuring and financing award-winning renewable power generation project financings in the United States and Europe. Before EDPR NA DG, he co-founded and co-led C2, which operated more than $300M of power generation facilities throughout the United States, from dining room table to start-up to the successful sale of a majority stake to EDPR North America in Q1 2021. Recognized for his thought leadership and subject matter expertise, Rich actively participates in conferences and was recently featured in We Took The Risk, a book on original risk-takers in the renewable energy industry. Rich holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Shawn Queenan Director of Renewables Kimmeridge

Shawn Queenan is the Director of Renewables at Kimmeridge, working on the investment team supporting their Kimmeridge Carbon Solutions (KCS) fund. Shawn has over a decade of experience in renewable energy with the last three years spent supporting Kimmeridge as it closed the first of their carbon solution fund. Prior to joining Kimmeridge, Shawn worked at Xcel Energy in Denver and oversaw various iterations of their solar offerings including helping to launch the Minnesota Solar*Rewards Community program, managing the Colorado’s community solar program, and numerous rate design efforts related to solar billing. Shawn graduated with a BA from Keene State College in New Hampshire.

Peggy Flannery Managing Director Generate Capital

Peggy Flannery is a Managing Director on the Investment Team at Generate Capital, where she helps build and lead the firm’s community solar investment strategy. Peggy has led Generate’s community solar investment strategy over the last 5 years, building over 200 MW of project, and has 17 years of experience in renewable energy and finance. Prior to Generate Peggy was a director at SunEdision. She holds a BA from Columbia University in Environmental Science and Mathematics.

Jordan Dansby (Moderator) Partner Clean Energy Counsel

Jordan, a lifelong outdoor enthusiast, has witnessed the devastating effects of climate change firsthand. This experience shaped his career, driving him to advance clean energy as a way to avert climate catastrophe. Today, as a project finance and development lawyer, Jordan advises lenders, investors, borrowers, and asset owners on debt and equity financings. He also provides expert advice to project developers on offtake and energy services agreements, with an emphasis on energy storage, solar, and energy efficiency. 

As part of the Clean Energy Counsel team, Jordan has advised a leading developer on the construction and term debt financing of a 230-megawatt portfolio of battery energy storage projects. As counsel to a national IPP, he assisted on the construction and sale-leaseback tax equity financing of a portfolio of 120 C&I solar projects. Other notable work includes serving as counsel to a global renewable energy owner/operator on the development and deployment of a first-of-its-kind Market Participation Agreement, and as counsel to a global renewable energy developer on the PPA for one of the first large-scale C&I solar projects in Colombia.

Jordan studied as a Fulbright Fellow at the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, and he speaks Spanish fluently. He loves being outdoors, particularly in the winter, as he’s an avid snowboarder.