Solar Power Partners Expands Executive Team

MILL VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Solar Power Partners, Inc. (SPPTM) today announced that it has expanded its executive and management team. G. Robert Powell, former CFO at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, PG&E Corporation’s regulated California utility, joins the company as Vice President and CFO. David Kunhardt, a 21-year veteran of tax equity finance, was named as Vice President of Partnership Finance. Art Athas, who was instrumental in securing the first distributed solar power purchase agreement in the United States, joined the team as Vice President of Market Development. All three bring extensive renewable energy, sales, and financial experience to the Solar Power Partners team, and will support the company’s growth and unique value as America’s premier independent solar power producer.

“Continuing to grow our large portfolio of completed projects and creating value for our customers from renewable energy requires extraordinary leadership and experience,” said Alexander von Welczeck, President and CEO, Solar Power Partners. “The leadership of Bob, David, and Art will significantly contribute to our ongoing success, which comes from the strength and conscientious work of our team.”

As Vice President and CFO, Mr. Powell oversees SPP’s financial activities, which includes working with financial partners, guiding the company’s overall finance strategy, and leading other corporate development functions. Mr. Powell was most recently Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Pacific Gas and Electric Company. During his tenure as CFO of PG&E, the company completed both long and short-term financings in addition to executing power purchase contracts in the solar, wind, and biomass sectors. Prior to PG&E, Mr. Powell was a Partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s national energy practice, where he advised clients on financial restructurings, Sarbanes-Oxley implementation, SEC reporting, and commodity trading strategies and controls. Previously, Mr. Powell was a Partner at Arthur Andersen LLP’s worldwide energy and communications practice where he managed numerous project financing transactions.

In his role as Solar Power Partners’ Vice President of Partnership Finance, Mr. Kunhardt builds on more than 21 years of experience in partnership debt and equity finance to deliver management of partnership tax-advantaged investments, encompassing the origination, development, structuring, and documentation of portfolio financing. Prior to joining SPP, Mr. Kunhardt served as a Director of RBC Apollo Equity Partners in the expansion of investor relationships. Before that, Mr. Kunhardt was Senior Vice President with Transamerica and AEGON USA Realty Advisors, directing a program for ten years that reached more than $1.7 billion in partnership investments.

As Vice President of Market Development, Mr. Athas works to identify potential markets with clients and industry partners, employing targeted business-development methodologies to develop multi-MW projects throughout the United States. Mr. Athas brings considerable experience in the renewable energy field, having been an instrumental party in securing the first distributed solar power purchase agreement in the country at Solar Integrated Technologies (SIT). He was most recently a founder and operator of the renewable energy consulting firm Green Source Solutions where he advised several solar start-up firms in the US and Canada, and was a critical team member in the launch of the first solar integrated roofing technology company in the country, SIT.