Energy Jobs: First Solar has 2 CTOs, Tesla loses ultracap boss, CAISO’s new CEO, MJ at NRTC, plus Prologis, Ecoplexus

Executive, career and boardroom moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy VC — plus some select job openings.

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The startup is developing a plug-and-play solar monitoring solution to reduce the cost of commercial solar. Verify is a winner of the DOE’s American-Made Solar Prize.

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) appointed Elliot Mainzer as its new CEO, succeeding the retiring Steve Berberich. Mainzer has served as CEO of the Bonneville Power Administration, based in Portland, Oregon for the past seven years. CAISO recently connected the largest battery storage resource in the U.S. to its power grid last month — the first phase of LS Power’s Gateway Energy storage project in San Diego County added 62.5 MW of storage interconnection to the ISO grid.

MJ Shiao is joining NRTC to help deploy more solar, energy storage and EV charging for rural electric co-ops. The nation’s 800+ electric co-ops serve over 42 million people, deliver 12% of all U.S. electricity and represent a massive opportunity to change the energy mix and how it’s delivered. Here’s NRTC’s diverse executive team and board. MJ was most recently with residential community solar subscription manager Arcadia.

Joel Gamoran was promoted to VP and GM of energy services at Arcadia. Founded in 2014, Arcadia’s platform integrates with more than 125 U.S. utilities, manages 4.5 TWh of residential energy demand, and manages the most community solar subscribers in the U.S.

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First Solar will now be running with two co-chief technology officers, with the appointment of Markus Gloeckler to that position. Gloeckler joins Raffi Garabedian, who has served in that role since 2012. The appointment will allow Gloeckler to overlook all things Series 6, while Garabedian will focus on cadmium telluride technology development. First Solar just posted a strong Q2 and sold off its O&M business to NovaSource.

Brett Pendleton was promoted to senior manager of technical sales at First Solar.

Jared Friedman is now VP of global energy at Prologis. He was most recently with REC Solar. Prologis is the largest industrial building owner in the U.S. and one of the top five globally. Friedman’s team works with customers to help the transition to clean energy including solar, storage and EVs.

Janet Gail Besser, managing director at SEPA, has been elected as chair of the board of directors of PowerOptions, New England’s energy buying consortium, providing cost savings and energy solutions to more than 450 nonprofits and municipalities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Chris Stewart, the head of Maxwell Ultracapacitors at Tesla, has left the EV pioneer. Why did Elon Musk spend $218 million on an ultracapacitor company?

Angelo Edge was promoted to solar performance engineer at utility-scale solar developer Ecoplexus.

Shannon Ware is now engineering manager at Iowa-based solar installer Simpleray. Ware was previously with StraightUp Solar.

Clean energy job openings

Clean Energy Group and the Clean Energy States Alliance are looking for a project manager to work on initiatives related to solar and energy storage for low- and moderate-income communities. Details here.

Opening for a manager of regulatory affairs at LS Power. More here.

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