Interconnection/Net Metering Advisory Board
IREC’s Interconnection and Net Metering Advisory Board is made up of distributed generation experts from federal agencies, non-profits, national labs, trade associations, and the private sector. The Board members meet periodically with IREC staff to provide guidance on our interconnection and net metering policy efforts in various states across the country.
Adam Browning
Adam is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Vote Solar Initiative, a non-profit organization with the mission of bringing solar energy into the mainstream. Vote Solar got its start with a successful ballot initiative for a $100 million solar revenue bond in San Francisco in 2001, and since then has been working with state and municipal governments on pro-solar policies with the goal of jumpstarting the national transition to renewable energy. Prior to Vote Solar, Adam spent eight years with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s San Francisco office, where he won the Agency’s top pollution prevention award for developing a program that reduced air emissions of mercury from gold mines in Nevada by over five tons annually. Adam received a BA with Distinction from Swarthmore College in 1992, and served with the Peace Corps in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.
Michael Coddington
Michael Coddington is a Senior Engineer with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden Colorado, and came to NREL after working 20 years in the electric utility industry. His work at NREL focuses on the integration of DG systems to the grid, with a focus on solar standards and codes. He has authored or collaborated on several technical papers focusing on interconnection to the grid with an emphasis on the customer and utility side of the Meter. Since 2007, he has worked closely with IREC staff on interconnection rulemaking in several states. Michael is active in standards and codes development with IEEE and IEC. Michael is also a member of the UL1741 Standards Technical Panel. Michael received his degree in electrical engineering from Colorado State University and is also a licensed master electrician and licensed electrical contractor in the State of Colorado.
Jennifer DeCesaro
Jennifer DeCesaro leads the State and Utility Technical Engagement and Large-Scale Deployment efforts for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Program Market Transformation team. She provides strategic direction on how to further the development of solar markets in the United States through direct engagement with state government officials and utility company executives. Additionally, Ms. DeCesaro leads the Program’s large-scale deployment efforts, which includes one of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Signature Initiatives on Concentrating Solar Power Demonstration Projects. Prior to joining DOE, Ms. DeCesaro was a senior analyst at Exeter Associates, where she worked on renewable energy integration into the electric grid, transmission policy, and other renewable energy policy development and implementation issues. She also served as a Project Director at Clean Energy Group (CEG), where she was responsible for developing and implementing projects for state clean energy funds to create and expand markets for renewable energy technologies. Additionally, Ms. DeCesaro worked as a policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), where she led projects supporting the development of renewable energy, air quality and climate change policies. Ms. DeCesaro earned her B.A. from Colorado College in 1997 and her Masters degree in environmental law from Vermont Law School in 2002.
Christy Herig
Christy Herig serves as the Solar Electric Power Association’s technical lead. SEPA is a membership based organization comprised of electric utilities, solar companies, and other companies with an interest in solar electricity. In addition to 15 years at Florida Power Corporation (now Progress Energy), Christy targeted solar market definition, valuation and assessment as a Principal Research Engineer at the National Center for PV at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. She also chaired the five-year International Energy Agency’s, PV Power Systems, Task 10: Urban Scale PV Applications, and has provided consulting services to the USDOE, the PV industry and the California Energy Commission. Christy’s educational background is Chemical Engineering.
Carrie Hitt
Carrie Cullen Hitt is the President of the Solar Alliance, with more than fifteen years of energy industry experience. Prior to joining the Solar Alliance Ms. Cullen Hitt served as Vice President, Renewable Products for Constellation Energy. In this role, she developed programs and capabilities to help customers manage their business’ impact on the environment through greenhouse gas reducing activities, including purchasing renewable power. She also served as Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs. From 1999 – 2001, she worked at Green Mountain Energy Resources as Director of Regional Business Development. Ms. Cullen Hitt has also held positions among a diverse set of energy-focused organizations, including assistant director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group. She also served as an analyst to the Joint Committee on Energy of the Massachusetts Legislature and served as consultant during discussions on the 1997 Energy Restructuring Act in that State. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York and the Advisory Council for the Massachusetts Renewable Trust. She has also authored numerous articles and papers focusing on how companies can incorporate green purchasing strategies into their energy portfolios. She is a graduate of Clark University and earned her masters in international affairs from Johns Hopkins University.
Andy Kruse
Andrew Kruse is the Founder & Senior Vice President of Business Development of Southwest Windpower. During his 25 years experience in the renewable energy industry, Kruse has traveled to 70 countries promoting and developing distributorships for small-scale renewables. His strong background in management, international marketing, channel development and domestic policy has proven to yield high success for Southwest Windpower. Since co-founding the company in 1987, Kruse has helped Southwest Windpower produce more than 170,000 wind turbines used to supply energy for lighting, water pumping, and grid-connected homes in more than 120 countries. Kruse has authored numerous articles on renewable energy system design and market opportunities and has also received several prestigious awards and recognitions, including “National Exporter of the Year” by the Small Business Association (SBA) and “Small Wind Advocate of the Year” by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Most recently, Kruse was appointed to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee (RE&EEAC).
Tom Starrs
Thomas Starrs has more than 25 years of renewable energy experience, with an emphasis on both distributed- and utility-scale solar photovoltaic technology development. Tom is Managing Director of Market Development at SunPower Corporation’s Utility and Power Plants business unit, responsible for early-stage business development, market assessment, and business strategy. Tom previously was Managing Director of Solar Power for Iberdrola Renewables, Inc., the U.S. arm of the world’s leading renewable energy development company. He launched and led Iberdrola’s entry into the utility-scale solar power project development in the United States, including shaping and implementing a business plan, acquiring a portfolio of high-value sites for utility-scale projects, and extending the company’s global leadership in wind power development to include solar power as well. Tom holds a Ph.D. in Energy and Resources from U.C. Berkeley, and a law degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law at U.C. Berkeley.
Mike Taylor
Mike Taylor is the Director of Research for the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA). Mike provides technical research, information and support on solar markets, programs, projects, and technologies to SEPA members. Prior to joining SEPA, Mike spent seven years with the Minnesota Department of Commerce specializing in clean energy policy and program development, including energy efficiency, solar, wind, biomass, biofuels, climate change, and utility regulation. In 2002 he received funding to develop and operate the Minnesota Solar Electric Rebate Program, a statewide PV incentive program for consumers. Mike holds a Master in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy from the U. of Minnesota and a Bachelor in Environmental Biology from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.
Elaine Ulrich
Elaine is the Sr. Legislative Aide to US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the leading solar advocate in Congress ,representing Arizona’s 8th district. A native Coloradan, she began her career at Wellesley college where she studied Physics. She continued research as one of the first students in the University of Arizona’s Bose-Einstein Condensation laboratory and completed her PhD in 2008. Elaine was selected as the 2008-2009 American Physical Society Congressional Science Policy fellow. During her fellowship she worked for former senator Ken Salazar and the Science & Technology committee in the US house of representatives. Elaine has worked as an energy analyst supporting work on renewable energy strategic planning at the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. She was on the planning committee of the 2010 IEEE-PVSC conference and participated in the President’s inaugural GreenGov symposium. Based in Washington, DC, she coordinates federal renewable energy policy initiatives as well as state and local programs in Arizona and the desert southwest.
