The Solar Energy Industries Association Elects New Chairman and Vice Chairman for 2012-2014

"We are excited to welcome Arno Harris and Patricia Nugent to SEIA’s executive committee. They step into leadership roles at a time of both growth and challenge for the U.S. solar energy market," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA. "Their expertise on a wide range of issues – including policy, trade, and market development – will further SEIA’s mission of building a strong solar industry to power America."

The new Executive Committee members’ biographies are below:

Chairman: Arno Harris is CEO of Recurrent Energy, a company he founded in 2006 that has become one of North America’s largest solar project developers. Acquired by Sharp Corporation in 2010, Recurrent Energy is now the primary solar development company for Sharp worldwide. Arno previously founded Prevalent Power in 2001, a commercial solar sales and installation business which he sold to Energy Innovations. Arno transitioned to solar from the high tech industry, where he held founder and executive roles for startups RedEnvelope, Wine.com, and Novo Media Group. His early experience combines marketing, business development, and consulting for such clients as Berlex, Toyota Motor Sales USA, GlaxoWellcome, MCI, Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard, Nikon Precision, IKEA International and NBC Digital Publishing. He is a frequent speaker and commentator on renewable energy topics and publishes his views via his blog Clean Energy Future. Arno holds a BA from UC Berkeley.

Vice Chairwoman: Patricia Nugent is currently the Director of Policy and Business Development for Dow Solar, a business unit of the Dow Chemical Company. She has been with Dow since 1987 and has held diverse roles in research & development and new business development. Pat was the co-founder and charter officer of a national consortium supporting the EPA in setting standards for immunochemistry use in regulatory methods. For Dow’s Industrial Biotechnology Platform, she co-authored and led a $10 million project award from the Department of Energy for development of plastics and chemicals from oilseeds. In 2004, Pat joined Dow Ventures and led an early stage exploration of opportunities for Dow in Alternative Energy. Pat co-authored a proposal for the Department of Energy’s Solar America Initiative and Dow was selected as one of the 12 awardees for DOE funding in 2007 to support the formation of the new business unit. Pat holds a degree in Medical Technology from Michigan Technological University and an Executive MBA from the DeVos Graduate School of Management.

Established in 1974, the Solar Energy Industries Association is the national trade association of the U.S. solar power industry. Through advocacy and education, SEIA and its 1,000 member companies are building a strong solar industry to power America. As the voice of the industry, SEIA works to make solar a mainstream and significant energy source by expanding markets, removing market barriers, strengthening the industry and educating the public on the benefits of solar energy.

www.seia.org