Experienced energy executive will guide company’s increased focus on international markets for concentrating solar thermal power technology (CSP).
BrightSource Energy, Inc., a leading provider of concentrating solar thermal technology (CSP), announced today that its Board of Directors has named David Ramm to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Ramm previously served as Executive Chairman for the company’s Board of Directors, and will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
“I am honored by the confidence BrightSource’s Board of Directors has expressed in my leadership of the company,” Ramm said. “BrightSource has world class talent, both here in our Oakland headquarters and in our offices around the globe. I’m looking forward to taking on this new role with such a dedicated and capable team.”
Ramm assumes the role of CEO at a time of transition for BrightSource. The company is evolving from being a U.S. CSP project developer to becoming a global solar thermal technology provider that offers development support as well as engineering and operational services.
“It’s an exciting time for BrightSource as our work at Ivanpah approaches completion and we focus increasingly on international markets and new applications for solar steam,” Ramm added.
Globally, demand for CSP continues to grow. BrightSource estimates that the global market for CSP in 2020 will reach 30 gigawatts, up from 2.5 gigawatts at the end of 2012.
“We are well positioned to capture a significant share of this growing market and deliver high value for our customers, both for power markets and industrial process applications such as enhanced oil recovery, desalination, and augmentation of existing fossil power plants,” Ramm said.
“Concentrating solar thermal power has key advantages that will continue to make it attractive to grid operators and to utilities around the globe,” Ramm added. “It is able to ride through changes in weather patterns much more smoothly due to thermal inertia and provide voltage support. But more importantly, CSP, combined with thermal energy storage, transforms a variable resource into a flexible, dispatchable generator.”
Ramm continued, “In addition to generating electricity, concentrating solar technology is an enabler for a much larger value chain.”
Ramm brings significant experience in general management, energy technology and infrastructure development in his role as Chairman and CEO at BrightSource Energy, Inc. He is formerly the Managing Partner of Dymar Development, LLC, a Houston based energy development and consulting firm. Prior to forming Dymar, he was CEO and director at Turner Bros., a heavy lift and heavy haul company serving the wind and refinery industries.
In 2002, Ramm co-founded DKRW Energy, LLC, an energy infrastructure development company. He previously served as president, CEO and director of Integrated Electrical Services, president of Enron Wind Corporation, managing director of Enron Renewable Energy Corporation and has held senior management roles at United Technologies Corporation including VP of Marketing and Sales for Otis Elevator and Chairman and CEO of UTC Fuel Cells. Prior to beginning his civilian career, Ramm served nine years as a U.S. Army officer.
Ramm holds an M.S. in Management from the Sloan School at MIT, an M.B.A. from Long Island University’s Roth School of Business and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Ramm co-founded and currently serves as director of BlueRock Energy, a Syracuse, New York based electricity and natural gas commodity provider. He is a member of the External Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and is Chairman of the President’s Energy Advisory Board at the University of Houston.
