Mullennix brings 16 years of experience in the renewable energy and infrastructure industries to his new position at SolarReserve. He was most recently a managing director at US Renewables Group, SolarReserve’s founding investment group. Mullennix has been involved with SolarReserve since its inception in 2007 serving on the board and working with the management team.
"Stephen has been a critical member of our investment group, and we are thrilled to have him now join our leadership team," said Kevin Smith, CEO, SolarReserve. "His presence further strengthens our executive bench and will be a major contribution to our continued development of utility-scale solar projects globally."
As a Managing Director, Mullennix led acquisition and investment management for US Renewables Group, a leading renewable energy private equity investment firm. Prior to US Renewables Group, Mullennix was an Associate Vice President at AECOM, a global leader in engineering design services, where he managed mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Prior to AECOM, Mullennix was a co-founder of a wastewater company that commercialized biotechnology solutions for wastewater treatment.
"It is a truly a pivotal time for SolarReserve and I am excited to be coming on board," said Mullennix. "It is amazing to be part of a team that is developing the largest solar power project of its kind in the world and I look forward to contributing to the growth of the company as a whole."
In September of 2011, SolarReserve’s started construction on its lead project, the 110 MW Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project located in Tonopah, Nevada. The project will utilize innovative U.S.-developed technology and will be the nation’s first commercial scale solar power tower with fully integrated energy storage, the largest of its kind in the world. Through the use of energy storage, the highly efficient solar project will provide reliable, zero-emission electricity on demand – day or night. The project began construction in September of 2011 and is scheduled to reach commercial operation in December 2013. The project currently has more than 100 workers on site with direct employment expected to reach 600 workers in 2012. The project is estimated to create more than 4,300 direct, indirect and induced jobs and has already released equipment and service orders in twenty states across the U.S.
SolarReserve, LLC – headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif. – is a solar energy project development company developing large-scale solar energy projects worldwide. It holds the exclusive worldwide license to the molten salt, solar power tower technology developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation.
Since its formation in late 2007, SolarReserve’s team of power project professionals have assembled a concentrated solar power development portfolio of more than 25 projects featuring its licensed solar power technology with potential output of more than 3,000 megawatts in the United States and Europe; with early stage activities in other international markets including the Middle East, North and South Africa, Australia, China, India and Latin America. SolarReserve is also developing more than 1,500 MW of photovoltaic projects across the United States and internationally. SolarReserve’s experienced management team has previously developed and financed more than $15 billion in renewable and conventional energy projects in more than a dozen countries around the world.
SolarReserve’s molten salt, concentrating solar power tower technology was successfully demonstrated in California under a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored pilot project in the late 1990s. The 10 MW pilot facility utilized a molten salt receiver designed, engineered and assembled by Rocketdyne, now a part of United Technologies Corporation. SolarReserve’s lead project, the 110 MW Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project located in Nevada, started construction in September of 2011.
