Registered professional engineer Doug Mutcher has joined Westwood Professional Services’ national solar energy group as an electrical engineering manager. Mutcher holds almost 20 years of experience in electrical engineering field work for the industrial, commercial, transportation, educational, corporate, medical, retail, manufacturing and process industries.
ReneSola has announced that its chief strategy officer, Charles Bai, has left the company as his contract comes to an end. The departure is effective May 1, 2012.
K. Subramanya has resigned as CEO of India’s third largest panel manufacturer, Tata BP Solar, effective May 1. No explanation was given for the resignation and Subramanya has stated he has no plans for the immediate future.
NPD Solarbuzz has announced the promotion of Finlay Colville, Ph.D. to vice president and the appointment of Wolfgang Schlichting as research director, Downstream Markets.
Rainer Ott, sales director at DEGERenergie since early 2011, will take charge of the company’s global sales with immediate effect. Since joining DEGERenergie Ott has impressed as the business manager of the company’s US, Spanish and Greek subsidiaries. His new responsibilities will include the research of new markets for potential investment and developing the company’s international distribution network.
The European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC) has announced that Carlos Lee will become its new director general with immediate effect. The announcement, made at the association’s recent annual general meeting, will see Lee replace Thomas Pearsall, who has been with the organization since its formulation in 2003.
Founder and Chairman of the Radiant Group, Winston Xu Biao is the newest member of Ascent Solar Technologies’ board of directors. Xu will help the company oversee new market opportunities, as well as its re-entrance into the BIPV and BAPV markets, which it delayed in March 2011.
Following the retirement of José Villarreal, a member of the board since 2007, First Solar has taken the opportunity to expand its board membership from nine to 11 members. The company has nominated George “Chip” Hambro, former First Solar COO, and Richard “Rick” Chapman, CFO of Walton Enterprises, Inc., to stand for election at its annual stockholder meeting on May 23, the latter as an independent director.
UK-based Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology (OPIT) has promoted Dan Ayres to managing director, effective immediately. Last summer Ayres was appointed to the newly-created role of general manager having already worked at the company for over ten years. He has been based in operations, product management and project management.
The University of Seville, the Social Council and the Focus-Abengoa Foundation have awarded the 9th “Javier Benjumea Puigcerver” research prize to Eduardo Fernández Camacho for his applied research on the increase in performance of solar-thermal plants through predictive control. The prize was awarded to the university professor on the basis that his submitted work was of “extraordinary scientific value” to the globally important issue of energy supply.
