Lightsource BP has announced the appointment of Kevin Smith as CEO for the Americas, with the renewable-energy industry veteran tasked with helping lead Lightsource BP’s expansion across the region.

Smith joins Lightsource with over 30 years of experience in the renewables sector, with his most recent post standing as CEO and one of the founding executives at California-based SolarReserve. During his time there, Smith drove SolarReserve’s global expansion and commercialization of their proprietary solar energy storage technology.

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Prior to his time at SolarReserve, Smith was senior vice president at Invenergy, where he led the growth of the company from a start-up in 2004 to one of the largest privately-owned renewable energy businesses in the world within a few years.

Throughout his career, Smith has led the development, financing and construction of privately-owned energy projects both in the US and across five continents, including both PV and wind projects over the past 14 years.

Nick Boyle, Lightsource BP CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome Kevin to Lightsource BP. As Lightsource BP continues its rapid growth across North, South and Central America, Kevin’s knowledge and experience makes him an exciting and valuable addition to the Lightsource BP family.”

Smith added: “I’m thrilled to be joining Lightsource BP at this exciting period of the company’s expansion. I look forward to applying Lightsource BP’s winning formula that has made it such a success story and driving the business forward to support the demand for solar energy in the region.”

Smith’s appointment comes recently after Lightsource BP announced two new partnerships within the US. By signing PPAs with both California’s Sacramento Municipal Utility District and New Mexico’s Continental Divide Electric Cooperative, Lightsource will provide 25MW of PV power to both utilities over a 20-year span.

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