Matt Cheney oversees the strategic direction of the firm. He is the former CEO of Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, the United States based wholly-owned subsidiary of Fotowatio, a global solar Independent Power Producer. In 2009 Mr. Cheney helped to manage the acquisition by Fotowatio of MMA Renewable Ventures, where he was the current CEO. MMA Renewable Ventures (MMA RV) focused on the development, ownership and operation of a multi-million dollar portfolio of large and distributed scale solar, wind, biomass and energy efficiency project investments, and was the first independent syndicator of Solar Tax Equity funds in the US. MMA RV syndicated 50 renewable energy projects in five separate funds during Mr. Cheney’s tenure. Prior to MMA RV, Mr. Cheney was the CEO of NUON Renewable Ventures USA, LLC, while he served as Director of North American Business Development for NUON NV in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In that role, he developed and implemented NUON’s North American renewable energy investment strategy. In addition, Mr. Cheney managed U.S. mergers and acquisitions as a member of NUON’s global M&A team. Mr. Cheney himself took NUON Renewable Ventures private in 2004 under the name of Renewable Ventures LLC. Mr. Cheney has more than twenty-five years in the fields of civil engineering, energy, and environment, including experience with the U.S. Agency for International Development in South America, the National Rural electric Co-op Association’s International programs, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Utility PhotoVoltaic Group, now the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA). Mr. Cheney has a Bachelor’s from the American University and a Masters Degree from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, both in Washington D. C.
Karin Berardo brings over 20 years of experience in structured finance, fund management, organizational management and policy. She formerly led the investor relations and fund management team at Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), where she also served as a lead originator and deal structurer in Acquisitions working on both utility scale and commercial scale projects. Prior to FRV, Ms. Berardo managed New Business Development and Client Relations at MuniMae, an affordable housing finance company, and through its subsidiary MMA Renewable Ventures, a clean energy finance company. At MMA she structured and implemented new investment opportunities, developed operational best practices to ensure fiduciary compliance, and served as liaison to advisory clients and investors. During nearly 10 years at MuniMae, she was instrumental in closing over $500 million in institutional investment funds for the company’s various business lines, while working in Structured Finance, Financial Risk Management, and Corporate Planning and Administration. Ms. Berardo has extensive experience in the development and policy arena in the Brazilian Amazon authoring major reports used by the Ford Foundation, Brazil, and the World Bank Pilot Project on the Amazon; as well as emerging markets experience in Africa and the Middle East. Ms. Berardo holds a Masters in Public Policy, an International Masters of Business Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies, all from the University of Chicago.
Steve manages all aspects of CleanPath's project development program. He joins CleanPath with 15 years of power project experience over a range of technologies. Most recently, Steve managed utility-scale project development at SunPower, where he led a team that developed and installed over 40 MW of solar power projects in the eastern US and Canada and created a project pipeline of over 1 GW. Before SunPower, Steve developed over 300 MW of wind power projects at First Wind and PPM Energy (now Iberdrola Renewables). His prior experience includes energy origination, trading, and underwriting at Enron, Dynegy, and GE Capital. Steve has a JD from Yale Law School, a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton, and an MS and BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois. Steve is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
David Williams oversees the firm’s risk and investment strategies. Mr. Williams has been leading construction and project management for over ten years. Most recently, he was the Chief Technical Officer for a developer of solar projects in Central and Eastern Europe. Previously, Mr. Williams oversaw the installation of nearly 50 photovoltaic plants in the United States. In his role as VP of Risk and Asset Management at Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), his team constructed and operated over 42 MW of solar plants in a wide range of PV technologies. Mr. Williams was the owner’s representative overseeing the design, construction, and operations of the 14 MW Nellis Air Force base’s solar plant, still one of the highest producing solar PV power plants in the U.S. He has placed into commercial operation product from over 15 PV manufacturers across 5 solar technologies and provided technical due diligence on projects exceeding 800MW. Mr. Williams has been involved in developing renewable energy projects in the Americas, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Australia. Mr. Williams also founded a solar developer in frontier off-grid solar markets. He has written several technical papers and was selected as one of Time Magazine’s Innovator’s in 2005. He is a contributor to solar publications and has been featured in Wired, News.com, Discover Magazine, and BBC Ecuador. Mr. Williams has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Mr. Wetmore drives project acquisitions for the company. Prior to CleanPath, Mr. Wetmore was a central member of the commercial team at Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, where he designed and implemented a process to source, assess, and respond to all viable Request for Proposal (RFP) opportunities in the United States. Prior, he was Director of Finance at Sol Systems, where he developed and implemented a comprehensive market strategy for a startup solar finance firm in the solar renewable energy credit (SREC) market. Before his transition into solar finance and development, Mr. Wetmore was responsible for business development efforts at American Technology Research, a boutique equity research platform focused on the technology, media, telecom, defense, and renewable energy sectors. Mr. Wetmore has a Masters in International Relations and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. in Government and a B.B.A in Finance from the College of William and Mary.
Shaughn Ryan is the Director of Technical Development at CleanPath overseeing all design, EPC, interconnection, and permitting efforts for the company. Shaughn began his career in solar over 9 years ago quickly grew as a qualified construction manager and project manager at Powerlight and subsequently Sunpower Corporation. In 2007 he joined the MMA Renewable Ventures team as an Asset Manager overseeing more than 8MWdc of installations. When Fotowatio (FRV) took control of Renewable Ventures Shaughn was recognized as a key member of the utility technical team and managed all of the Technical Development efforts in CA and NV. During his tenure, Mr. Ryan oversaw more than 500MWdc of project development. He graduated with a Bachelors in Environmental Studies and Land Use Planning from UC Santa Barbara. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and 2 children.
Adam Mendelson has worked for 10 years in renewable energy project finance and private equity focusing on direct project-level investments in both the United States and Latin America. Currently, Mr. Mendelson is the Director of Development at CleanPath Ventures, a San Francisco-based fund which invests directly in solar energy projects. Prior to joining CleanPath, Mr. Mendelson spent the past three years at SunPower Corporation where he led the development and financing of more than 50MWs of solar photovoltaic projects. At SunPower, Mr Mendelson also participates actively on the strategic acquisitions team which makes investments and acquisitions in both projects and renewable energy companies.
Before his time at SunPower, Mr Mendelson worked at Econergy International, General Electric and The Inter-American Development Bank focusing on renewable energy development and investments in Latin America. Mr. Mendelson obtained an M.A. from The Johns Hopkins University (USA) School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. He speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Mr. Amirault focuses on project development and acquisitions in the western US for CleanPath. Mr. Amirault most recently worked with the utility and power plants group at SunPower Corporation developing and acquiring large utility scale projects in North America. Prior to SunPower, he worked on the corporate development and structured finance team at EPS Corporation focusing on energy efficiency and clean generation projects. Earlier in his career, Mr. Amirault spent several years in investment banking focusing on M&A and capital raising for cleantech, alternative energy, internet, digital media and biotech companies. Mr. Amirault earned his MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and B.A. in Economics from Colby College.
Jesse Jones drives CleanPath’s business development efforts. Prior to CleanPath Mr. Jones was the senior vice president of Berger Bros. Inc., a large California based development and construction company. At Berger Mr. Jones was primarily responsible for business development, new market strategy and new technology. Mr. Jones has worked as an owner’s representative, project manager and expert witness for some the nation’s largest developers and contractors. Mr. Jones’ former clients include the GSA, VA, DoD, University of California, the State of California and State of Nevada. Mr. Jones holds a Bachelor’s in English from West Chester University.
Tom Price heads the policy and market strategies development for CleanPath, focusing on speeding the adoption of distributed consumption (commonly known as Community Solar), and on removing barriers to the adoption of renewable energy. Recent work including helping draft and pass legislation exempting solar from property tax in Nevada, as well as legislation allowing 3rd party renewables ownership. Prior to joining CleanPath, Mr. Price founded and led a non-profit which built over 1MW of PV for schools, hospitals, and other community entities. He spent seven years as a freelance journalist covering environmental issues, and almost a decade as an environmental advocate in Washington, DC. He served as Chairman of the Environmental Advisory Committee to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. He has a BA in Political Science from the University of Utah, and lives with his wife and daughter in Berkeley.
Marcella McColl is responsible for the accounting, finance, reporting and compliance functions for all entities at CleanPath. Prior to joining CleanPath, Mrs. McColl worked with Carmel Partners, a privately-owned real estate investment company where she served most recently as Director of Accounting and Operations and previously as Portfolio Controller. Prior to Carmel Partners she was the Internal Audit Manager at ABM Industries, a premier provider of building maintenance and facility services where she specialized in performing due diligence on target companies for acquisition, internal investigations, SOX implementation and compliance. Mrs. McColl began her career with KPMG LLP where she was a manager in the Assurance Practice serving clients in the Investment Management and Banking industries. She graduated magna cum laude from Pace University, New York with a BBA in Public Accounting and a minor in Law. Mrs. McColl is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of California (active) and New York (inactive).
John Balbach is a Senior Advisor to CleanPath, and served as Managing Director in capital formation and origination. John has a twenty-five year track record building, scaling and financing environmental and infrastructure companies, projects and investment funds. He has served as a policy-maker, investor and operating executive. Prior to CleanPath, he served as Managing Partner of the Cleantech Group, where his teams facilitated financings of over $1.8 billion for cleantech companies and projects, and advised over three thousand investors, companies and governments globally on clean technology asset allocation and market adoption strategies. A co-founder of three international agencies, Mr. Balbach was instrumental in the strategy and financing of over 30+ civil infrastructure projects in over 15 countries. As a venture capitalist and operating executive, he has led targeted capital raises of $350 million including fund placements, early, growth and secondary offerings as well as a number of acquisitions, restructurings and wind-downs across cleantech, wireless and media sectors.Prior to his private sector career, Mr. Balbach held positions in the United States Senate focused on international environmental and national security policy including the Senate Foreign Relations Environment Subcommittee and Staff Director, Congressional Task Force on Afghanistan. He has also been an advisor to President Vicente Fox, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, President Mikhail Gorbachev and President Eduard Shevardnadze. Mr. Balbach holds a Bachelor’s in International Relations from George Washington University.