First Solar industry luminary, Chip Hambro, joins eSolar board
PC's Solar Photovoltaics Blog
eSolar, a leading provider of modular, scalable solar thermal powertechnology, announced the addition of George (Chip) A. Hambro, retiredChief Operating Officer of First Solar Inc., to its Board of Directors.
During his eight-year tenure at First Solar, the largestmanufacturer of solar modules in the Western Hemisphere, Mr. Hambro ledthe company to its successful IPO, increased its global reach,strategically focused R&D on advancing the company’s thin-filmphotovoltaic (PV) technology, and solidified its place as a solarindustry leader.
According to Bill Gross, CEO of eSolar, theaddition of a PV industry veteran to the eSolar team is a strong signalof the maturation of concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) and of thesignificant role CSP plays in the global solar market.
“Withour global footprint rapidly expanding, we are excited to tap theknowledge and experience of a true visionary in the solar industry tohelp us drive eSolar’s growth and reduce the cost of clean energy,”said Gross.
“To bring renewable energy into the mainstreameconomy, we need to build strong, cost-competitive companies with smartbusiness strategies,” said Hambro. “Just as we questioned industryassumptions at First Solar, eSolar has brought a new approach to CSP,marrying low-cost manufacturing – a proven solar success factor – withhigh tech computing power.”
Hambro joined First Solar in 2001 asVice President of Engineering and served as General Manager for twoyears until assuming his role as Chief Operating Officer in 2005. Priorto joining First Solar, he held the positions of Vice President ofEngineering and Business Development for Goodrich Aerospace and VicePresident of Operations for ITT. Hambro graduated from the Universityof California at Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Science(Applied Physics).
The announcement comes on the heels ofseveral milestones for eSolar, including establishing operations inSouth Africa and the opening of its first commercial-scale facility,Sierra SunTower, which is currently delivering 5 MW of electricity toSouthern California Edison.
