Dec 22 2009
The Board of Directors of Amonix, Inc., the best choice for utility-scale solar power in hot and dry climates, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Sunworks Solar LLC, a solar manufacturing plant developer.
At the same time, Sunworks co-founder Brian Robertson becomes Chief Executive Officer; Sunworks co-founder Guy Blanchard joins as Senior Vice President of Sales and Corporate Development; and Matthew Meares, Sunworks Managing Director, joins as Director of Project Finance.
Amonix, which has been in business 20 years, on its seventh generation of product, with 15 years’ experience with field deployments in real-world conditions, completed its acquisition of Sunworks on November 9, 2009. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Between them, Robertson, Blanchard, and Meares have been instrumental in securing financing for more than half of all the solar photovoltaic projects deployed under power purchase agreements (PPA) in the United States.
Vahan Garboushian, founder, Chief Technology Officer, and Chairman said, “Amonix systems clearly work in utility-scale applications. With the addition to our management team of three of the most productive solar industry business executives in the country, we have what it takes to get large, complex projects completed. We are ready to leverage our expertise and years in the field to take our growth to the next level.”
Brian Robertson co-founded Sunworks in 2008 to provide American-made utility-scale solar. Previously, Robertson co-founded and was president of SunEdison, North America’s largest solar energy services provider. SunEdison was acquired by MEMC in November 2009. Robertson is a graduate of MIT with a degree in Computer Science and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Sunworks co-founder Guy Blanchard jointly led development of Sunworks’ project pipeline. He has extensive asset and project finance experience, previously as Managing Director for Fortress Investment Group’s Drawbridge family of funds, where he was a principal investor with a focus including renewable energy investments. Blanchard has a BS and an MBA from the University of California, Davis.
At Sunworks, Meares was responsible for utility-scale solar panel sales and project development. Previously at HSH Nordbank, he was responsible for project finance, mezzanine, and equity transactions in the power sector, with an emphasis on renewable energy. Meares has a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a BA in French Language and Literature from North Carolina State, and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua school of Business.