GlassPoint Hires Veteran Energy Leaders to Accelerate California Projects

GlassPoint Solar, the leading supplier of solar for the oil and gas industry, announced two new appointments to accelerate its projects in California. Tunde Deru joins GlassPoint as Director of Sales, Americas, and Jeffrey Kennedy as Senior Director of Project Finance. GlassPoint's solar technology powers oilfield operations, reducing a field's production costs and carbon emissions.

In 2011, GlassPoint unveiled its first commercial project at Berry Petroleum's 21Z lease in Kern County, California. Following the success of the pilot project, GlassPoint scaled its technology overseas in Oman and is currently constructing Miraah, a landmark project with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). Once complete, Miraah will produce over one gigawatt of peak thermal energy, making it one of the world's largest solar plants of any kind.

"GlassPoint is growing its presence in California to deliver large-scale solar oilfield projects that will generate thousands of local energy jobs while cutting carbon emissions," said Sanjeev Kumar, GlassPoint Senior Vice President of Project Development, North America. "In today's challenging operating environment, producers are seeking innovative solutions, including GlassPoint's solar technology, to improve oilfield economics and reduce their carbon footprint."

 Deru joins GlassPoint's office in Bakersfield, California from LINN Energy (formerly Berry Petroleum), where he was first introduced to GlassPoint's technology and successful pilot. He most recently served as the Technical Team Lead for Major Projects and previously as the Project Manager for the company's Diatomite Asset team. Prior to that, he was with Bakersfield's Process Unlimited (ProU), which was acquired by Stantec. 

"I joined Berry Petroleum shortly after GlassPoint's pilot was commissioned and kept a close eye on it throughout the years as it demonstrated its reliability on the oilfield. I'm confident that GlassPoint's proven solar technology, made in California and deployed around the world, can help move Bakersfield's oil industry forward," said Deru.

Kennedy brings to GlassPoint over 20 years of expertise in project finance, corporate finance, and strategy and management. Most recently, Kennedy was a Director in Project Finance at SunPower, where he raised more than $1.4 billion in debt, tax equity and cash equity for SunPower's domestic utility-scale solar projects. Prior to that, Kennedy spent eight years at McKinsey & Co. in China. Kennedy is based in GlassPoint's headquarters in Fremont, California.

"I am excited to join an organization that is leading deployment of solar for the oil and gas industry, an enormous untapped market to scale renewable energy," said Kennedy.  

GlassPoint's solar technology provides the lowest-cost energy for extracting heavy oil, which accounts for half of California's crude oil production. Heavy oil is produced by injecting steam in to the reservoir to heat the oil so it can be pumped to the surface. By harnessing the sun to generate steam for oil extraction,GlassPoint enables producers to reduce operating costs, lower emissions and create local jobs.

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