Solar Power Partners Welcomes Phil Henson as CFO, Elevates Hugh Kuhn to COO

Solar Power Partners Welcomes Phil Henson as CFO, Elevates Hugh Kuhn to COO
Mill Valley, California, United States August 26, 2009

SPP bolsters world-class executive team for next stage of growth

Solar Power Partners, Inc. (SPPTM), America’s premier independent solar power producer, today announced Phil Henson has joined its executive team as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Hugh Kuhn, SPP’s Vice President of Operations and Technology, has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Both appointments demonstrate SPP’s ongoing commitment to building a world-class management team, which enables the company to deliver high-value solar development to its customers, partners and investors.

“Continuing to grow our large portfolio of distributed commercial and utility solar projects and creating value for our customers requires extraordinary leadership,” said Bob Powell, President and CEO of Solar Power Partners. “I’m very happy to welcome Phil, whose extensive financial experience will bolster SPP’s ability to manage its next phase growth. I’m also pleased that Hugh’s success in our Operations and Technology group naturally now can extend to corporate operations.”

In his role as CFO, Mr. Henson will draw upon his 20 years of experience in energy and natural resources finance. Mr. Henson, who has been a major participant in SPP transactions and investment partnerships since the beginning of the year, was previously the co-head of the Power and Utilities Group of XL Capital Assurance, Inc. (XLCA), a New York-based financial guaranty company. In that post, he started and headed a division that closed more than 100 transactions totaling more than $13 billion. Prior to XLCA, Mr. Henson was a transaction and relationship manager in the project finance group at ING, and before that at Swiss Bank Corporation (now UBS), he was responsible for structuring and arranging syndicated project financings as well as managing M&A advisory work, multilateral co-financings, export financings and private placements of both debt and equity. Mr. Henson holds a BA in History from Colgate University, an MS in International Relations from Georgetown University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

In his new role as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Kuhn will continue to oversee SPP’s technology, engineering and construction, operations, and the production assurance team. On the corporate side, he will direct human resource and IT functions, company policies, and performance management. Mr. Kuhn has more than 25 years of business and engineering experience. Prior to joining SPP, he worked for Hewlett-Packard, where he held executive positions in Sales, Business Development, Venture Industry Partnering and Global Alliances. Before that, he worked for Pacific Gas & Electric Company developing energy conservation, load shifting, and cogeneration strategies for commercial and industrial customers. Mr. Kuhn holds a BS in Environmental Earth Sciences from Stanford University and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University.

Solar Power Partners, Inc. (SPP) is America's premier independent solar power producer and is leading the way in streamlining the adoption of clean solar energy by businesses, institutions, municipalities, and utilities throughout the United States. Combining the financing strength of solar Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with the expertise and best practices of top solar and building industry professionals, SPP gives building owners a clear path to achieving energy independence with lower electrical costs at predictable rates and without the risks or costs of owning and maintaining solar facilities.

Source: Solar Power Partners

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