OVERVIEW: Mr. Tharpe brings 42 years of experience in the power industry, where he has been an organizational leader with extensive experience in EPC and O&M contract negotiations, acquisition due diligence, development technical support, and facility operations/commercial management roles. His experience spans from initial development to operations implementation and restructuring, in order to adapt to changing market conditions. 

He has gained significant expertise in the renewable power sector over the past 12 years. Most recently, as Sr. Director of Project Management and Procurement at Leeward Energy, he successfully led the efforts to transition projects from late-stage development to contracting for construction execution. He oversaw a total of 12 solar PV and wind projects, with a combined capacity of 1,102 MWs. Prior to this, at Luminate, as an independent engineer, he served as an advisor, leading acquisition due diligence efforts for companies investing in solar portfolios. He had three main engagements, which included reviewing 26 projects totaling over 1,100 MWs. In addition to these reviews, he also specializes in EPC Contract and Operations review for financing and risks involving performance or warranty claims. 

In his first experience with renewable energy, Mr. Tharpe served as one of the initial leads of NRG Renew as Vice President of Development Engineering. In this role, he oversaw development support, conducted technical due diligence, negotiated EPC and O&M agreements, and coordinated financing reviews for nine utility-scale solar PV and solar thermal projects. These projects had a total capacity of 1,104 MWs and a capital cost of over $4.3 billion. The financing for these projects was obtained through the DOE Loan Program as well as conventional financing methods. 

Prior to his experience with the Renewable Project, he held positions in utility companies where he led corporate merger asset reviews, provided project development support for gas turbine and solid fuel technologies, offered acquisition due diligence support, evaluated contractors, and negotiated project O&M agreements and long-term service agreements. Prior to this, Mr. Tharpe had 17 years of progressive experience in operations management roles.