The California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA) has appointed Bernadette Del Chiaro as its new executive director.
‘California is the top market for solar energy in the country, and CALSEIA's ongoing involvement with legislative and regulatory proceedings will benefit significantly from Bernadette's long-term engagement in these areas,’ says CALSEIA Chairman Rick Reed.
Previously, Del Chiaro was director of clean energy and global warming programs at Environment California, a citizen-based environmental advocacy organization, where she is credited with managing numerous clean energy initiatives and standards at the state and local levels. Del Chiaro holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
Del Chiaro tells Solar Industry she is looking forward to taking on the mantle of executive director of a solar organization in the nation's foremost state for solar power.
‘California is on the national stage when it comes to solar,’ she says. ‘It is a prime place to lead the way.’
Del Chiaro attributes much of California's leadership position in solar energy to policy making among elected officials, particularly with regard to the state's renewable portfolio standard. She says one of her priorities going forward is developing distributed PV in California, where she sees tremendous opportunities for collaboration between the public and private sectors.
