Areas of Expertise:
Clean Energy, Energy Economics, Environment, Renewables, Smart Grid, Solar, Transmission, Transportation, Water, WindTroy Helming has been a clean energy executive and leader for 20 years. He founded San Francisco-based Pristine Sun, the leading developer of small utility-scale solar PV systems in California. Under his leadership, Pristine Sun reached profitability in 3 years, built over 100 solar projects that the company owns and operates with over 300 more in development, a compound annual growth rate of over 600% from inception in 2009 to 2014, over $80 Million of solar project assets built in 2013 and more than triple that planned for 2014. Prior to Pristine Sun he founded TradeWind Energy (formerly Kansas Wind Power) in 1998, raised millions of seed capital, acquired PPAs/LOIs with utilities for $300 Million of wind energy & developed wind farm sites including the 250 MW / $500 Million Smoky Hills Wind Farm (the largest wind farm in KS for many years) and the 200 MW / $350 MM Caney River Wind Farm. Mr. Helming's former company TradeWind has developed and caused to be built over 1 GW (1,000 MW) of wind projects totaling over $1.7 Billion of investment as of late 2013.
In 2005, Mr. Helming wrote & published a book The Clean Power Revolution, created The Freedom Plan (a blueprint to convert America to 100% renewable energy & save the U.S. economy $1 Trillion per year), published numerous articles, has been a keynote speaker in 13 states/4 countries, promoted clean energy tirelessly on TV & radio, fought the construction of various new coal plants, and served for the Sierra Club as an expert witness on wind energy.
In 2007 Mr. Helming designed, built, and operated an EPA-registered biodiesel refinery. Since 2001, Mr. Helming has designed, sold, permitted, installed, and serviced numerous small wind, solar, fuel cell and energy efficiency solutions and been a consultant for dozens of companies (including McKinsey & Co, Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs).
Mr. Helming was first exposed to solar in 1980 to 1986 while, still in school, he helped operate & maintain his family's 30-panel solar hot water system that heated the 7500 square foot home's domestic hot water, pool, hot tub and during winter, pre-heated the air in the four furnaces. He holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Kansas (go Jayhawks!), has certifications in OSHA, NABCEP (pending), Commercial PV NEC 2011 (Complaint Design, O&M), solar & wind energy finance, system design & technical sales, and is a member of Mensa.
Recent Comments by Troy Helming
- "The only way around federal policy change is to build sufficient private market collaboration (consortiums, etc.) to develop 100s of new merchant tran"
Decarbonization and Reliability - "I forgot to include that sufficient transmission is the biggest reliability challenge in decarbonization. Moving large amounts of intermittent renewab"
Decarbonization and Reliability - "The biggest "bang for the buck" comes from increased transmission line capacity across 1) the 3 US grids (east, west, ERCOT) which will require HVDC c"
Decarbonization and Reliability - "1. Eminent domain for UNDERGROUND transmission lines, similar to how the Natural Gas Act has been so successful at accelerating the development & "
Climate RFI: Decarbonizing Electricity with Standards,Taxes, and Transmission Lines - "Wholesale energy prices tell the story - not opinions, rhetoric or political tendencies. In doing a quick review of comments above, "
Obama’s EPA to Cost Americans Billions of Dollars and Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs - "As a 16-year renewable energy veteran responsible for $1.7 Billion of wind energy project construction & development investment and nearly $180 Mi"
Tariffs Threaten the U.S. Solar Industry