Arno Harris – Clean Energy Leader & Entrepreneur

I’ve spent the last 25 years starting and growing successful businesses in high tech, clean energy and electric mobility. I am passionate about solving climate change through the intersection of technology, business and public policy. I now advise startups and growth companies, helping them to raise capital and achieve scale.

In addition to my advisory work, I serve on the boards of PG&E (NYSE:PCG), North America’s largest and cleanest regulated utility, Origis Energy, a leading developer of solar and energy storage projects, and Revolv, a provider of turnkey EV fleets.

I previously founded Recurrent Energy, one of North America’s largest solar project developers. In my role as CEO & Chair, I grew Recurrent Energy to $1.4B in GAAP revenue, raising over $400M of corporate financing and over $4B of project finance. Recurrent Energy’s projects deliver clean electricity to leading utilities and energy buyers in the U.S., Europe and Canada. I sold the company to Sharp Corporation in 2010, remaining as CEO & Chair until the subsequent sale to Canadian Solar in 2015.

Prior to Recurrent Energy, I was the founder and CEO of Prevalent Power, one of California’s fastest growing commercial solar project developers. The company delivered a number of industry milestones, including what was then the largest corporate solar power system developed for Google’s Silicon Valley campus. Prevalent Power was acquired by Idealab’s Energy Innovation in 2005 and subsequently acquired by Suntech in 2010.

I have also been active in policy advocacy and government. I served on the board of the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) for six years and chaired the organization from 2012 – 2014. I also served on the board of Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) and AEE Institute (AEEI) for 5 years, eventually serving as chair of AEEI. I was appointed to the Prop 39 Citizens Oversight Committee by then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris in 2016. I served on the committee for over two years, overseeing $2.5B in California Clean Energy Jobs Act spending to fund energy efficiency improvements to public schools.

I came to solar with a background in high tech startups. I founded Novo Media Group, an online media and marketing agency that was sold to Publicis. I was part of the founding executive team of RedEnvelope, an online gifts company that went public in 2003. And I ran the international division of wine.com, establishing the company’s European operations through acquisitions in Germany and the UK.

In addition to my professional activities, I am committed to working on issues of inequality and inclusion. I serve on the Leadership Council of Tipping Point Community, a grant-making organization focused on poverty alleviation and homelessness in the Bay Area. I previously chaired the Leadership Council and served as co-chair of Tipping Point’s $100M Chronic Homelessness Initiative.

I am a graduate of UC Berkeley. I am a private pilot and competitive amateur cyclist. I am the proud father of four boys and husband to Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, until recently serving in the Newsom administration as California’s first surgeon general.