Clean Energy Associates Expands in Europe as War in Ukraine Accelerates Demand for Renewable Energy
Jörg Althaus hired from TÜV Rheinland as Director, Engineering and ESG, to help clients build and source clean energy and meet zero-carbon and ESG goals.
Jörg Althaus, Director, Engineering and ESG Services at Clean Energy Associates
DENVER, USA, July 14, 2022 – Clean Energy Associates is continuing its expansion in Europe with the hire of Jörg Althaus, a leading solar engineer and longtime senior executive at TÜV Rheinland, to help lead its Engineering and ESG services practice from Cologne, Germany.
Clients striving to buy the best solar and energy storage equipment while meeting zero-carbon and ESG milestones will benefit from Althaus’ decades of technical, operations, and business experience in solar and energy storage, said Andy Klump, CEA’s founder and CEO.
“We’re thrilled to be able to welcome an internationally recognized expert such as Jörg Althaus to our team in Europe,” said Klump. “The EU has always been a large renewable energy market, and continues to be a leader in zero-carbon energy. We’ve been investing in and building a very experienced team there for some time.
“In response to the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russian oil, natural gas, and coal, we’re seeing a further surge in demand for renewable energy, and fresh policies to support this buildout,” Klump said. “Consequently, we’re doubling down on our commitment to providing developers, utilities, and corporate clients with engineering services and the best support for their ESG policies, as well as the investment confidence in their supply chain decisions. CEA’s strong reputation for supply chain security and quality assurance oversight has been the foundation for our strong working relationship for many European clients over the past 14 years, and we’re pleased to extend our service offerings.”
CEA now has over 200 team members who support work in 65 countries.
Althaus held a wide variety of roles in over 20 years at TÜV Rheinland, the leading testing, inspection, and certification provider, where he oversaw a solar PV portfolio approaching 20 gigawatts in size. He had profit & loss responsibility for the PV and energy storage teams in Germany, India, the Middle East, and Africa. From 2019 to 2021 he was responsible for strategy development and execution of TÜV Rheinland’s global PV Power Plant business.
His career focus has been quality, reliability and technical risk mitigation for photovoltaic assets, and his work has been recognized by over 60 published citations and speaking engagements. He was the project leader for various standards within the International Electrotechnical Commission’s Technical Committee 82, focusing on PV module test standards. He also was a technical auditor for the IECEE Certification Body scheme, auditing multiple PV laboratories around the world. He is an active member in the SolarPower Europe industry association and holds a degree in Electrical Engineering. He resides in Cologne, Germany.
“Traceability is the first step in ESG, so that buyers understand the provenance of the materials in their supply chain,” said Althaus. “We’ll also be comparing the carbon footprints and recycling practices of different manufacturers, to help our clients make informed decisions on who they’re buying from, and what the tradeoffs are between different suppliers.
“The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive lays out a set of human rights and environmental due diligence requirements for companies active in the EU,” he said. “We help companies and their management to be prepared before legislation is in place.”
About Clean Energy Associates
CLEAN ENERGY ASSOCIATES (www.cleanenergyassociates.com) helps buyers and long-term owners of solar and energy storage equipment buy the right products and ensure they are properly manufactured and installed. The rapid growth of the clean energy industry is exhilarating but the explosion of new technologies, new companies, new factories, new markets, and new business models can be hard to stay on top of and brings new risks. From the company’s headquarters in Denver and Asian base in Shanghai, CEA provides clients with investment confidence and allows them to get a "peek behind the curtain" to understand what is really happening upstream in supply chains and production facilities and downstream in project design and execution. CEA's global team has helped a diverse customer base of project developers, EPCs, IPPs, and financial institutions understand industry trends and market dynamics, select the best suppliers, negotiate the best contracts, carefully audit production processes, test equipment in the field, and perform technical and acquisition due diligence. CEA’s experience executing over 135 GW of solar and 10 GWh of storage projects in over 65 countries, including work in over 350 production facilities, is invaluable to clients as they navigate the ever-changing and hyper-competitive landscape of clean energy.
Company contact: info@cea3.com
Media contact: Peter Kelley, pr@cea3.com
