Wind Energy

OwnEnergy Names Robert Crowell Head of Development

OwnEnergy, Inc., a Community Wind power development company that partners with landowners to help them develop and own commercial scale mid-size wind farms, announced that Robert Crowell is joining the company as Head of Development. In that position, Crowell will have ultimate responsibility for seeing all of the company’s community wind farm projects through to construction. He has been responsible for the development of over 1,600 MW of operating generating plants, including 6 wind farm projects totaling over 830 MW in the Midwestern and Northeastern United States.

Prior to joining the young company, Crowell had been Senior Vice President for Development at E.On Climate & Renewables, a subsidiary of E.On Group, a large European-based utility. At E.On Climate & Renewables, Crowell helped grow a small and relatively inexperienced development team, more than quadrupling the average monthly acreage leased, and establishing a development portfolio of 13 projects in six states. He came to E.On with over twenty years in the power industry, in both traditional and renewable energy utilities. He received a BS from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and an MBA from ISU.

In a related move, Cynthia Crooks has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer. As COO, Crooks will manage the completion of OwnEnergy’s Community Wind turbines projects, including engineering, procurement, construction and operations. She will also manage the Company’s network of energy entrepreneurs nationwide.

Jacob Susman, founder and CEO noted the importance of Crowell’s hire both for OwnEnergy and for the burgeoning movement in locally-owned Community Wind farms. "Bob brings the unique combination of deal-making talent and deep experience in development that will allow OwnEnergy to dramatically increase the scale of our operations. Perhaps more importantly, his move from a senior position in a mature utility to a rapidly-growing, VC-backed renewables venture signals both his confidence in the vision of OwnEnergy and the enormous potential of our approach to renewable energy development."

Susman continued, "Cindy’s promotion to COO fortifies our senior management team and puts OwnEnergy on an even playing field with our peers in renewable energy Independent Power Producers. We now have even more development and construction firepower to build out the $900 million of shovel-ready Community Wind farms in our portfolio. It is exciting news for us, and for the many farmers, ranchers, landowners and local businesspeople around the country who are looking to become energy entrepreneurs."

OwnEnergy, Inc. is a Community Wind farm developer of mid-sized, utility scale wind turbines projects that enable landowners and communities to build and profit directly from their own local wind farms. The company is based in Brooklyn, New York.

www.ownenergy.net