Solar Thermal Pioneer Joins eSolar Team
eSolar, a producer of modular, scalable solar thermal power plants, has added Craig Tyner, Ph.D., to the company as senior vice president of Engineering, according to a Sept. 18 press release.
Tyner, an energy engineering veteran with nearly 30 years of experience, has spent much of his career advancing and deploying solar thermal technologies. He will lead the ongoing development of eSolar's technology He joins eSolar's executive team following its recently announced 245-megawatt deal with Southern California Edison.
"The decades of experience Craig has in solar research and development – he was actively involved with Solar One, the first solar thermal power tower system ever built – will help to continue to improve upon eSolar's technology roadmap as we bring our power plants to market," said Asif Ansari, chief executive officer of eSolar.
Prior to joining eSolar, Tyner spent 31 years at Sandia National Laboratories where he managed Sandia's solar and geothermal research and development programs and conducted extensive research in solar power tower technology and solar chemistry.
Tyner holds a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois, where he was a National Science Foundation Fellow, as well as a bachelor's degree from the California Institute of Technology.
"Upon reviewing the solar thermal technologies currently coming online in the private sector, I was truly impressed how eSolar had designed its technology with rapid power plant deployment in mind, overcoming the key obstacles that utility-scale solar has faced," Tyner said. "I look forward to applying my experience in solar thermal technology development to guide eSolar along its established technology roadmap."