Team

Christina Becker-Birck is a Vice President at Cadmus. She has worked in numerous jurisdictions around the world, with deep expertise in the Latin American and Caribbean region, African, and North American markets. Christina has worked with a wide range of government, international organizations and companies to support policy design on clean energy market development and strategies to reduce investment barriers. Mrs. Becker-Birck has led policy analysis, program design and stakeholder engagement processes on behalf of Deutsche Bank, World Bank, UNDP, UNEP, OAS, GIZ, IDB and the World Future Council, among others. Mrs. Becker-Birck holds a joint Master in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics and the Hertie School of Governance. She has published dozens of reports and regularly delivers seminars, lectures, and trainings on renewable energy internationally.

Bertold Breid is CEO of the Renewables Academy AG (RENAC). RENAC is based in Berlin, Germany, and one of the leading international providers for renewable energy training and energy efficiency education. Since RENAC’s establishment in January 2008, over 4,000 participants from over 130 countries worldwide have benefited from our expertise in the technology, financing, management and market development of alternative energy. 

Toby Couture is the founder and director of E3 Analytics, an independent renewable energy consultancy based in Berlin, Germany. He works on a wide range of topics in renewable energy, including policy and regulation, capacity building and training, market research, as well as finance and investment analysis. He has worked extensively on renewable energy policy and strategy, and has advised regulators and policymakers in over two-dozen countries around the world. These include Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tunisia, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cameroun, Benin, Togo, Nicaragua, as well as a number of jurisdictions within Canada, and the United States. 

Hugo Lucas is Head of the Energy Department at Factor. He is an energy expert with a Master in Agronomy Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM). He pursued postgraduate studies in the energy sector at the Federal Polytechnic University of Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty for Environmental Studies of the York University in Canada. He has 19 years of experience working in government and multilateral institutions: At the Spanish Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Agency (IDAE) he participated in the negotiation and design of policy instruments, most importantly the EU Renewables Directive, and in strategic cooperation in the framework of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), to name just a few. He has also been closely involved in the founding process of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and has led and coordinated, as Director for Knowledge, Policy and Finance, the advice to governments on the design and implementation of renewable energy policies, financial mechanisms and on socio-economic impacts.  As international energy policy consultant, he has provided advice on renewable energy policy to more than 20 countries in Asia, Sub Saharan Africa and South America.

Alexander Ochs is the Founder and Managing Director of SD Strategies, a Berlin-based consultancy working at the intersection of economic and social development, energy, and the environment. He is also Senior Director of Climate and Energy at the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, DC., Chair of the Energy Working Group of the Low Emissions Development Global Partnership (LEDS-GP), President of the Forum for Atlantic Climate and Energy Talks (FACET) and a Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins University. He serves on a number of international advisory boards including George Washington University and the German Government’s International Climate Initiative.

Mauricio Solano-Peralta currently works as Project Engineer for Infratec in New Zealand, and is involved in work around the Pacific and ASEAN region. Previously, Mauricio worked as project manager in Latin America and the Caribbean for Trama TecnoAmbiental S.L. He graduated in Industrial Engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica in 2005. In 2008, he completed a M.Sc. degree in Environmental Sciences from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Mauricio has significant experience in engaging with renewable energy and rural electrification initiatives, programmes and multiple stakeholders at the institutional, regulatory, local community, academic and political levels, as well as assessing the technical and social aspects of energy access projects. He worked as a consultant in a number of countries, including Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Panama, Argentina, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Costa Rica, the US, India, Italy, the Netherlands and Ecuador.

Wilson Rickerson is a consultant with over fifteen years of experience in the field of international energy policy and market design. He currently focuses on the intersection of advanced energy technology, resilience, and security in his role as Principal of Converge Strategies, LLC. He has advised 25 countries on new energy strategies and has led global studies focusing on renewable energy on behalf of partners such as the International Energy Agency, REN21, the United Nations Development Programme, and the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Prior to Converge Strategies, Wilson led Meister Consultants Group as CEO. Under his leadership, MCG supported energy policy and program development in all 50 U.S. states and provided technical assistance and training to thousands of municipal officials. He holds a Masters in Energy Policy from the University of Delaware, and a BA in International Relations from the College of William & Mary. Wilson is a Policy Fellow with the Center for Climate and Security and an Expert with the Clean Energy Solutions Center.

Owen Zinaman is an Independent Consultant focused on translating international best practices in electricity system planning, operations, market design, and regulation into robust action in support of clean energy transitions. He has authored more than 30 reports on power system transformation topics, and has provided in-depth advisory services to government agencies in Thailand, South Africa, Mexico, Colombia, India, and the United States. Before becoming an Independent Consultant, Owen managed several portfolios of international technical assistance work at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and served as Senior Power Sector Analyst for the 21st Century Power Partnership, a multilateral initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial. He has collaborated with many leading international organisations such as the IEA, the World Bank/IFC, IRENA, the Clean Energy Solutions Center, and the United Nations University, as well as with development agencies including USAID, GIZ, and the Danish Energy Agency. He received his Master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, with a focus on science and technology public policy.