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Tom Doyle started NRG Energy Inc.'s solar subsidiary in October 2009 and acquired his first project by the end of that year. Since then, Doyle, executive vice president of NRG Energy and president and CEO of NRG Solar LLC, has built the company into a top solar developer in the country.
Doyle has shepherded some of the nation's largest utility-scale projects through development, including a number that should be fully deployed in 2013 and 2014: the 250-MW photovoltaic California Valley Solar Ranch project in San Luis Obispo County, Calif.; the roughly 300-MW PV solar Agua Caliente project in Yuma County, Ariz., which is co-owned with MidAmerican Solar LLC; and the 392-MW Ivanpah project in San Bernardino County, Calif., co-owned with Google Inc. and BrightSource Energy Inc.
The following is an edited transcript of a conversation with Doyle on April 4:
SNL Financial: The era of the blockbuster utility-scale solar farms seems to have passed with the expiration of DOE loan support. What is NRG focusing on these days?
Tom Doyle: We have two photovoltaic projects, both over 200 MW, under construction today as well as a handful of smaller utility-scale projects. Going forward, our expectation is that there are still going to be utility-scale projects in the United States, but they will definitely be smaller projects and we believe that municipal entities and the investor-owned utilities are going to be more interested in projects that are in the 20-MW range going forward, rather than the 200-MW range.
How has the market for power purchase agreements evolved since you started?
It certainly isn't...