- Press Releases
ACORE Welcomes New Members to its Board of Directors
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) today announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors: Urvi Parekh, Head of Renewable Energy at Facebook, and Martin Torres, Managing Director and Head of the Americas for the Renewable Power Group at BlackRock.
“We are thrilled to add these two accomplished renewable energy heavy hitters to the ACORE Board,” said ACORE President and CEO Gregory Wetstone. “The expertise and business acumen that each brings to the table will be immensely helpful as we continue our efforts to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy.”
“As an important voice in the transition to renewable energy, ACORE has been a vital partner as we’ve worked to support our global operations with 100% wind and solar energy,” said Parekh. “I am excited to serve on the board and help continue to strengthen the renewable energy market and expand access to renewables in the U.S.”
“I’m honored to join the board of ACORE, which has been instrumental in advocating for and accelerating the United States’ transition to a low carbon economy,” said Torres. “I look forward to working with my fellow board members and the entire organization to help drive investment into and adoption of renewable energy across the country.”
More background on the newly elected ACORE Board members, who are replacing the outgoing Directors at their respective companies, is available below:
- Urvi Parekh leads Facebook’s renewable energy team, which is responsible for selection, negotiation and management of renewable energy projects to meet the company’s 100% renewable energy goal. In her time, Facebook’s contracted portfolio of renewable energy has grown to over 6,000 megawatts of new wind and solar power plants and the company grew its percentage of operations supported by renewable energy from 44% to reaching its 100% goal in 2020. Facebook’s long-term agreements have enabled new renewable energy projects to be constructed across three continents and 18 U.S. states. This portfolio is one of the largest of any corporate renewable energy buyer worldwide.
- Martin Torres, Managing Director, is Head of the Americas for the Renewable Power Group within BlackRock Real Assets, and is responsible for leading investment and portfolio management activities in the region. Since joining the team more than five years ago, Mr. Torres has led large portfolio acquisitions in the U.S. and Japan and has a deep network in the renewable power industry, bringing strong, creative management and investment experience to the team. BlackRock’s Global Renewable Power platform manages over $9 billion of client capital and has invested in over 250 wind and solar projects across 13 countries in four continents.
“I look forward to working with Martin and Urvi in support of ACORE’s crucially important mission,” said ACORE Board Chairman Declan Flanagan, Executive Vice President and CEO of Ørsted’s Onshore business. “We are fortunate to have such a strong ACORE Board representing the renewable sector.”
For a full list of ACORE’s Board of Directors, please visit https://acore.org/board-of-directors/.
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About ACORE:
For more than 20 years, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) has been the nation’s premier pan-renewable nonprofit organization. ACORE unites finance, policy and technology to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy. For more information, please visit www.acore.org.
Media Contacts:
Blake McCarren, Communications Manager, ACORE
mccarren@acore.org | 301.661.7375 (c)
Alex Hobson, Vice President of Communications, ACORE
hobson@acore.org | 202.777.7584 (o) | 202.594.0706 (c)