Earthrise Energy, an independent power producer, today announced two new strategic hires and organizational changes to accelerate the company’s long-term strategic growth. Kenton Harder has been named to the newly created role of Vice President of Capital Markets. In addition, Will Fischer has been appointed Vice President of Development, assuming the role from Jonathan Pike, who will now focus on acquisitions and partnerships as Vice President of Corporate Development.

Founded to accelerate the clean energy transition, Earthrise Energy owns and operates five natural gas peaker plants in Illinois. The company is leveraging the transmission assets of those facilities to build more than 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy in the region.

“This marks an exciting phase in Earthrise’s evolution. The knowledge and skills that Kenton and Will bring to their positions provide us with the additional capacity required to propel our growth,” said Steve Vavrik, Earthrise Energy’s Chief Executive Officer. “The extensive renewable power expertise of each of these executives, coupled with their commitment to delivering results, further bolsters our leadership team and strengthens our execution capabilities.”

Kenton Harder, Vice President of Capital Markets, will manage project finance for Earthrise Energy’s more than 1.5 GW of renewable energy projects and report to Earthrise Energy’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Hunter. Harder brings to Earthrise Energy more than a decade’s worth of transactional experience, spanning corporate acquisitions, project financings, and third-party equity raises and investments. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Finance at Catalyze, an independent power producer that developed, operated, and maintained integrated solar, battery storage, and electric charging assets for commercial and industrial customers.

Will Fischer, Vice President of Development, joins the Earthrise Energy team to focus on renewable project development and reports to Earthrise Energy’s Chief Executive Officer. He brings to his role more than a decade of experience spanning development, origination, strategy, and M&A in the renewable energy industry. Prior to joining Earthrise Energy, Fischer worked on utility-scale solar and battery storage projects at Pine Gate Renewables. Serving as Vice President of Development, he led one of Pine Gate Renewable’s regional development teams before being promoted to Vice President of Strategy for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) regions.

Jonathan Pike, Vice President of Corporate Development, will be responsible for identifying and delivering growth opportunities through acquisitions and partnerships and reports to the Earthrise Energy’s Chief Executive Officer. Pike has been with Earthrise Energy for more than three years. Prior to his new role at the company, he primarily focused on building out the company’s more than 1.5 GW renewable energy pipeline. Pike brings to his new role strong expertise in power market analysis, asset valuation, and acquisition strategies. Before joining Earthrise Energy, Pike served as the Development Director at Cypress Creek Renewables.

About Earthrise Energy

Earthrise Energy, PBLLC, is an independent power producer with a mission to reduce power sector greenhouse gas emissions faster than ever before. The company acquires, owns, and operates legacy fossil fuel assets and repurposes the transmission infrastructure for renewable energy development projects, bringing them online faster than typical greenfield renewable energy projects. Earthrise has 1.7 GW of gas-fired generation capacity and has a solar development pipeline of more than 1.5 GW. For more information about Earthrise Energy, go to earthriseenergy.com.