Birch Creek Energy Launches Independent Power Producer Entity, Adds Key Hires to Support Growth Plans

ST. LOUIS, March 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Birch Creek Energy, LLC ("Birch Creek"), a St. Louis based renewable energy company, today announced the launch of its independent power producer entity, Birch Creek Power, augmenting its development entity, Birch Creek Development. This move adds a significant component to the "develop to own" model that Birch Creek is employing in key markets, providing additional optionality for Birch Creek's 8 gigawatts (GW) of solar and storage development pipeline.

Birch Creek Power Launch

Birch Creek Power will focus on owning and operating renewable energy assets, building on Birch Creek's expertise in developing and financing utility-scale solar and storage projects. The launch of this new entity will allow the company to take a more active role in the renewable energy market, enhancing the platform through participating directly as a long term sponsor and renewable energy operator.

Key Hires

In support of its continued growth plans, Birch Creek is also announcing today the appointment of Bill DuFour as Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President, and Louis Pollman as Vice President – Mergers and Acquisitions.

Bill DuFour was previously the co-founder of DuFour Conapinski Ha LLP, a boutique law firm specializing in renewable energy transactions since 2015. Prior to co-founding DuFour Conapinski Ha LLP, DuFour was a member of Foley & Lardner's internationally-ranked Energy Industry Team and previously worked at the U.S. Department of Energy in the Office of General Counsel. Bill has been counsel to the successful development of over 15 GW of solar projects in the past 13 years. He has extensive experience in negotiating a number of acquisitions and sales of renewables projects, as well as representing a variety of companies in PPA, EPC, procurement and other project development-related matters.

Louis Pollman was previously Senior Director, Capital Markets with Strata Solar, and prior was in various structured finance roles with GCL, Brite Energy and Verengo Solar. Pollman's role at Birch Creek will be focused on project acquisitions and divestitures, along with assisting in the capital market strategy.

"Adding IPP capabilities to our platform is a natural evolution of our business," said Dan Siegel, CEO of Birch Creek. "Over the last year we have built a significant pipeline in key markets, and have worked tirelessly to develop an independent development machine capable of yielding high quality and high value solar projects. In the process, we've brought on key team members with extensive experience in developing projects and building portfolios. The additions of Bill DuFour and Louis Pollman are incredible examples of industry veterans joining our dynamic platform," Siegel said.

Team Growth

With the addition of DuFour and Pollman, the team at Birch Creek has grown to 23 renewable energy professionals across 6 states. Birch Creek recently opened its headquarters location in St. Louis, Missouri, adding a local presence to key markets in MISO and PJM territories.

Birch Creek, a St. Louis based utility scale solar development platform formed in 2019, develops, finances and owns utility scale solar and storage projects in the United States. Since its inception, Birch Creek has developed 36 utility-scale solar projects, totaling 872 megawatts (MW), and has a portfolio of over 8 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar and storage projects in various stages of development across MISO, PJM, ERCOT and the Southeast.

Birch Creek Company Highlights

• Birch Creek Energy ("Birch Creek") is a utility-scale solar and storage developer, financier and independent power producer with over 8 GW of active solar and storage development pipeline across MISO, PJM, Texas, and the U.S. Southeast
• Since inception, Birch has developed 36 utility scale solar projects, totaling 872 MW.
• Birch Creek has is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, with 23 employees across 6 states

SOURCE Birch Creek Energy