People on the Move highlights the career advancements of high-level trailblazers working professionally in diverse areas of standardization, contributing every day to the strength and success of the U.S. standards and conformance community.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has announced three leadership changes: Sara Birmingham is vice president of state affairs, Kevin Lucas is vice president of policy analysis, and Ben Norris is vice president of regulatory affairs.
Birmingham, who joined SEIA in 2012, now oversees solar-related regulatory and legislative activity across the U.S. She also provides senior-level oversight on crucial cross-cutting solar policy issues. Prior to her current role, Birmingham focused on regulatory and legislative activity in the Western states at SEIA. She began her career at Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), and has been involved in distributed generation and energy efficiency since 1997.
“I am thrilled to continue my tenure at SEIA and lead state advocacy efforts on behalf of the entire solar and storage industry,” said Birmingham. “There is so much important work happening at the state level that will determine how solar projects of all sizes can be deployed, and I look forward to bringing my decades of experience to this new role.”
Lucas’s role focuses on cross-cutting policy issues that are shaping the energy transition. He works with other state, regulatory, and congressional affairs team members, and provides technical support for policy and regulatory issues across the country. His team of subject matter experts focuses on topics including cybersecurity, virtual power plants, rate design, long-term resource planning, distribution system planning, grid reliability, and interconnection reform at the state, regional, and federal level. Prior to his role at SEIA, Lucas worked at the Alliance to Save Energy, a non-profit focused on implementing technology-neutral energy efficiency policies and programs. Prior to that role, Lucas served as the director of policy for the Maryland Energy Administration.
“I am excited about this new role and look forward to working across the industry on a range of policy issues that are shaping the energy transition,” said Lucas. “SEIA will continue to build out its team of subject matter experts as we tackle a variety of challenges such as cybersecurity, rate design, long-term resource planning, distribution system planning, reliability, and interconnection everywhere solar and storage is deployed.”
Norris leads all of SEIA’s advocacy efforts and issue campaigns on federal regulatory matters, including engagement with the White House, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of the Interior, Department of the Treasury, and other agencies. Prior to his time at SEIA, Norris held a senior counsel position for a decade at another national energy trade association where he advised on environmental, infrastructure, administrative, and political law issues.
“We’re coming off an unprecedented year for solar as implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) rapidly advances and agencies consider new rules on interconnection and project siting,” said Norris. “It is a privilege to lead the solar and storage industry’s advocacy work on these issues as we stand at the forefront of America’s energy transition.”
“Ben, Sara, and Kevin are three of the brightest minds in the energy policy space, and all three have been key pieces of SEIA’s advocacy success over the last several years,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “It’s a critical time for the solar and storage industry and these leaders will help us capitalize on recent policy wins and deliver a robust, equitable clean energy future.”
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