Dan Chawla Email & Phone Number

Leads Natural Power’s engineering team in North America responsible for delivery of Natural Power’s technical due diligence, independent engineering and owner’s engineering services.

Lead multiple GWs of technical due diligence for Natural Power’s private equity, tax equity and other clients looking to invest in C&I and utility scale solar energy projects and portfolios. Managed a team of engineers covering review of solar equipment (modules, inverters, trackers), resource and generation modeling, site evaluation and contract reviews for the purposes of project financing diligence.

Denver, Co

Lead engineer for technical due diligence of C&I portfolios and utility scale solar projects totaling 500-700 MW. Reviewed deliverables prepared by subject matter experts, engaged in discussions with financial stakeholders, and developed the technical opinions provided in ICF’s independent engineering reports used for project financing. In an owner's advisory capacity, evaluated under-performing assets and identified root causes of lost revenue, assessed the technical bankability of solar products, and estimated the revenue gains associated with the addition of storage system to solar projects.

Evaluated the potential future value and risks of solar module technologies owned by acquisition targets ($10-100M). Utilized solar modeling tools (SAM, PVSyst and others) to estimate the increase in energy yields associated with solar module technology projects like – bifacial glass-glass modules, shingled module designs and n-type solar cells. Built a financial model for solar power projects to determine the impact of SunEdison’s technology projects on the levelized cost of energy.

Belmont, Ca

Developed and implemented a stage-gate review process to streamline introduction and management of products. Prepared business cases for solar products and presented to upper management for budget (~$10M) approval. Identified potential new customers and initiated business relationships as interface between internal product development team and the customer.

Sunnyvale, Ca

Transfer early stage technology (see previous work as consulting scientist) from research and development to production platform. Oversee the development of prototype products (large area photovoltaic cells and modules) based on this technology. As a direct result of this work, AQT Solar currently holds multiple records for large area CZTS solar cells and panels. Manage collaborative projects with academic institutions such as Stanford University.

Sunnyvale, Ca

Developed a sputter deposition based process for production of CZTS (an emerging technology) thin films for use in solar cells. Improved the efficiency of CZTS photovoltaic devices from 0% to > 9% (sputter deposition world record).

Doctor Of Philosophy - Ph.D., Materials Science & Engineering

Master Of Science - M.S., Materials Science

Bachelor Of Science - B.S., Materials Science & Engineering