Sunrock Distributed Generation, a commercial solar and distributed generation developer and asset manager, has appointed Wilson Chang, co-founder of Sunlight Financial, as Chief Executive Officer. Bringing nearly two decades of experience in financing and building clean energy and technology companies, Chang will spearhead Sunrock’s growth strategy in the U.S. by expanding both its new project pipeline and funding partnerships.
Chang was previously a Partner and Managing Director at Hudson Sustainable Group where he, along with his notable co-founders, launched Sunlight Financial, a leading residential solar financing platform. Chang helped scale Sunlight Financial’s funding network, including launching its inaugural rated securitization, as it was sold to private equity firms and then taken public in 2021. Chang subsequently co-founded Sunstone Credit to underwrite unrated commercial solar credit to facilitate more financing within the commercial solar industry.
Sunrock’s vision is to simplify the transition to solar and clean energy solutions for businesses, non-profits, and educational institutions in local communities by working closely with local partners to provide solar power purchase agreements and leases to customers. Along with Sunstone Credit, Sunrock partners with a network of 400+ experienced commercial solar installer and developer partners across the US. These partnerships combined with in-house expertise provide Sunrock access to the highest quality and most efficient EPC expertise anywhere in the country.
Sunrock previously raised its first financing from Greenbacker Capital Management (“Greenbacker”), a leading asset manager investing in sustainable infrastructure. Greenbacker is a leader in green energy investment, with approximately $3.6 billion of AUM[1] and 3.3GW of renewable energy assets under management.
Wilson Chang, CEO of Sunrock, comments: “I am thrilled to lead Sunrock into its next phase of growth. The Sunrock team and its partners are some of the best in the industry and are dedicated to building quality solar systems for customers. I look forward to working with these exceptional people to help unlock the benefits of solar power – cost savings, energy resiliency and greater sustainability – for customers across the U.S.”
Benjamin Baker, Managing Director at Greenbacker, adds: “Wilson has been a force in the renewables finance industry for over a decade where he has enabled over $10 billion of financing towards building solar and clean energy projects and has proven to be a steadfast partner to capital providers of all types. His passion for the industry combined with his visionary leadership will help facilitate the build out of the distributed grid with solar as the vanguard energy product.”
[1] AUM includes Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company and Greenbacker Capital Management’s managed funds. AUM represents the underlying fair value of investments, determined generally in accordance with ASC 820, cash and cash equivalents and project level debt. These figures are unaudited and subject to change. Data as of September 30, 2023.
