Senior Vice President, Regulatory and Government Affairs
Pine Gate Renewables
Asheville, North Carolina, United States
Steve Levitas, Senior VP for Regulatory and Government Affairs at Pine Gate Renewables, is a solar industry veteran and nationally respected authority on energy policy. In addition to leading Pine Gate’s policy department, Steve devotes much of his time to expanding the offtake opportunities for independently owned solar generation resources through competitive procurement program design, voluntary customer programs, and PURPA implementation. He worked extensively on the development of landmark clean energy legislation in North Carolina in both 2017 and 2021, as well as in the initial proceeding before the North Carolina Utilities Commission in 2022 leading to the adoption of a plan to reduce Duke Energy’s carbon emissions by 70%. He has also been heavily involved in matters relating to transmission and interconnection policies and procedures.
Steve previously served as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Strategy for Cypress Creek Renewables, where he led the company’s policy team and advised management about the impact of public policy on icommercial strategy. Prior to joining Cypress Creek, Steve served as Vice President for Business Affairs and General Counsel for FLS Energy and spent over twenty years in private law practice, concentrating on renewable energy project development and environmental regulatory matters.
Steve is member of the Board of Directors of the Solar Energy Industries Association and New Energy Economics and is a past board member of the Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association and numerous other non-profit organizations.
From 1993 through 1996, Steve served as Deputy Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources. Prior to his service in state government, Steve was Director and Senior Attorney of the North Carolina office of the Environmental Defense Fund, which he opened in 1988. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Harvard Law School.
Green Tariffs: What Are They and What is Their Role in the Clean Energy Transition?
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PDT