Company News

Taegen Kopfler has been at Encore since June 2022, working as an Associate on the Project Development team. She helps the Development team prepare prime permit applications, coordinate communication with project constituents, and manage the workflow of the development process. Taegen is also active on Encore’s JDEI team, focused on building external partnerships with groups aligned in our climate justice goals.

The Encore team hit the road this winter to share our ongoing work co-locating solar with agriculture at RE+ NE and the Solar Farm Summit. It’s great to be back in person and our team looks forward to connecting at events this spring and summer.

Chad Farrell served as a lead facilitator in discussions with other mission-driven CEOs affiliated with Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) with Vermont’s Speaker of the House of Representatives Jill Krowinski and Senate President Pro Tempore Phillip Baruth. The discussions were part of VBSR’s 2023 Climate Action Day and were focused around new legislation intended to strengthen Vermont’s renewable energy standard (RES).

In February, the students from Burlington City & Lake (BCL) Semester program at Burlington High School had a residency at Hula Lakeside to meet with businesses focused on climate justice. Kelsey Applegate and Taegen Kopfler, alongside Abi Gruvman from 350.org, sat down with the students and their teachers to talk about their work and hear the student’s perspectives on climate justice.

Encore Renewable Energy, a leading full-service community-scale renewable energy development company, announced today that Blake Sturcke is now CEO, joining Encore’s Founder and CEO, Chad Farrell, to jointly lead the company’s expansion and accelerated deployment of solar and energy storage projects. Blake has been with Encore since 2015. In addition to having served in several leadership positions in the clean energy industry, Blake has a wealth of experience in corporate and project finance, capital markets, and mergers and acquisitions gained over a 15-year career as an investment banking executive prior to joining the clean energy workforce.

Kelsey Applegate is a Project Manager who joined our team in May. As part of the Development team, Kelsey permits and coordinates solar and energy storage project surveys, manages interconnection processes with utilities and conducts fatal flaw assessments. She also represents Encore’s efforts with B Corps, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, and serves on Encore and NYSEIA’s JDEI committees.