GCube Insurance Services (GCube), underwriter for renewable energy, has enhanced its presence on the West Coast of the U.S., with a number of significant additions to the underwriting, claims and business development teams based out of Newport Beach, California.
California has taken a leading role in the adoption of renewable energy in the US, with a highly ambitious renewable portfolio standard (RPS) targeting a 50% share for renewables by 2030.
Regional electricity demand makes this target even more significant; California is the most populous US State, with nearly 40 million inhabitants. Under the Clean Energy Pollution Reduction Act, renewable energy sources must account for 40% of retail electricity sales in California by 2024, 45% by 2027 and 50% by 2030.
These increasingly stringent requirements and lofty goals have made California one of the single most attractive regions for wind and solar development worldwide, while project owners as far afield as Nevada and Wyoming also stand to benefit from favorable energy trading legislation that allows 10% of capacity to be sourced from elsewhere in the western grid.
As such, the West Coast is rapidly resurging as a critical hub for the activities of the US renewables industry. Furthermore, proximity to the promising Mexican and wider Latin American markets adds another level of strategic significance to operations in California and the Southwest as the US renewables industry seeks global expansion.
In order to support the ambitions of a growing client base in California and further afield, GCube has invested heavily in its Newport Beach team, with two senior team members joining from the New York and London offices, and four new staff hires in underwriting, claims, business development and finance.
The team in California will be boosted by the arrival of Sam Walsh, Senior Vice President, who joins from GCube’s New York office, bringing 7 years of expertise underwriting projects in the US wind and solar sectors.
Sam will be accompanied by Jatin Sharma, GCube’s Head of Business Development, joining from GCube’s London office after 6 years, as the firm continues to enhance opportunities in the US and Latin American markets.
“California continues to set the pace for the US market, and the global renewable energy sector as a whole,” said Fraser McLachlan, CEO, GCube.
“GCube has supported the US renewables industry from day one, and we’re committed to ensuring that our growing community of insureds benefits from an underwriting and claims handling service tailored specifically to the region and market in which they operate.”
“These latest additions to the Newport Beach team reflect recent regional growth and will help us continue to provide this unique market-specific offering.”
GCube currently underwrites over 85GW of renewable energy assets under development or in operation throughout the United States. The team will be in attendance at the RIMS 2016 conference in San Diego, April 10-13.