Renewable Energy Trust (RET) Capital named Nikolas Novograd its new VP of origination and secretary of the company’s Investment Committee.

Prior to RET Capital, Novograd was a director in Wells Fargo’s renewable energy and environmental finance group where he originated, structured and managed more than $300 million of tax equity investments in wind and solar power projects for the bank’s own account. Prior to that, he was VP of project finance at First Solar, where he and his team sold 520 megawatts of solar projects and won commitments for $1.5 billion in project debt. He joined First Solar when it acquired NextLight Renewable Power, a utility-scale solar developer. Novograd served as NextLight’s VP and head of Finance. Before NextLight, he was SVP at GE Capital, where he originated debt and tax equity investments in energy projects owned by private equity and hedge funds. Prior to that, he held positions in the project finance groups of ABN AMRO Bank and Sanwa Bank, a predecessor of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG).

In his new role, Novograd is responsible for origination, development and management of strategic and asset partner relationships as well as the facilitation of all aspects of closing transactions. Over the course of his career, Novograd has closed dozens of transactions representing billions in capital.

“Nik’s extensive experience and background enhances our management team, positioning RET Capital to strengthen existing and create new strategic partnerships as well as accelerate the expansion of our renewable energy portfolio,” said John A. Bohn, CEO and chairman of RET Capital, an independent renewable finance platform focused on lowering the cost of capital for renewable energy developers and other industry stakeholders.