APS STAR Center
Our Management Team
Our company was founded by the most experienced installers and operators of large-scale solar systems in the American Southwest. They have installed and operated 22 large projects with a combined capacity exceeding 6.5 MW and have overseen more than 40,000,000 kwh of PV energy production. These projects employed a variety of fixed mount, single-axis and concentrating PV technologies.
In order to best serve our customers, we have augmented our team by adding professionals experienced in residential, commercial and industrial
construction, in materials science, and in system design and reliability engineering.
Eric Schlichtmann, Chief Executive Officer: Mr. Schlichtmann brings nearly 7 years experience at Kanto Corporation
and at Harder Mechanical Contractors, managing all aspects of large scale high purity chemical system installations at major semiconductor
manufacturing facilities including Fujitsu, NEC, Wafertech, Komatsu, and AMI. He also managed a group of foreign and domestic engineering
and construction firms which built the world's highest purity aqueous ammonia plant. During his tenure at Kanto, acting in the capacity of
a Senior Vice President, he led a complete organizational realignment and SAP implementation.
Mr. Schlichtmann is a natural team leader with specific knowledge of specialized plant construction, and skill in managing complex projects. Eric holds a BS in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia and an MBA (Entrepreneurship focus) from the Eller School of Management at the University of Arizona.
Eric Suriano, President: Mr. Suriano managed projects for the Arizona Public Service Solar Test and Research (STAR) Center until he departed in June 2007 to found ViaSol Energy Solutions. He had a senior role in the installation of 22 projects totaling approximately 6.5MW of fixed, single axis tracking and dual axis tracking flat panel and concentrating PV during the past 7 years. Since commissioning, he has operated and maintained these systems, and they have produced nearly 40,000 MWh of electricity. Eric is intimately knowledgeable about controls, data acquisition, trouble-shooting, and maintenance of single-axis tracking systems, and he also has extensive experience with the two-axis solar tracking systems typically used for large CPV and in hybrid power systems for off-grid applications.
In addition to his solar industry leading experience, Mr. Suriano brings an excellent understanding of the utility perspective on solar power, good personal connections within the industry, and a depth of knowledge on the economics of operating and maintaining tracking systems in Arizona's unforgiving climate. He is a proven workforce manager and has an excellent project execution track record.
Daniel Tarico, Chief Strategy Officer and Director of Project Finance: Mr. Tarico's most recent role was as Vice President of Finance and Operations at GreenSun Energy, LLC where he focused on project finance for and installation of commercial scale photovoltaic projects. He has 12 years of specialty commercial and residential construction experience, and is adept at modifying existing structures and designing for long life, maximum reliability and minimum operating expense. In addition to a variety of experience across industries ranging from mining to real estate, he brings 6 years experience in laboratory R&D at the University of Arizona and at the Donnelly Corporation Advanced Technology Center. During his employment at Donnelly Corporation he co-authored 4 U.S. patents.
Mr. Tarico holds B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering and a M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Arizona. He also holds an MBA (Finance focus) from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona.
Dr. Devarajan Srinivasan, Chief Technology Officer: Dr. Srinivasan began working in the design and testing of solar energy systems nearly 14 years ago. Since that time he has gained extensive experience in the design of power electronics systems, digital and analog circuits, photovoltaic systems and data collection/analysis systems. Specific to PV systems, he has designed and built inverters and inverter components, and he has designed complete off-grid hybrid power systems. He spent more than 5 years applying this knowledge to the operation and optimization of the solar systems at the Arizona Public Service STAR Center. From this he has developed a unique expertise in PV tracking systems and controllers.
Dr. Srinivasan holds a B. Tech. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Regional Engineering College in Calicut, India, a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University, with a specialization in electrical power systems. He has authored nearly 20 papers and reports on subjects within his expertise.