We had an exciting day on Tuesday this week. We announced an agreement with Sharp to acquire Recurrent Energy. The sale is the result of many months of hard work by everyone at Recurrent Energy. We’re thrilled because the arrangement creates a tremendously strong platform for continuing the growth and success we’ve had.

First, the facts. Sharp Corporation has agreed to buy 100% of Recurrent Energy, including its 2GW pipeline and 330MW portfolio of contracted projects. The company will continue to operate under the Recurrent Energy name. And I’ll be staying on in my current role, as will the rest of the management team and employees.

The agreement is fundamentally about creating a platform to build a leading global solar project development and generating company. This goal reflects Sharp’s ambitions to extend its business into solar power plants–and it reflects the Recurrent Energy team’s ambition to build a company we think represents future of the solar industry.

The agreement is not, as some analysts have supposed, about simple vertical integration or a pipeline sale. Recurrent Energy is not obligated to use Sharp modules in its projects; nor is Sharp providing preferential pricing on equipment.

The synergies in this transaction come from acclerating Recurrent Energy’s business by combining it with Sharp’s balance sheet–superior access to capital, strong credit, business reputation, engineering/technology/manufacturing excellence, etc.–to expand development, construction capacity, and the operating portfolio.

From my perspective, this is not an ‘exit’–this is the beginning of the next phase of our growth. I transitioned from hi-tech to solar 9 years ago because I wanted to have an impact on our planet’s health. I wanted to play a part in figuring out the business models and capital formation to make solar a meaningful part of our generating mix. I’m convinced this is the platform to extend that ambition. Considering we’re still at less than 1% penetration, Recurrent Energy is just getting started.