San Francisco Bay Area
Dave Williams is a visionary leader and an accomplished entrepreneur in the renewable energy sector, with over 20 years of experience in driving innovation, sustainable finance, and technology for a timely energy transition. As the Chief Operating Officer at Valta Energy, he oversees the strategic direction, operations, and growth of the company, which specializes in financing solar and battery energy solutions for agribusinesses, water districts, and other public agencies. He also serves as a Sir Edmund Hillary Fellow at the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF), a global community of changemakers that incubates solutions to problems from Aotearoa New Zealand with global impact. Dave has a proven track record of creating and scaling climate enterprises with finance, by connecting private capital and technology for the public good. He has been featured in publications like Time Magazine, NY TImes, PV Magazine, Wired, and the BBC for his groundbreaking work in the renewable energy sector. He has founded energy businesses worldwide and served various non-profits in emerging markets through board and advisory roles. Among his many accomplishments, he led the formation of a new environmental attribute that has successfully brought renewables to conflict settings across Africa. Dave's passion for climate innovation and sustainable development has made him a respected figure in the renewable energy industry.
Spearhead a $100 M behind-the-meter investment strategy and lead integration of a 200 MW community-solar greenfield team, delivering bankable pipelines ready for institutional capital. Supported $230milion corporate equity raise. Structure and negotiate multi-party site-lease and offtake JVs with Findustrials and IOUs Build C-suite investment memoranda that align origination, finance, and EPC on a single go-to-market plan;
The mission is to incubate solutions to problems from Aotearoa New Zealand with global innovators to make a lasting positive impact on the world.
Shape siting and commercialization strategy for advanced reactors; advise on Community Power Accelerator initiatives
Raised $100+ M in strategic equity and arranged a $300 M debt platform, owning modeling, due diligence, term-sheet negotiation, and closing Chaired the Investment Committee that approved >$500 M of M&A and greenfield transactions; integrated four acquisitions across finance, HR, Insurance and IT Negotiated a cross-licensing JV with a domestic content supplier, unlocking IRR uplift by adding ITC bonuses to the core solar portfolio Stood up enterprise risk processes that cut contingent liability exposure 40 % and became the template for future portfolio companies
Structured and closed a $100 M agriculture-solar financing facility, securing cornerstone investment from an infrastructure fund Originated, modeled, and executed PPA and lease deals with six farmer co-ops, translating complex tariff analysis into board-ready business cases Established a channel-partner program that sourced >120 MW of projects in 18 months, adding $8 M annual EBITDA Led cross-functional integration (development → construction → asset management) to ensure seamless NTP-to-COD hand-offs