Tom Buttgenbach

Founder and CEO
8minute Solar Energy (8minute)

Tom founded 8minute Solar Energy in 2009 with a vision for making solar the lowest cost, most reliable form of energy on the planet – even when the sun isn’t shining. With more than 20 years of executive management experience and a scientific, analytical approach driving the company, Tom has transformed 8minute from a boutique developer to a record-breaking solar technology industry leader shaping the nation’s clean energy transition. Today, 8minute has more than 18 GW of solar and 24 GWh of energy storage projects under development – enough to provide clean, reliable power for 20 million Americans day and night, for less than the cost of fossil fuels.

Over his career, Tom has led transactions totaling over $10 billion in power purchase agreements and project finance deals. Prior to founding 8minute, Tom worked in real estate development, investment banking and management consulting with McKinsey & Company. Tom earned his undergraduate degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Cologne in Germany and a Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which he attended as a Fulbright Scholar.