REDWOOD CITY, CA – Peninsula Clean Energy has hired a new chief operating officer (COO) and chief financial officer (CFO), filling out the agency’s senior management team at a pivotal time in its efforts to expand affordable renewable power and decarbonization programs across its service territory.
Peninsula Clean Energy’s new COO is Shalini Swaroop, former chief legal and policy officer at MCE Clean Energy, the first Community Choice Aggregation agency in California.
Nick Bijur joins Peninsula Clean Energy as CFO. Nick previously worked at Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), where he was vice president of finance and treasurer.
“As Peninsula Clean Energy continues to lead in the rapid transition to affordable clean energy, we are well positioned for the future with long-time community energy veteran and environmental justice champion Shalini Swaroop and energy utility finance expert Nick Bijur rounding out our new leadership team,” Peninsula Clean Energy CEO Shawn Marshall said.
As COO, Swaroop will help lead internal efforts toward meeting Peninsula Clean Energy’s strategic plan and will oversee the agency’s regulatory and legislative affairs, energy programs and marketing/community outreach departments. She will also provide executive leadership for the agency’s recently adopted diversity, equity, access and inclusion plan.
During her tenure with MCE, Swaroop led the agency’s legal and policy teams, overseeing litigation, compliance, municipal law, and policy advocacy at state regulatory agencies, the California Legislature and U.S. Congress. She negotiated dozens of landmark California climate action bills, securing federal funds for storage, EV chargers, and building electrification upgrades, and advocated on behalf of low-income constituents and communities of color.
Following MCE, Swaroop was interim deputy executive director at the Initiative for Energy Justice, leading national policy and programs.
Swaroop received her Juris Doctorate from Berkeley Law School, and completed a federal judicial clerkship at the High Court of American Samoa. Swaroop previously sat on the board of GRID Alternatives – Bay Area, and held leadership positions on the boards of the ACLU of Northern California, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's Citizens' Advisory Committee, and the Conference of California Public Utility Counsel. She also co-founded the Bay Area Women of Color Attorney Network.
“The transition to clean energy is crucial for our planet.” Swaroop said. “But the transition must be equitable to those communities who have been most impacted by the legacy of fossil fuels. Peninsula Clean Energy is at the forefront of this transformation and has demonstrated a replicable model of leadership for other communities throughout California and beyond. I’m excited to continue my role in the growing community choice industry at Peninsula Clean Energy.”
As Peninsula Clean Energy’s new CFO, Nick Bijur will manage the agency’s more than $350 million annual operating budget and investment portfolio, stand up a new enterprise risk management function and help the agency balance decarbonization goals with the mandate of affordable clean energy at competitive rates. That includes continuing to implement electric generation rates that are at least five percent lower than generation rates charged by PG&E, while also leading efforts to maintain and improve Peninsula Clean Energy’s investment grade credit ratings.
At PG&E, Nick led a variety of finance functions during his 15-year tenure, including treasury, business finance, market & credit risk management, and strategic investments. Immediately prior to joining Peninsula Clean Energy, Nick was vice president of corporate FP&A at Bloom Energy. He also worked at Williams-Sonoma as vice president and treasurer, and was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Bijur received his M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a B.A. from Bucknell University.
“I am thrilled to join Peninsula Clean Energy and work with the talented and dedicated team that is successfully providing energy choice and helping create a more sustainable planet,” Bijur said.
About Peninsula Clean Energy
Peninsula Clean Energy is a Community Choice Aggregation agency. It is the official electricity provider for San Mateo County and for the City of Los Banos. Founded in 2016 with a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the agency serves a population of 810,000 by providing more than 3,600 gigawatt hours annually of electricity that is 50 percent renewable, 100 percent clean and at lower cost than PG&E. As a community-led, not-for-profit agency, Peninsula Clean Energy makes significant investments in its communities to expand access to sustainable and affordable energy solutions. Peninsula Clean Energy is on track to deliver electricity that is 100 percent renewable by 2025. Follow us at PenCleanEnergy.com, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.