Meet the Clean Energy Innovators Team in Seattle
Ensuring Excellence in Solar and Battery Projects in Western Washington
We're Proud Of Our Team Culture Of Safety And Quality
Led by two seasoned executives in the clean energy industry, CEI strives for a positive culture and a spectacular company to work for. Our core values are safety, work quality, and exceptional customer service. Plus, we are a family and love what we do and having fun doing it!
Our Commercial Installers at Duckhorn Winery, Napa CA
Clean Energy Innovators serves residential and commercial customers from office in Seattle. Our California team recently completed a 296-panel, 161kW rooftop project for Duckhorn Vineyards in Napa, CA. Duckhorn is one of the finest winery portfolios in the world, and CEI was chosen as the preferred installer, receiving exceptional quality results.
Founded by Joseph Benga and Randy Sprout
Joseph Benga, Jr - Chief Executive Officer
Joe is considered by many to be a legend in solar, starting in 2003 when the USA industry was nascent. As head of EPC for several top-tier companies, he has led the construction of over 500 different solar projects of various sizes, with a total installed capacity of over 800MW, representing over $2 billion dollars of project value. In 2006, he was responsible for creating the then-world’s largest solar power plant in Germany. He has held executive and officer roles in major solar companies including Suntech, PowerLight, LendLease, Solon, Chevron Renewable Power, Gardner Capital, OnSwitch and EI Solutions, all as head of EPC and directly responsible for the design & engineering, equipment procurement and construction of commercial and utility-scale solar projects. Building up to Joe’s 2003 entry into the solar industry was 25 years leading general commercial retail construction. His career began in 1978 and through 2003 Joe led the construction of hundreds of showcase retail stores for elite brands like Tiffany & Co, Ormond Shops, Elizabeth Arden Salons and Liz Claiborne. Joe is now one of the most sought-after consultants in solar design & construction in the country. Beyond his extensive experience, Joe is an expert at creating company cultures that result in incredibly happy and loyal teams. He has been described by many past direct-reports as the highest-caliber manager and leader that they have ever worked for in their career, and several have returned to follow Joe from one company to another. Given all of this experience and Joe’s reputation, he has created thousands of professional relationships throughout the solar community and his trusted colleagues represent a diaspora populating nearly every company in the industry.
Randy Sprout - Chief Operating Officer
Randy has a 35-year entrepreneurial and executive background. He has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in electrical engineering from Cornell and an MBA from Harvard. After gaining technology and project management experience in a variety of electrical engineering roles from 1983 to 1996, Randy launched his own virtual reality multimedia company and led it as CEO for 15 years. It is considered to be one of the most successful VR firms of the era, hitting a peak of approximately 250 employees and contractors in nearly a dozen retail business units worldwide. The company’s inventions and software conceptions were enjoyed by an estimated 25-30 million people on 5 continents and won several international awards for innovation. He then spent 5 years at Chevron from 2009 – 2013 helping to create large-scale solar and geothermal renewable energy generation power plants, where he was one of the key architects for growing a team of nearly 50 people that achieved over $27M of after-tax profits for Chevron. From 2014 – 2018 Randy served as the Chief Operating Officer for Smart Wires in the San Francisco Bay area, where he was a driving force in growing this clean energy technology startup from 20 people to a broad-based team of nearly 200 people with major offices and activities in San Francisco, North Carolina, Europe, Pakistan and India. Randy was solely responsible for leading all manufacturing, customer support, new product development, R&D, quality, testing, construction and engineering, and product installations. He helped the company achieve ISO-9001 certification for quality in R&D and manufacturing.