Our Company
Rio Grande Solar is a full-service, solar-electricity integrator with offices in New Mexico, Arizona and Connecticut, and a strong national presence. Rio Grande has an unparalleled understanding of the complex and continuously evolving federal, state and local incentives, rebates, and diverse utility renewable energy credit (REC) rates and stipulations. RGS further has direct relationships with numerous key component manufacturers, allowing for the best available wholesale pricing and timely requisition of the various solar technologies, modules, inverters, racking and other components. RGS also has unique access to structured financing alternatives for municipalities, non-profits and Native American clients that are unable to take advantage of existing federal and state tax incentives.
Our Team
Jason Aryeh – Executive Chairman: Mr. Aryeh is a Director of several public companies, private companies and charitable organizations including: Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, CorMatrix Cardiovascular, Rio Grande Solar and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (Therapeutics- CFFT). He is also Founder and General Partner at JALAA Equities, a private Investment Fund. Mr. Aryeh and his late wife are also major donors to both the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the University of New Mexico Hospital. Mr. Aryeh graduated from Colgate University with honors in economics and attended New York University's Stern School of Business. He resides in Greenwich, CT and Placitas, NM.
Benjamin Rodefer – Founder and Vice Chairman: Grew up in Corrales, NM where he currently lives with Mavis and their two young daughters. Mr. Rodefer attended Cornell University and has founded several companies, including GoBox Software. He is a former member of the New Mexico House of Representatives and a life-long supporter of sustainable development and renewable energy. He is also the President of the Renewable Energy Industry Association of New Mexico.
Brian J. Schmidly – Chief Operating Officer: Brian is a seasoned entrepreneur and an experienced corporate executive having worked in startups, private, and Fortune 100 companies. Since graduating with an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Brian has held senior positions in both marketing and operations in Latin America and the United States. He is also a LEED-AP®, considered a thought-leader on sustainability in the Southwest, and a frequent speaker at conferences on sustainability in higher education. Brian has recently been selected to be network coordinator in Mexico for the DESERTEC Foundation in Germany.
Andy Karetsky – Vice President Special Projects: Since graduating from John's Hopkins University, Andy has spent 20 years in the investment business. He was the youngest vice president in the history of Alex Brown, and was later a partner at Camelot Capital, a $1.3B technology hedge fund, and then at P.A.W. Partners, where he ran their Thematic Fund which invested primarily in publicly traded renewable energy companies. Andy is currently also a partner at Stonegate Energy, a financier of large-scale renewable energy projects.
L. Nathan Perkins – Vice President Information Technology: After graduating from USC as a Renaissance Scholar in 2007, Nathan spent 2 years in South Africa with the Peace Corps. Mr. Perkins was an original founder of GoBox Software and has been written up in the NY Times and PC Magazine as a young computer genius to watch.
