Natural Resources >> CEO Interviews >> February 7, 2005
MEL JONES, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Planet, has
helped chart the company's progress since its inception. First as
Executive Vice President of Business Development and Chief Operating
Officer, Mr. Jones has focused much of his energy on developing the
infrastructure for this unique partnership-based enterprise. His 20
years of electric utility experience have been instrumental in Sterling
Planet's early success. Mr. Jones has played a key role in creating
strategic partnerships with utility companies, environmental
organizations, green product manufacturers and other strategic partners.
One of his most significant achievements thus far has been a utility
partnering program ' the Green America Program_ ' and related strategies
for green energy marketing rollouts. Mr. Jones has been true to Sterling
Planet's aim of partnering with utilities, having developed
relationships with all three categories of electric utilities, from
large investor-owned utilities to municipal utilities and rural electric
cooperatives. As an advocate for renewable energy development, Mr. Jones
has dedicated many hours to building credibility for the renewable
energy business. He has been a featured speaker over the past year at
more than 12 conferences, including national renewable energy summits,
venues of Public Service Commissions in several states and environmental
sessions. One of Mr. Jones' earliest achievements at Sterling Planet was
development of a strategic partnership with the Environmental Resources
Trust. Together with ERT, Sterling Planet has begun to recruit large
commercial customers for participation in the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership. Companies that join this
initiative agree to convert a significant portion of their energy to
green energy. ERT's brand, which carries the banner of the Environmental
Defense Fund, Audubon Society and other highly respected environmental
groups, brings credibility to Sterling Planet as a capable partner in
the growing renewable energy business. Prior to co-founding Sterling
Planet, Mr. Jones' core area of expertise has been information
technology solutions for the electric utility industry. As a Vice
President at Electronic Data Systems (EDS), Mr. Jones established a
Global Nuclear Solutions business built around a unique re-engineering
tool that combined artificial intelligence and Electricite de France
software into an IT solution for reducing operating and maintenance
costs at electric generating plants. Another EDS role was to lead the
evaluation of merger/acquisition strategies for utilities worldwide
facing restructuring and privatization issues. Mr. Jones received his
Bachelor of Science degree in statistics from the University of Georgia. Profile
Planet and a picture of the things you are doing at the present time.
Mr. Jones: Sterling Planet had its beginnings in 1999,
