James Buford
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Buford is responsible for overseeing PAG’s activities in the renewables sector. Previously, Mr. Buford was Executive Officer of First Solar Japan, where he had P&L responsibility for the firm’s renewables development and operations business. Starting in 2009, Mr. Buford also held multiple corporate strategy and operational roles with First Solar in the United States. Mr. Buford started his career with Battery Ventures and was previously an investor with venture capital firms Battery Ventures and Partech International. Mr. Buford holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Stanford University and a Master’s of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Eddie Lo
General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Lo oversees legal and operations for PAG Renewables and joined from First Solar Japan in 2022, where he started as General Counsel in 2015. Previously, Mr. Lo was a corporate mergers and acquisitions lawyer with White & Case and Baker McKenzie for more than eight years. Eddie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from UCLA and a Juris Doctorate from the UCLA School of Law. Mr. Lo is fluent in English, Japanese, and Mandarin.
Shigeki Yamane
Head of Project Execution & Engineering/ Head of Strategic Partnership
Mr. Yamane oversees power plant execution and strategic partnership for PAG Renewables and brings extensive construction and engineering experience to PAG Renewables having delivered over 1.5GW of power plants across Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Russia over a 30-year career with Toyo Engineering. Subsequent to Toyo Engineering, Mr. Yamane was General Manager for Kanematsu and project execution lead for SunPower. Mr. Yamane managed construction and engineering functions at First Solar Japan starting in 2017 and joined PAG Renewables in 2022. Mr. Yamane holds a Bachelor’s and Masters degree in Civil Engineering from Kyushu Industrial Technology University (KIT).
Mitsuaki Hirano
Head of Project Finance & Asset Management
Mr. Hirano is responsible for PAG Renewables' project financing and asset management activities. Prior to joining PAG Renewables from First Solar Japan in 2022, he held structured finance roles with First Solar Japan, Itochu Corporation and Citibank and has completed over USD9B in transactions. Mr. Hirano holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Sophia University and a Masters of Business Administration from Yale School of Management.
Koya Hatano
Head of Energy Services
Mr. Hatano is leads operation & maintenance of renewable powerplants for PAG Renewables Facilities. Prior to joining PAG Renewables Facilities from First Solar Japan in 2022, he engaged in sales, negotiation for land acquisition, engineering, and construction for First Solar Japan and a solar power development and construction company founded by himself. He has over 8 years of experience in the renewable energy field. Mr. Hatano holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Architecture) from the Tokyo University of Science and a Master's degree in Engineering (Architectural Environment) from the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
About our parent company
PAG Renewables companies are supported by PAG, a leading APAC-focused investment firm which manages more than USD50 billion in capital for a globally diversified base of more than 300 institutional investors. The firm has a long history and deep commitment to Japan with a track record spanning more than 26 years and USD30 billion invested In the country, including USD1.6 billion of renewables investments in its current portfolio.
In total the company has invested in more than 7,000 properties in Japan, and has made more than USD1.1 billion of private equity investments including the acquisitions of Universal Studios Japan, automotive safety equipment company Takata (now known as Joyson Safety Systems), and the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki.
PAG invests across its three main business units: PAG Private Equity, PAG Credit & Markets, and PAG Real Assets, and is managed out of principal executive offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. Both PAG Real Assets, the parent division in PAG of PAG Renewables, and PAG Renewables businesses are headquartered in Tokyo.
Corporate background
-
2023
APR
Cumulative capacity of developed/ operated solar power plants reaches 500 MW DC.
-
2023
MAR
Started operation of solar power plants for the first time after the transition to PAGR (Watanabe Solar Power Plant in Iwaki City (32MW DC/21MW AC), etc.) Cumulative capacity of developed/ operated solar power plants reaches 300 MW DC.
-
2022
NOV
PAG Renewables’ 28.8MW ac project wins FIP auction award, one of only two awards greater than 2MWac, demonstrating our competitiveness and commitment to continued large-scale post-FIT project execution.
-
2022
SEP
Establishment of PAG Renewables Facilities LLC through an incorporation-type company split from FSJ.
-
2022
JUN
Establishment of PAG Renewables LLC through an incorporation-type company split from FSJ.
-
2022
MAY
PAG, an alternative investment firm focused on the Asia-Pacific region, finalizes agreement to take over FSJ and its managed projects from FS.
-
2020
DEC
Cumulative capacity of developed/ operated solar power plants reaches 200 MW DC.
-
2019
MAR
Cumulative capacity of developed/ operated solar power plants reaches 100 MW DC.
-
2012
DEC
First Solar Japan LLC was established as a group company of First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR, hereinafter “FS”) in the United States (our predecessor; hereinafter “FSJ”).
PAG uses cookies to run our site and improve its usability.
By using our site you agree to our use of cookies as outlined in our privacy policy
By using our site you agree to our use of cookies as outlined in our privacy policy