Michael T. Bakas

Mr. Bakas is an Executive Vice President, at Ameresco, a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company. He is a member of the founding management team of the 20-year old public company (NYSE:AMRC).

Mr. Bakas has nearly 30 years of experience in the energy industry and has been at the forefront of the strategic development of renewable energy assets while being instrumental in Ameresco’s corporate strategic planning and growth.

As a pioneer in the renewable energy industry, he drove and completed some of the earliest agreements that helped shape the markets in those states that first implemented renewable portfolio standards. Ever since, he has championed the growth of Ameresco’s renewable energy asset portfolio to become one of the leading energy services providers in North America.

Mr. Bakas directs Ameresco’s Distributed Energy Systems Group, which is primarily responsible for the development and operation of energy generation assets. This group has successfully developed in excess of 400 MWe of small infrastructure energy supply assets (primarily baseload/dispatchable generation) that have won numerous awards from the U.S. EPA, the Department of Energy, the Climate Change Business Journal, state agencies, and other leading industry organizations.

He has been key in fostering and supporting legislation that promotes the use of renewable resources. Mr. Bakas is an active member of the U.S. EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program, National Association of Energy Engineers, and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Energy Committee. Mr. Bakas sits on the Advisory Board for Microgrid Knowledge, the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (where he is Chair of the Sustainability Advisory Board), and the Advanced Energy Group.

As an industry expert, Mr. Bakas is often invited to speak at innovative industry and customer forums where he addresses topics such as Energy Efficiency, Distributed Energy Systems, Microgrids, Energy Storage, Renewable Energy, and Public Private Partnerships. He is regularly sought out for expertise and opinion, and has been involved in numerous national media outlets. Over his career he has been tapped to provide his expertise and guidance regarding energy issues in states from California to Massachusetts, as well as to participate in discussions setting direction for Federal, state and local energy policy. In June 2017, Mr. Bakas was invited to provide expert testimony before the Clean Air Congressional Roundtable session hosted by U.S. Senator Tom Carper at the U.S. Capitol. Mr. Bakas is frequently quoted in industry and business publications, most recently by Forbes and Fortune Magazine. Over the course of his career, he has written a number of articles and is most recently published in Distributed Energy Magazine.

Mr. Bakas earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an M.B.A. from Boston College, The Carroll Graduate School of Management.