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Alumni Winter 2012_Layout 1 1/10/12 1:47 PM Page 18
Alumni Profiles
“Every time we visited a village
for the first time, kids would
come out of nowhere to see what
was going on. If nothing else, we
provided a lot of entertainment
for the children.”
Power to the People
Art Lilley ’65 brings renewable energy technologies
to remote regions
By Mellissia Richards ’02, ’12
“We were a little concerned because we
had to install this solar system on asphalt
and were worried about the lack of
reflection. Someone had the idea to paint
the asphalt white.”
“I had the opportunity to visit one of our
systems in the desert of Abu Dhabi. This
first-of-a-kind solar/diesel hybrid system
was installed for Etisalat, the largest
telecommunications company in the
United Arab Emirates.”
Scientists claim that black bears
are territorial and not very
migratory. Maybe they should
consider adding the University
of Maine Black Bears to their studies. Data
would show that Black Bears are indeed
very migratory!
Art Lilley ’65 is one such migratory
Black Bear. The child of an Air Force family,
he attended 17 different schools when he
was growing up. “I was taught a nomadic
lifestyle,” he said. When his parents were
stationed at Loring Air Force Base in Limestone,
Maine, attending the University of
Maine was “a logical decision.” Since earning
a degree in mechanical engineering, he
has been involved in the development and
commercialization of renewable energy
technologies for over 30 years and is
responsible for the Community Power
Corporation’s business and strategic development
activities. He is considered to be an
international expert on renewable AC
hybrids for remote village power as well as
productive uses of renewable energy.
After graduation from UMaine he relocated
to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and
went to work as a mechanical design engineer
at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory.
He specialized in radioactive materials testing
and later became manager of reactor
fueling for the Advanced Submarine Project.
He obtained an MBA from the Katz
School of Business at the University of
Pittsburgh in 1972.
In 1979 Lilley left Bettis and joined
Westinghouse. For the next 17 years he
held a number of positions at the company.
He was responsible for developing the
strategic plan for commercializing distributed
generation technologies such as
photovoltaics, wind turbines, fuel cells, and
18 MAINE Alumni Magazine