Peter de Vos

Peter de Vos is chairman and CEO of Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group.

Rick Ector remembers the exact day and time he met Peter de Vos. It was June 27, 1967, and the two were introduced as roommates at the U.S. Naval Academy.

“I don’t know many people that can trace friendships back that precisely,” Mr. Ector said.

Today Mr. Ector, founder, president and chief operating officer of wind farm builder Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group, is proud to call his longtime friend a colleague.

Less than a month ago, Mr. de Vos was named chairman and chief executive officer of Chattanooga-based TVIG.

The two spent four years together at the naval academy in Annapolis, Md., then served together in the submarine force. After they got out, the two friends went in different directions — Mr. Ector to the Tennessee Valley Authority and Mr. de Vos to Stanford University for business school.

“He’s been trying since 2005 to convince me to come in and join TVIG ,” Mr. de Vos said. “I decided once oil prices went over $100 a barrel that I really thought this country was committed to building alternative energy, and he was still pursuing me, and I decided this was the time to go do it.”

Mr. de Vos, 61, earned an engineering degree at the naval academy and started his career working in nuclear engineering. During his investment banking career, he served as head of U.S. investment banking for RBC Capital Markets and several other investment firms.

He said his financial experience will be especially useful as demand for wind energy grows. Growth in the industry has slowed dramatically in recent years as funding for projects has dried up.

“With the passage of the federal support, the product and investment tax credits, it looks like 2010 and 2011 will be strong years for wind farm business, and we think strong years for us,” he said.

His investment experience could help secure financing for developers looking to build wind farms in a market where credit has been shut down, he said.

“I’m so used to working with emerging growth companies, helping them to merge with other companies; I bring all those things to the table.

TVIG has between 10 and 15 staff here and is one of the top general contractors for wind farm construction. In 2008 the company built one of the largest wind farms in the United States in Big Spring, Texas.

Since he started at TVIG at the end of August, Mr. de Vos has been overwhelmed with all there is to learn about the industry. “I describe my job right now as drinking from a fire hydrant,” he said.