Notes on Contributors
Faris Al-Sulayman is a Research Fellow in the Political Economy Unit
of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh.
He is also a cofounder and director at Haala Energy, a Saudi based solar
EPC and developer working at the commercial and industrial scale. Before
Haala Energy, Faris held a number of research positions at Georgetown
University, the Wilson Center, and Arabia Monitor, focusing on the political economy of the GCC states generally, and the challenges facing private
sector development in Saudi Arabia more specifically. Faris holds a B.Sc.
from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and an M.Sc. from the
London School of Economics.
Oksan Bayulgen is an associate professor of political science at the
University of Connecticut. Bayulgen has published numerous articles on
foreign investment, oil politics, public opinion on renewable energy, politics of clean energy reforms as well as democratization, and microfinance.
Her book Foreign Investment and Political Regimes: The Oil Sector in
Azerbaijan, Russia and Norway was published by Cambridge University Press in 2010. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Azerbaijan,
Russia, Norway, Kazakhstan, and Turkey. She is currently working on a
book project analyzing the politics of renewable energy development in
Turkey.
Michael Hochberg is a renewable energy project developer at Hecate
Energy, a leading US-based independent power producer (IPP) focused
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Faris Al-Sulayman is a Research Fellow in the Political Economy Unit
of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh.
He is also a cofounder and director at Haala Energy, a Saudi based solar
EPC and developer working at the commercial and industrial scale. Before
Haala Energy, Faris held a number of research positions at Georgetown
University, the Wilson Center, and Arabia Monitor, focusing on the political economy of the GCC states generally, and the challenges facing private
sector development in Saudi Arabia more specifically. Faris holds a B.Sc.
from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and an M.Sc. from the
London School of Economics.
Oksan Bayulgen is an associate professor of political science at the
University of Connecticut. Bayulgen has published numerous articles on
foreign investment, oil politics, public opinion on renewable energy, politics of clean energy reforms as well as democratization, and microfinance.
Her book Foreign Investment and Political Regimes: The Oil Sector in
Azerbaijan, Russia and Norway was published by Cambridge University Press in 2010. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Azerbaijan,
Russia, Norway, Kazakhstan, and Turkey. She is currently working on a
book project analyzing the politics of renewable energy development in
Turkey.
Michael Hochberg is a renewable energy project developer at Hecate
Energy, a leading US-based independent power producer (IPP) focused
ix