Emergence of Microgrids and Opportunities for Communities
At Redwood Credit Union
November 14, 2013
Sven Hackmann of Siemens will be the featured speaker at the next quarterly breakfast of Business for Clean Energy. Hackmann is Siemens’ Vice President for U.S. Cities and works on their smart grid strategy.
Gridlock in Congress
At Labcon
August 15, 2013
Congressman Jared Huffman explained that the U.S. House of Representatives is currently controlled by climate deniers. While laying the groundwork for major climate legislation, Huffman is also working with a bipartisan group known as “No Labels” on a bill to reduce the carbon footprint of the U.S. Postal Service’s vehicle fleet and a building retrofit program.
The SMART Train
At the Ratto Group of Companies
May 16, 2013
Matt Stevens from SMART gave the latest information and expectations from the commuter rail service now under construction. In addition, Brant Arthur, Climate Protection Campaign, told us about an innovative program, one of only a handful being piloted in the world, called WeGo Ridesharing.
Energy Market Trends - Their Impact on Your Business
At Sonoma Mountain Village
February 14, 2013
Geof Syphers, Codding Enterprise’s Chief Sustainability Officer, described the evolving structure of the electric utility industry. He described characteristics of local micro-grids and fielded questions about the plans for Sonoma Clean Power.
Sustainable Performance for Vehicles
At Sonoma Raceway 
November 1, 2012
Steve Page, President and General Manager of Sonoma Raceway, described the race track’s promotion of more sustainable racing that features green, fuel efficient technologies. Joey Shepp, Sustainable Programs Director at Dominican University, described the sustainable performance standards for consumer vehicles that the university developed with the raceway.
Waste Solutions in Sonoma County
At the offices of Kendall-Jackson
July 26, 2012
Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt spoke about the future of solid waste in our community. A long-term agreement for waste hauling, sorting, recycling and disposal has been under negotiation for two years.
Sonoma Clean Power
At the offices of Redwood Credit Union
March 29, 2012
Sonoma County Supervisor Mike McGuire and Sonoma County Water Agency Deputy Chief Engineer Cordell Stillman explained the details of Sonoma Clean Power - a proposed new power provider that will be overseen by an association of local governments and focus on building local renewable energy sources.
Steve Howard, Facilities Manager, Redwood Credit Union, gave a presentation on how to access PG&E’s on-line power consumption data to analyze your energy usage.
Geothermal Power and Clean Energy Financing
At the offices of GHD
December 1, 2011
Bruce Carlson and Danielle Seperas from Calpine at The Geysers, the world’s largest producer of geothermal energy, described the company’s plans for $700 million in new investments in their local facilities.
Bart Van Vorhis of Ygrene Energy also gave a brief update on their national program to finance green building upgrades. Ygrene modeled its program on an approach piloted in Sonoma County. They have partnered with British investment bank Barclays Capital, U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin and German reinsurance giant Hannover Re to provide $650 million in financing.
Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Sonoma County
At Bank of America, Santa Rosa
August 11, 2011
Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane presented Sonoma Clean Power, an
initiative that promises to stabilize electricity rates, fund the development of renewable energy, and create green jobs and business opportunities.
Liz Yager, Sonoma County’s Energy 
and Sustainability Manager, presented ways businesses can install solar through the County’s Energy Independence Program.
David Meddaugh, Bank of American’s Senior Vice President and Market Manager of the Santa Rosa Regional Commercial Banking Office, highlighted energy efficiency projects the bank has undertaken.
