In Episode 99 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on June 15, 2013, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Bill Acevedo, chair of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Jason Wolf, CEO of Collaboratev, which provides seamless interoperability and clearing among multiple electric vehicle charging networks. The Collaboratev service will allow EV drivers to charge anywhere and receive a single bill.
Jason Wolf, CEO of Collaboratev
There are now 100,000 plug-in vehicles in the US. Although that number is small compared to regular cars sold, it’s an important milestone. Not surprisingly, early adopters are looking for more charging options, according to Wolf.
Collaboratev is working towards building a seamless transactional experience for EV users by which they will be able to recharge their vehicles at any station regardless of where they are or what charging network they belong to. The company allows EV drivers to use a single authentication credential, which generates one monthly bill, thereby opening up any charging station for use by EV drivers.
Like the corner gas station using pumps that accept credit cards, Collaboratev envisions corner charging stations that accept its payment system. Benefits include removing the need for multiple memberships, alleviating range anxiety, and allowing long-distance travel among multiple EV charging networks.
Although talks are in their initial stages, it is envisioned that each charging station, which will be owned and operated by independent charging network operators, will have different characteristics – coffee bars, retailer shops, media and even gasoline, all of which are intended to enhance the EV user’s experience while recharging his or her vehicle.
Will more charging stations and a seamless payment system inspire you to purchase an electric vehicle?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Jason Wolf: Episode 99 of The Wendel Forum (27:42 mins; mp3)
Collaboratev website: http://www.collaboratev.com/about.php
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Bill Acevedo’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/wacevedo
Episode 94 – Michele McGeoy Discusses Solar Richmond
April 24, 2013
In Episode 94 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on March 30, 2013, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Bill Acevedo, chair of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Michele McGeoy, founder and executive director of Solar Richmond, which offers free solar training, staffing services leading to temporary and permanent employment, and green business ownership opportunities for low income and under-employed residents of Richmond, CA.
Michele McGeoy of Solar Richmond
McGeoy spent the beginning of her career running several software companies and later founded a non-profit that sought to tackle the digital divide. Eventually, she “burned out” on the computer industry and transitioned to the solar field. A longtime Richmond, CA resident, she wanted the city to be part of the green economy. Solar, she thought, was the antidote to pollution, and jobs were the antidote to violence. Solar Richmond’s mission is to “catalyze transformative change,” which includes providing training and job opportunities related to solar, including installation, service and back office jobs, for 18-24 year olds.
Partnering with Berkeley City College, Solar Richmond has placed more than 140 young people in green collar jobs in which they acquire skills transferable to many industries and careers. Recently, Solar Richmond became a worker-owned cooperative, in which graduates of the program become part owners in the company. McGeoy hopes to have 10 worker-owners by end of next year and continue to add new employee-owners every year.
Solar Richmond logo
Solar Richmond works on both residential and commercial solar projects and recently completed a power purchase agreement with a Walnut Creek church. The City of Richmond also hired Solar Richmond for six of its buildings, including community centers, fire stations and libraries.
Would you consider hiring Solar Richmond for your solar project?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with McGeoy: Episode 94 of The Wendel Forum (27:20 mins; mp3)
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Solar Richmond’s Website: http://www.solarrichmond.org
Bill Acevedo’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/wacevedo
Episode 87 – East Bay Green Corridor Advances the Green Energy Economy
December 20, 2012
In Episode 87 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on December 15, 2012, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Dick Lyons, co-founder of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Carla Din, director of East Bay Green Corridor, a nine-city partnership devoted to assisting green businesses, and Dr. Monika Weiss and Wolfgang Weiss, CSO and CEO/CTO, respectively, of ergSol, an Oakland solar thermal company.
Carla Din, director of East Bay Green Corridor, in studio
East Bay Green Corridor was founded in 2007 to advance a green energy economy in nine East Bay Area cities, including Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville. The organization develops policy and also markets and promotes clean energy start-ups with the goal of keeping those businesses in the East Bay. Unlike traditional accelerators, which focus on start-ups’ business plans and capital, East Bay Green Corridor introduces companies to its vast network of local supply chains, customers and resources, including several academic institutions and programs (such as the Cleantech to Market program at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business). Already, it has worked with Alphabet Energy, which captures waste heat, Imprint Energy, which pioneers zinc-based rechargeable batteries, and Lucid Design Group, a cleantech software company.
Dr. Monika Weiss and Wolfgang Weiss of ergSol
Din met Monika Weiss at a conference and since then East Bay Green Corridor has been facilitating relationships for ergSol, a developer and manufacturer of high temperature solar thermal systems based in Oakland. Since the Weisses moved to the US 12 years ago, they’ve seen an increase in activity and interest in renewable energy. With ergSol, a solar thermal system that can also be used for cooling as well as heating, they hope to bring US solar use up to the level of Europe.
How has relationship-building assisted your business?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Din and the ergSol executives: Episode 87 of The Wendel Forum (27:44 mins; mp3)
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
East Bay Green Corridor Website: http://www.ebgreencorridor.org
ergSol Website: http://ergsol.com
Dick Lyons’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/rlyons
Episode 84 – The PACE-Prologis Project in San Francisco
November 20, 2012
In Episode 84 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on November 10, 2012, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Dick Lyons, co-founder of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Aaron Binkley, Director of Sustainability at Prologis, and Rich Chien, PACE program manager at San Francisco’s Department of the Environment.
Richard Chien, PACE program manager at SF’s Department of the Environment
San Francisco’s PACE program uses stimulus funds to improve the environmental performance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the City’s existing building stock. Part of the Department of Energy’s green building policy, PACE launched the commercial building program a year ago. It’s first project is Pier 1, the headquarters of Prologis, the country’s largest industrial real estate company.
Aaron Binkley, Director of Sustainability at Prologis
At a cost of $1.6 million, the PACE-Prologis project will include rooftop solar panels and energy efficiency upgrades. Specifically, the building will receive retrocommissioning of its heating and cooling systems (primarily related to software, controls, valves and motors) and a full lighting retrofit (replacing bulbs and some fixtures; adding sensors and daylight capture equipment). When it’s completed in 2013, the project will reduce energy purchases by one third from last year’s baseline. All of the building’s tenants (including the Port of San Francisco) will benefit, and savings will be applied to all occupants on a pro rata basis. The changes have been calibrated so as to not generate excess energy that needs to be sold back to the grid.
Piloted in Berkeley in 2007, the PACE program uses local governments’ taxing or bond-issuing authority to fund projects that have a public benefit. The PACE-Prologis project is 100 percent privately funded, with bonds issued to private investors. Repayments are made through the property tax billing system, which allows for longer terms (up to 20 years). The property is the collateral and repayment obligations transfer to the new owner if the building sold. The interest is federally taxable and California tax-free.
A challenge to the PACE program is that the loan agreements from residential and commercial lenders typically prevent land owners from further encumbering their properties without the lender’s approval. Since the PACE bonds are repaid through increased property taxes, the bonds are effectively senior in security to the lenders’ loans. Some lenders may be reluctant to approve PACE financing unless they are confident that the resulting energy savings will translate into a sufficiently higher property value so that their positions are not impaired. One approach to lender reluctance is for the lender itself to purchase the PACE bonds. In that case, the lender is only subordinated to itself and gets the benefit of the investment in the PACE bonds.
How could the PACE program impact your community?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Binkley and Chien: Episode 84 of The Wendel Forum (27:44 mins; mp3)
For information about PACE, visit: www.greenfinancesf.org and www.pacenow.org
Prologis Corporate Responsibility Web Page: http://www.prologis.com/en/responsibility.html
960 KNEW AM Radio Website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Dick Lyons’ online profile: http://www.wendel.com/rylons
New California Guidebook for Solar Permitting
October 9, 2012
[Editor’s note: Thanks to guest blogger Garret Murai for sharing this news with The Wendel Forum. Garret is a construction litigation attorney at Wendel Rosen. He posts frequently on construction issues at his blog www.CalConstructionBlawg.com.]
Construction Partner Garret D. Murai
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research’s Solar Permitting Work Group has published a guide to the solar construction permitting process entitled California Solar Permitting Guidebook. The guidebook addresses California laws and regulations, the process for project approvals, and recommendations for improving permit processes for solar installations.
In other energy news, Energy Upgrade California, an alliance of California cities, counties, investor-owned utilities, including Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edison, Southern Gas Company, and San Diego Gas & Electric Company, and others, has established a program to help train building professionals in the latest home performance standards, listing in an online contractor directory, and offering connections to clients looking for services. If you are a contractor click on the link “I’m a contractor or rater.”
Episode 75 – Gary Eberhart Discusses Solar Energy for Schools
September 25, 2012
In Episode 75 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on September 1, 2012, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Bill Acevedo, chair of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Gary Eberhart, who serves on the board of the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, which serves 32,000 children and adult students at 56 campuses, making it one of the largest school districts in California.
Amid decreasing budgets and increasing energy costs, the Mt. Diablo School District secured a $350 million bond from the community to add solar energy to 51 of the district’s schools. Eberhart and his fellow board members determined that purchasing a solar energy system through a bond program would be more cost-effective than buying power from a solar provider under a long-term purchase agreement. Specifically, Eberhart, who has served on the school board for 17 years, determined they could invest the estimated $220 million savings back into the schools over the system’s 30-year life expectancy. The bond measure was approved by 60 percent of the community.
Mt. Diablo’s 12.2-megawatt system is the largest program in the world for a school district and will meet 92 percent of the district’s energy needs. After a competitive selection process for the contractor, the installation took one year and all but a handful of the 51 systems are now up and running. The solar panels were installed primarily in parking lots and on playground structures, which Eberhart says look better and are easier to maintain than roof panels. The solar energy systems are also providing a unique educational tool for students, who can monitor energy and cost savings through real-time data.
Could your school district use solar energy?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Eberhart: Episode 75 of The Wendel Forum (27:43 mins; mp3)
Mount Diablo Unified School District Website: http://www.mdusd.org/Pages/default.aspx
Information about the Bond Program: http://mdusdmeasurec.org
Strategic Facilities Planning, Eberhart’s Company Website: http://www.strategicfacilitiesplanning.com
960 KNEW AM Radio Website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Bill Acevedo’s Online Profile: http://www.wendel.com/wacevedo
Episode 73 – Lindsay Riddell Discusses Current Cleantech Trends
September 7, 2012
Lindsay Riddell covers Cleantech, Sustainability, Startups and Venture Capital for the San Francisco Business Times
Biofules and Biochemicals
Investment trends
Carbon Data
Electric Vehicles
In Episode 69 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on July 7, 2012, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Dick Lyons, co-founder of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Gary Price, a tax partner at Sensiba San Filippo, one of the Bay Area’s largest accounting firms and a green business certified under the Bay Area Green Business Program.
Gary Price
Dick and Price discuss how in the last few years, it’s become economical for businesses to use renewable energy sources, particularly solar and wind, which provide energy without using oil or gas. Because buildings and their occupants produce a significant amount of pollution, even businesses like accounting, law and other service firms can help the environment by buying clean energy from roof-mounted solar power systems that replace or supplement power from the grid. Even if those businesses occupy just one floor of a big building, they can contribute to lower energy consumption.
Renewable energy used to cost more than electricity purchased from utility companies. But the 2008 renewable energy credit program helped bring prices down. Within just four or five years, companies using renewable energy will see the payback, resulting in real cash savings. Using solar and wind energy also has related insurance and bank loan benefits.
A new clean tech trend is that larger renewable energy companies – perhaps a solar company or even a company that produces a part of a solar energy system – have accelerated the use of solar power by become financing companies. As a result, customers may not need cash at all to buy electricity from roof-mounted solar systems. Solar and wind energy options will continue to grow and experience increased demand, which will further drop the price point.
If a business is interested in switching to renewable energy, Price recommends finding an expert to “put the whole thing together.” Construction and engineering companies, for example, have savvy energy departments. Law and accounting firms also have specialists that put green projects together.
What would it take for your business to buy clean energy?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Gary Price: Episode 69 of The Wendel Forum(27:53 mins; mp3)
Sensiba San Filippo website: http://www.ssfllp.com/
Price’s article on Sensible Savings: http://www.ssfllp.com/sustainable-savings-how-businesses-can-profit-big-from-clean-technology/
Bay Area Green Business Program website: http://www.greenbiz.ca.gov/
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Dick Lyons’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/rylons
In Episode 68 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on June 30, 2012, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Bill Acevedo, chair of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Councilmember Damon Connolly of San Rafael and Councilmember Tom Butt of Richmond.
San Rafael City Councilmember Damon Connolly serves as Chairman of the Board for the Marin Energy Authority
Connolly is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Marin Energy Authority (MEA). The MEA is the not-for-profit public agency formed by the County of Marin and several Marin cities and towns in 2008. MEA administers the Marin Clean Energy program.
MEA is the first operational example of a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program in the state of California. In California, Community Choice Aggregation was developed through legislation (AB 117) in 2002 as a response to the rolling blackouts of several years ago (remember Enron?). It’s a system that allows cities and counties to aggregate the buying power of individual customers within a defined jurisdiction in order to secure alternative energy supply contracts.
MEA’s program is a hybrid to traditional utility models, which might include a municipal utility or privately-owned utility (such as PG&E in Northern California). In MEA’s model, the public agency purchases or produces the energy, but a third-party energy company handles distribution and maintenance of the energy transmission infrastructure.
In 2002, California addressed base renewable energy goals through SB 1078, which set the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS). These goals were expanded in 2011 under SB 2. California, under the RPS program, requires investor-owned utilities, electric service providers and CCAs to increase procurement from eligible renewable energy resource to 33% of total procurement by 2020.
MEA’s plan is considerably more ambitious than the state requirement. They plan to get to 100% renewable procurement in the next 10 years. Today they are at 28% (8% more than the current RPS requirement). The program is getting a tremendous response from new renewable energy suppliers, and MEA has initiated an “Open Season” procurement process to manage proposals.
So, how does it work?
When a community joins, all of the residents are included in the CCA program. If they do not want to participate in it, however, they are free to opt out. If they choose to participate, the MEA offers two plan levels – a “Light Green” and a “Dark Green” option. The first delivers energy to customers with 50% coming from renewable energy sources. The latter offers energy to customers that is 100% sourced from renewable energy. The dark green plan costs the average customer $5-10 more per month and currently includes 8% of their customer base.
The City of Richmond is one of the latest cities to join the MEA. So how did a city in Contra Costa County get involved in a program from Marin? City Councilmember Tom Butt explains that Richmond’s General Plan 2030 includes multiple environmental goals, including offering a CCA toRichmond residents and businesses. When analyzing how best to go about implementing a CCA, the City decided it just didn’t make sense to reinvent the wheel, according to Butt. MEA, as a clear leader in the space, was a logical partner. As Richmond comes online, the MEA expects to add about 30,000 new customers – a significant influx of new customers, which will give MEA even more purchasing power with energy producers going forward.
Would you pay $10 more on your energy bill each month to know that the energy was made up of 100% renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and biomass?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Councilmembers Connolly and Butt: Episode 68 of The Wendel Forum (27:18 mins; mp3)
Marin Energy Authority: http://www.marinenergyauthority.org/
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Bill Acevedo’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/wacevedo
Construction Partner Garret D. Murai
[Editor’s Note:
Many thanks to Garret D. Murai, a partner at Wendel Rosen, for this guest post. Garret is also author of the California Construction bLawg. The infographs below can be found on the California Energy Commission website in the “News” sidebar.]
The California Energy Commission has unanimously approved a range of energy efficiency standards for residential and commercial buildings to be included in the 2013 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24) which will take effect January 1, 2014.
Building Energy Efficiency Standards — Residential
Highlights of the 2013 Building Energy Efficiency Standards for residential buildings include:
- Solar-ready roofs. Roofs will need to provide space for photovoltaic solar or solar thermal energy panels.
- Hot water pipe insulation. Hot water piping will need to be insulated to keep water at higher temperature.
- Verification of air conditioner installation. Air conditioners will need to be verified by an independent contractor to verify proper installation and efficiency.
California 2013 Energy Efficiency Standards – Residential
Building Energy Efficiency Standards — Nonresidential
Highlights of the 2013 Building Energy Efficiency Standards for non-residential buildings include:
- Solar-ready roofs. See residential above.
- Intelligent lighting controls. Sensor-based lighting controls, which adjust output based on available daylight, will be required for light fixtures near windows
- Efficient process equipment. More efficient refrigeration equipment will be required for supermarkets, computer data centers, and commercial kitchens.
California 2013 Energy Efficiency Standards- Nonresidential
Further information on the 2013 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, as well as larger graphics, can be found on the State’s webite.
Dick Lyons
rosebie
Wendel Rosen LLP
Bill Acevedo