20 Oct 2011 - Energy Efficiency at a Crossroads

Submitted by admin on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 14:11

Join the Local Clean Energy Alliance for our October general meeting featuring Jeffrey Liang of Energy Upgrade California and Michael Bedard of the Office of Assemblymember Nancy Skinner. Jeffrey Liang will clarify all you want to know about thousands of dollars of rebates available now to homeowners -- and jobs for contractors -- under Energy Upgrade California. Michael Bedard will update us on the state legislature's efforts to chart the future of California's energy efficiency policy.

California's energy efficiency programs are at crossroads, raising new questions and opportunities. Currently Bay Area homeowners can receive generous rebates for whole-home performance upgrades under Energy Upgrade California -- for a limited time only. What happens then? What about renters and low-income homeowners? What's the future of the public goods charge and financing? Will California's next energy efficiency programs be run by utilities or the public sector? 
 
When: Thursday October 20th, 6:00 to 8:00 pm
Where: 436 14th Street in Downtown Oakland, 2nd Floor Conference Room. The building is located at the corner of 14th and Broadway, just above the 12th Street BART station.
 
This dynamic discussion is open to the general public. Space is limited, please RSVP to lcea-info@baylocalize.org. Light snacks will be served.
 
Featured Speakers
 
Michael Bedard – Office of Assemblymember Nancy Skinner: Michael staffs Ms. Skinner on the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and the Assembly Select Committee on California’s Clean Energy Economy, for which Assemblymember Skinner is the co-chair. Michael has a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he specialized in energy transfer and quantum dynamics. After UCLA, he worked for three years in the Energy Frontier Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin, studying plastic-based solar materials. In 2010, Michael received a Science Policy Fellowship from the California Council on Science and Technology and was placed in Assemblymember Skinner’s office. Over the last year, Michael has focused on climate and transportation issues, including alternative fuels, as well as renewable energy.   
 

Jeffrey Liang -- Energy Upgrade California:
Jeffery is currently an Energy Upgrade Specialist for the Bay Area region. Prior to joining Ecology Action, Jeffery worked as the Green Building Coordinator for the County of San Mateo. In collaboration with government, business and community organizations, he conducted community outreach, coordinated trainings for building professionals and set policy to encourage smarter building and remodeling. In past
jobs, he has conducted waste management consultation, administered the Green Business program, and initiated pollution prevention activities. Jeffery graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a minor in Social Thought and Analysis and is a Certified Green Building Professional and LEED AP. In his spare time, Jeffery teaches cooking skills to at-risk youth in San Francisco with the non-profit Old Skool Café.

start date: 
Thursday, October 20, 2011 - 18:00
enddate: 
Thursday, October 20, 2011 - 20:00