Hayward’s Aurora Algae has announced an expansion that includes the appointment of two new executives to help commercialize its algae-based biomass for renewable energy products and other uses. The company, already successfully producing tons of biomass per month, is seeking to develop its financial and sales efforts to meet a growing demand for its algae-based products. Read more here.

The City of San Jose plans to open a 25,000-square foot Clean Technology Center next year to help Silicon Valley firms showcase their operations. The center is part of an effort to partner city government with private business in the clean technology sector. Specific business partners have yet to be named. But the center is slated to include a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, selling donated and surplus construction materials, and a hazardous household waste collection facility operated by Santa Clara County. Read more here.

Opinion: Bad economy can't stop Bay Area communities from advancing clean energy By Rachel Massaro and Rafael Reyes.

Special to the Mercury News

With unemployment still alarmingly high and budgets thin everywhere, great concern about the direction of the economic recovery persists. At the same time, the continuing tragedy surrounding Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant reinforces the importance of safe, clean energy to power the economy. Can we create jobs, improve budgets, strengthen our energy security and address climate change? Yes, and throughout the Bay Area, communities are showing leadership by moving toward innovative energy initiatives.

As one example, Santa Clara County, the Valley Transportation Authority, RethinkWaste and several cities are collaborating to make the largest multiagency purchase of renewable energy in the United States.

When the installations are completed later this year, 4 million square feet of space at community centers, city halls, fire and police stations and other public facilities from Pacifica to Morgan Hill will be covered with solar photovoltaic panels. The collective effort saved money, and when the installations are deployed, they will generate more than 14 megawatts of clean, safe power -- enough to power 2,700 average California homes. This will stimulate $60 million in local economic activity and create more than 300 jobs. These sites will more than double the entire existing solar-installed capacity for nonresidential systems across Santa Clara County in one year.

Sonoma County recently won the EV-Ready Community Award for its work preparing to support electric vehicles. As part of the Sonoma County Local Governments Electric Vehicle Partnership, the county has streamlined permitting for home charger installation, is deploying public chargers in strategic locations to support shopping, tourism and sightseeing -- nearly 90 over the next 12 months alone -- and is deploying plug-in vehicles in its fleet, including the region's first municipal Nissan Leaf in service. If just 10 percent of the Bay Area's vehicles become plug-in vehicles, residents would save over $1 billion otherwise used for gasoline that could be reinvested in the region, creating jobs.

Palo Alto is considering a community power source that will turn costly and pollution-inducing waste into fuel to power homes, with a leading-edge "anaerobic digester" at its old dump. An initiative on whether to allow it will appear on the November ballot. The technology, proven abroad, would be a national showcase in the U.S.

A digester is a facility that uses microorganisms in a closed container to break down yard and food waste into biogas and compost. The biogas is then prepared to produce electricity. The project would likely save $1 million annually, power some 1,400 homes with clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20,000 tons per year.

These are but a small sampling of the many opportunities communities around the bay are grasping to power the economy and create jobs. The advances are stimulated by California's Global Warming Solutions Act, known as AB 32, which has spurred investment in clean energy. Advancing these kinds of initiatives will pay off big. Leaders in all sectors should pursue them aggressively to rebuild the economy, create jobs and safeguard our resources from climate change.



RACHEL MASSARO is associate director of Climate Initiatives at Joint Venture Silicon Valley. RAFAEL REYES is executive director of the Bay Area Climate Collaborative, a project of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and a member of the national Sierra Club board of directors. They wrote this for this newspaper.

SAN JOSE, C.A., July 27, 2011 – The Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC) and ECOtality have announced a partnership to promote development of the Bay Area electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem.

ECOtality will participate in the BACC EV Fleet Working Group, which will support fleet practitioners through best practice development and information sharing, and help catalyze the EV fleet market. ECOtality will also offer its expertise to refine and support outreach on the Ready, Set, Charge, California! EV-Ready Community Guidelines, whose development is facilitated by the BACC and sponsored by the Association of Bay Area Governments. Ready, Set, Charge, California! will provide guidance to local governments on a range of critical issues to ensure EV readiness including charging station infrastructure permitting, accessibility and signage requirements, and recommendations for efficient charging station locating.

ECOtality is a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies. Through innovation, acquisitions and strategic partnerships, ECOtality accelerates the market applicability of advanced electric technologies to replace carbon-based fuels. As the project manager for The EV Project, which will deploy approximately 14,000 commercial and residential charging stations in 18 major cities and metropolitan areas in six states and the District of Columbia, ECOtality is playing a critical role in the provision of EV charging infrastructure to serve the booming EV market.

BACC is a public-private initiative launched by Bay Area civic and business leaders to accelerate the Bay Area clean energy economy.  BACC’s initiatives include catalyzing and facilitating the $5 million Local Government EV Fleet national demonstration project.  Working with lead agency Alameda County and 10 other local governments, the project will deploy EVs in fleets, demonstrate the benefits of EVs in fleets including reduced operating costs, and catalyze adoption of EVs in fleets. ECOtality joins other major partners including Bank of America and Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and local governments representing over 70 percent of the Bay Area population.

Jason Smith, ECOtality Area Manager for the San Francisco region, said: “With over two decades of experience in electric transportation, ECOtality is committed to developing and commercially advancing clean energy solutions that are responsible and anticipate the needs of the market. Like ECOtality, the Bay Area Climate Collaborative recognizes the direct correlation between clean energy technologies and economic development. We are looking forward to working together to advance EV solutions that strengthen regional prosperity.”

Rafael Reyes, Executive Director, BACC said: “If just 10% of the region’s vehicles become plug-in electric vehicles, residents will save over $1 billion that would otherwise be sent abroad for gasoline.  We are excited to partner with ECOtality which is playing a vital role in ensuring the Bay Area has a robust plug-in vehicle ecosystem so we can invest those dollars in our own local economy.”

About the Bay Area Climate Collaborative

The Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC) is a public-private initiative accelerating the clean energy economy. A project of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, major partners include Bank of America, Pacific Gas & Electric, and local governments representing over 70 percent of the Bay Area population. The BACC is driving electric vehicle, energy efficiency and solar innovation. For more information on the BACC, please visit: www.baclimate.org

About ECOtality

ECOtality, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECTY), headquartered in San Francisco, California, is a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies. Through innovation, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships, ECOtality accelerates the market applicability of advanced electric technologies to replace carbon-based fuels. For more information about ECOtality, Inc., please visit www.ecotality.com

Claire Barton, Bay Area Climate Collaborative, 408-634-4554,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen, Antenna Group, 415-977-1922,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it