North Bay Business Journal

From January to June of 2012 a series of surveys and interviews were conducted among Sonoma County residents and businesses to determine the public’s opinion of a community choice aggregation (CCA) program in Sonoma County.

The results of these surveys indicated general support from the public however a significant level of skepticism was present within the business community. A lack of information about CCA and its impact in Sonoma County was one of the clearest outcomes of the survey process and was one of the leading drivers for this series of articles regarding Sonoma Clean Power.

SANTA ROSA — Directors of Zap Jonway (OTC: ZAAP) have been accusing each other of trying to take control of the 19-year-old Santa Rosa-based electric-vehicle company, according to competing filings with federal securities regulators this week.

UKIAH — Designed to deliver much more than library services, the Mendocino College Library Learning Center, completed this fall, is a new central pivot point for a campus that had long outgrown the cluster of portable buildings that have sat at the site since the permanent campus was established in 1985.

San Rafael-based Mighty Leaf Tea Co. leased 15,600 square feet of industrial space at 1460 Technology Way for “additional space.” …

Tom LeDuc, co-founder of Santa Rosa-based LeDuc & Dexter Plumbing, retired from that company earlier this year and joined forces with Warren Brown of solar energy contractor One Sun, Inc., based in west Sonoma County. …

Hudson Street Design of Napa Valley (707-299-5110, hlc-inc.com) will be hosting an open house Dec. 19 from 3–5 p.m. The 2,500-square-foot store at 1551 Soscol Ave. in central Napa opened in early November after five months in progress. …

Silverado Resort and Spa northeast of Napa selected two architecture and design companies for renovations in the first half of 2013. …

Tam Woods Hotel, a 100-room property formerly known as the Larkspur Mill Valley Hotel, was re-branded as a Holiday Inn Express hotel Dec. 4 following a recently completed $4 million renovation. …

SANTA ROSA — The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today voted unanimously to create an initial governing authority for a proposed countywide renewable energy-focused power agency known as Sonoma Clean Power, a step needed before determining rates to charge potential customers when service is targeted to begin in early 2014.

SANTA ROSA — A $40 million project near Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport that would convert agricultural waste such as chicken manure into natural gas, electricity and certified-organic fertilizer has run afoul of the 2013 expiration of a federal renewable-energy incentive said to be crucial to the economics of the venture.

SONOMA COUNTY — In an effort to determine the specific rates that customers would pay under the proposed power agency known as Sonoma Clean Power, planners have proposed forming an initial governing authority between the County of Sonoma and the Sonoma County Water Agency.

SANTA ROSA — Greenhouse-gas emissions have continued a three-year downward trend in Sonoma County, primarily reduced by fewer vehicle trips in a slowed economy and a greater supply of renewable energy, according to a report released today.

The board of directors of Hennessy Advisors, Inc. declared a quarterly dividend. …

Julie Jones, author of Estate Documents Organizer, and Daren Blonski, financial adviser with Edward Jones in Sonoma, will hold two Tuesday estate-planning workshops. …

Bay Area Development Co. completed U.S. Small Business Administration 504 funding for trade journal Vineyard Winery & Management in Santa Rosa. …

Redwood Credit Union is accepting contributions to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund to directly assist those affected by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast. …

Dominican University of California in fall 2013 will launch a master’s of science degree program in clinical laboratory science (CLS) with an emphasis in molecular diagnostics. …

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) completed its acquisition of China Kanghui Holdings (NYSE: KH), a major provider of orthopedic devices in China. …

American Institute of Architects Redwood Empire chapter presented its design awards for a number of North Bay projects on Oct. 27 in the Kaiser Air hanger at Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport. …

Novato commercial solar power products and services provider SPG Solar completed a cutting-edge solar tracking system at a wastewater treatment plant in Williams. …

PETALUMA — Five weeks after announcing the shipping of its solar panel microinverter technology to customers in the United Kingdom, Petaluma-based Enphase Energy (NASDAQ: ENPH) announced today that its third quarter revenue rose to an all-time high of $60.8 million. It was a 36 percent increase over revenue during the same period last year, with a 26.8 percent profit margin up 7.7 percent.

NOVATO — SPG Solar, which designs and installs commercial photovoltaic energy systems, plans to move its headquarters to Petaluma to have room to grow, particularly in product development.

NAPA COUNTY — As planners in Napa County continue development of a strategy to address state-mandated reductions to greenhouse gas emissions, industry groups have expressed concern that a proposed local market for carbon credits will increase costs for developers and suppress new vineyard and agricultural projects in the region.

Six months after turning on what’s arguably the largest rooftop solar electricity and hot-water cogeneration system in the U.S., Jackson Family Wines is finalizing plans to go even bigger in the next few months with installations in Sonoma and Monterey counties.

Corte Madera-based Message Bus, a developer of a cloud-based software behind messaging and email, closed an $11 million round of growth funding.

The average cost of apartment rent in the third quarter rose year-over-year in Sonoma and Napa counties, according to Novato-based real estate data firm RealFacts. …

San Diego-based Sunrise Management has expanded its Northern California office with the addition of two new Sacramento-area properties to their portfolio, including one in Santa Rosa. …

Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority announced the approval of Sonoma Flex Package, a new incentive program that enhances the current Energy Upgrade California program. …

Petaluma Educational Foundation is calling for support in its effort to raise an additional $50,000 to fund its grant programs for Petaluma educators. …

Assemblymember Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, honored students from Sun Valley Elementary School for their successful effort to urge the makers of felt-tip markers to develop a recycling program for their products.

The Chiligods, a chili sauce company based in Healdsburg, received one of the highest honors — “double gold” — at this year’s Sonoma County Harvest Fair.

ET Water Systems, Inc., a Novato-based “smart” irrigation management systems developer, significantly upgraded its award-winning ETwater Manager web-based system to accommodate rain forecasts.

NonProfitEasy, a technology startup and winner of the North Bay Business Plan Competition, announced a Series A equity funding commitment.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Envolve Winery in Sonoma will be promoting their campaign “Real Men Drink Pink” to help raise awareness and funds.

Plans to develop a “community choice aggregation” power agency in Sonoma County have advanced over the past few months, with outreach to the region’s residents and municipal governments laying the groundwork for a joint powers authority to govern program, called Sonoma Clean Power.

Vote in this week’s NBBJ Pulse Poll: “Should Sonoma County pursue its own energy program, called Sonoma Clean Power?”

SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Jerry Brown on Sept. 27 signed into law Assembly Bill 2339, designed to identify and eliminate legal and statutory impediments affecting the adoption and use of geothermal heat pump and geothermal ground-loop technologies.

Greg Steele has a degree in industrial engineering from Oregon State University. He spent the early portion of his career with Texas Instruments and DSC Communications Corporation in various manufacturing and operations positions. He served as the vice president of operations and later the chief operating officer for the telecommunications company Advanced Fibre Communications. Mr. [...]

RIO VISTA — Construction has entered the final phase at EDF Renewable Energy’s fourth major wind-turbine project in southeastern Solano County, just as federal incentives for wind-energy projects are set to expire.

Continuing its commitment to increasing the numbers of primary care physicians in California, the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development awarded more than $2.89 million to 29 family practice residency training programs. …

Enphase Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENPH) last week announced the availability of the Enphase Microinverter System at Dynamic Solar, a leading distributor of photovoltaic solutions in the United Kingdom. …

Napa-based digital wine tourism pioneer WineCountry.com released a new iPhone app. …

OFFbeat Brands of Petaluma was selected by Grant Burge Wines of Barossa Valley as the Australian brand’s exclusive importer in the U.S. …

Pivot Charter School, North Bay, a free public charter school that offers full-time programs for grades 6–12 in Sonoma and surrounding counties, will offer new two- and five-day-a-week programs for the 2012–2013 school year. …

Assemblymember Jared Huffman presented his Sustainable North Bay Award to Novato’s Andalou Naturals in September in recognition of the company’s commitment to creating personal care products that are both good for people and the planet. …