North Bay Business Journal

As Sonoma County’s political leaders continue to move forward with the process of setting up a county-wide public power agency, many in the business community are examining what the renewable energy-focused proposal would mean to their operations.

SANTA ROSA — A newcomer to the no-upfront-cost residential solar energy market, but affiliated with a company that has national experience with home security, energy-management and automation systems, has opened a North Bay installation hub, one of three in the Bay Area as the company rapidly expands locally.

More than an environmentally friendly gesture, an increasing number of North Bay businesses are pursuing renewable energy development as a way to reduce costs and improve their bottom line.

Rohnert Park-based Stellar Energy, a solar energy engineering, procurement and construction provider, installed a 454-kilowatt photovoltaic electricity system at Jordan Vineyard & Winery in Healdsburg.

Santa Rosa-based G&C AutoBody is spending $2.09 million installing photovoltaic power arrays on three of its seven locations to write off the whole project cost in one year under a special 2011 tax incentive for capital investments.

SANTA ROSA — With the largest solar powered rock quarry in the western United States, and the first all solar facility of its kind in the industry, the BoDean Company has taken the use of photovoltaic cells and sustainability to the next level at its Mark West quarry.

ROHNERT PARK — Sonoma Mountain Village’s additional 1.158-megawatt solar system was dedicated Friday.

PETALUMA — Enphase Energy is the winner in the Leadership category, clearly ahead of the pack of new, green technology companies in the North Bay.

SANTA ROSA — Homebuilder Meritage Homes worked for two years on research and development to create an energy-efficient home that could have a zero carbon footprint but not cost more or reduce comfort.

WINDSOR — Multi-Contact USA is rapidly expanding its manufacturing capabilities here to produce a greater percentage of standard and custom products in North America. Today some 75 percent of MC-USA’s output is standard products, while 25 percent is devoted to custom solutions.

SAN RAFAEL — Photovoltaic panel installation system developer Zep Solar Inc. signed a license agreement with Centrosolar AG of Hamburg, Germany, that is expected to expand the market for Zep products, which are set to come to market this year.

SANTA ROSA — The BoDean Company aggregate and asphalt supplier is going 100 percent solar-powered, the first to do so in the world, according to the industry magazine Rock Products.

SANTA ROSA — A team of graduate students is spending the next couple of months analyzing the Summit State Bank headquarters building in northeast Santa Rosa as part of a feasibility study on a new type of renewable-energy system financing designed to lower energy costs for multitenant commercial property tenants and owners while reducing underwriting risk.

PETALUMA — Solar microinverter systems maker Enphase Energy today announced the opening of offices in France and Italy and appointment of two country managers there.

PETALUMA — Tegal Corp. today announced the sale of its semiconductor-fabrication product lines and certain related assets to SPP Process Technology Systems Ltd. for $2.1 million, so Tegal can focus on solar energy development worldwide.

SEBASTOPOL – Two years after establishing a corporate headquarters in Laguna Beach in 2008, Genesis Renewable Energy selected Sebastopol as home for its Northern California operations division. The firm opened an office at 101 Morris St. in August staffed with 12 employees.

CALIFORNIA — Constellation Wines U.S., one of the world’s largest wine companies and operator of several North Coast wineries, undertook one of the largest such projects for the wine industry this year.

SANTA ROSA — Mesa Beverage Co. Inc. is having a 415-kilowatt solar electricity system installed on the roof of its recently built 160,000-square-foot distribution facility near Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport.

PETALUMA — Enphase Energy Inc. announced today that its microinverter technology will power 4.5 megawatts of solar projects developed and operated by Main Street Power, a national solar developer, and financed by Morgan Stanley.

WINDSOR — Multi-Contact USA, a Sonoma County maker of electrical and electronic connectors, has leased the former Windsor Vineyards building on the Town Green and intends to showcase its products there.