North Bay Business Journal

Business Journal Q&A: SolarCraft’s Bill Stewart

AN RAFAEL — Bill Stewart, an electrical contractor who saw the solar light early on, got into the industry in 1978 and founded SolarCraft in 1984, a good 20 years before improved state incentives encouraged a crop of solar companies to spring up in the North Bay.

Now at 45 employees Novato-based SolarCraft adheres to its original model: a crack team of installers do all the work themselves without resorting to contract workers except when intricate ground preparation is necessary.

SCEIP, loan officials finding solutions

SONOMA COUNTY – Threatened with being shut down by mortgage purchasers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Sonoma County’s Property Assessed Clean Energy Program SCEIP is finding its way toward a model that could assure its survival, according to Sonoma County Treasurer and Tax Collector Rodney Dole.

Construction: Pressure on to protect energy loans

Also: Windsor project sees vegetable gardens, olive trees, electric cars

Board reopens SCEIP

SANTA ROSA – The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors directed staff to keep the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program (SCEIP) open after it was temporarily suspended.

Energy program sets debt limit for home improvements

SONOMA COUNTY – The Sonoma County Energy Independence Program has set a new ceiling on how much debt homeowners can hold when they seek to participate in the energy-improvement loan program.

SSU conference ‘call to action’ on economy gets response

NORTH BAY – “This is a call to action,” said Dr. William Silver, dean of the School of Business and Economics at Sonoma State University when he opened its annual economic outlook conference Feb. 25.

Economic Outlook Conference presentations available for viewing

NORTH BAY – The slideshow presentations of speakers at yesterday’s Economic Outlook Conference are available on the Resources page of the Business Journal Web site in PDF format.

The event put on by Sonoma State University’s School of Business and Economics in collaboration with the Business Journal focused on a call to action for the North Bay to create a regional economic development corporation to leverage “cooperative competition” in creating industry clusters that will support and sustain job growth.

Sonoma gets energy funds

SONOMA COUNTY — Sonoma County was awarded $2,537,000 in State Energy Program funds from the California Energy Commission. The county’s application was ranked fourth highest, and it was one of only five applications funded statewide. It also received two additional awards through strategic partnerships.

Economic Outlook Conference calls for action on regional economic development

NORTH BAY – Registration for the SSU Economic Outlook Conference, produced in collaboration with the Business Journal, closes on Friday. The event is on Feb. 25 from 7:30 to noon, and tickets are $49 per person and include continental breakfast. To register, contact Linda Perkins at events@busjrnl.com or 707-521-5264, or register online at www.NorthBayBusinessJournal.com.

The conference will center on the need for business leaders to come together and take action on creating a regional economic development organization, including strategies for spurring growth at a local level. An outlook for the local and national economies will also give information on how businesses can best prepare for what is to come, and a panel discussion will examine in detail modes of stimulating job creation, retention and entrepreneurism.

SSU forum to focus on economic corporation

ROHNERT PARK – The North Bay must act immediately to form an economic development agency focused on improving the region’s economy, according to William Silver, dean of the School of Business and Economics at SSU.

Business Journal, SSU Economic Outlook Conference registration open

NORTH BAY — The Sonoma State University School of Business and Economics’ 17th annual economic outlook conference, “The Time is Now: Developing a regional strategy to attract and retain jobs,” will be Feb. 25 at the Sheraton in Petaluma.

Produced in collaboration with the Business Journal, registration is at 7:30 a.m. and the program from 8 a.m. to noon. Tickets are $49 per person and include continental breakfast. To register, contact Linda Perkins at events@busjrnl.com or 707-521-5264, or register online at www.NorthBayBusinessJournal.com.

2009 year of economy, energy

It was a year dominated by a struggling economy that touched virtually everyone.

Sonoma County energy program getting attention in Washington, D.C.

SONOMA COUNTY — Across the country, states are rushing to pass AB 811 energy-efficiency programs, buoyed by numbers coming out of California and particularly Sonoma County, the first to adapt AB 811 on a county-wide basis.

Kunde to install 50 solar thermal panels

KENWOOD — Kunde Family Estate winery thinks it can cut energy use by more than three-quarters by allowing the sun to preheat hot water used for cleaning. The project is being eyed as a pilot financing venture to navigate hundreds of other Sonoma County wineries toward much less energy consumption for heat and refrigeration.

Commentary: Thinking green for jobs and the environment

President Barack Obama’s announcement of the United States’ first firm target for reducing carbon emissions represented a critical step toward a more sustainable future.

Study: Energy program could be jobs booster

A Sonoma County program allowing for energy-efficient upgrades to buildings has already begun to create much needed contracting jobs, and according to a recent outlook report could create thousands more.

Construction: SCEIP funds for greywater? Also, Quattrocchi part of BIM project Construction

The county of Sonoma Permit and Resource Management Department, or PRMD, is trying to figure out whether projects that reuse nontoxic, nonpathogenic wastewater from washing machines or single fixtures, such as showers and sinks, for underground irrigation can qualify for financing under the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program, or SCEIP, according to Bob Herr, liquid waste specialist for PRMD.

Real Goods Solar returns to North Bay

SAN RAFAEL — Real Goods Solar is moving its headquarters back to San Rafael from Campbell and into an expanded space, according to CEO John Schaeffer.

Green Business: Marin explores AB 811 program

Marin County residential and commercial property owners may soon get access to long-term financing for energy- and water-efficiency upgrades, similar to what has been available since this spring through the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program.

$21.5M in energy loan applications

NORTH BAY – Cary Buxton, an estimator for Second Generation Roofing in Santa Rosa, has already seen the impact of the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program on his business.