Thursday,
January 22
7:00 PM

CRES
Monthly
Meeting

CRES Monthly Meeting:
"Green Collar Jobs
 Helping to Power
 Colorado's Economy"

Jefferson Unitarian Church
14350 W. 32nd Avenue
(just west of I-70)
Golden

View the Presentation
(in HTML) ...

A January 2009 report from the American Solar Energy Society (CRES's parent organization) highlights the significant role of renewable energy and energy efficiency in generating the green-collar jobs that help power the Colorado economy. By the end of 2007, these industries had directly and indirectly generated over 88,0040 jobs throughout Colorado. And that was before major players like Vestas, Conoco-Phillips, Siemens, RES Americas, and others chose to locate here!

While the rest of the world continues to hear about increasing layoffs, come hear how the EE/RE industry is open for business (and even hiring) in Colorado!

The full report is available at www.ases.org/greenjobs

Brad Collins is Executive Director of the American Solar Energy Society and Publisher of SOLAR TODAY magazine. He has guided ASES since February 2001. During his career, Brad has served as an organizational manager, chief development officer, foundation executive, fund raising consultant and solar building researcher, designer and builder.

Brad holds an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Colorado and an MBA from Regis University. He represents the Society at functions and events throughout the country, and works to educate and advocate for renewable energy technologies among decision makers, educators, media and the public.

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Thursday,
February 26
7:00 PM

CRES
Monthly
Meeting

CRES Monthly Meeting:
"The Obama Energy Plan"
 with Former U.S. Senator
 Gary Hart!

Jefferson Unitarian Church
14350 W. 32nd Avenue
(just west of I-70)
Golden

Also available via YouTube video
(Thanks to CRES Life Member
  Joe McCabe of Ascent Solar)

“We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.”

Never before has an American President uttered anything like this in his Inaugural Address, but Barack Obama said exactly this on January 20. Join CRES to find out more about how the Obama Administration plans to help the rest of America join Colorado in building a New Energy Economy!

Gary Hart was first elected to represent Colorado in the United States Senate in 1974 (having never before sought public office), and was re-elected in 1980. He served on the Senate’s Environment, Budget, Armed Services, and Intelligence Oversight Committees. He played a leadership role in major environmental and conservation legislation, new initiatives to reform the military, advance the information revolution, and improve foreign policy. Since retiring from the Senate in 1987, he has been extensively involved in international law and business, as a strategic advisor to major U.S. corporations, and as a teacher, author, and lecturer. He was president of Global Green, the U.S. affiliate of Mikhail Gorbachev's environmental foundation, Green Cross International. He is currently Wirth Chair Professor at the University of Colorado at Denver, and is a Distinguished Fellow at the New America Foundation.

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Thursday,
March 26

The CRES public meeting was postponed due to heavy snow and rescheduled for June 26, 2009.

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Thursday,
April 30
7:00 PM

CRES
Monthly
Meeting

CRES Monthly Meeting:
"Climate Change and the Role of
 Concentrating Solar Power"

Jefferson Unitarian Church
14350 W. 32nd Avenue
(just west of I-70)
Golden

This is one of the best presentations that have ever been given at a CRES meeting, but please note the following about this webcast recording:

1. The recording starts about 5-10 minutes into Dr. Kutcher's presentation. The only thing this recording doesn't show from the presentation is a short video of a global warming discussion from 1958(!).
   
   
2. All six of the videos that were included in this presentation either don't show up well or don't show up at all. Click on the link below to open a new/separate window, and then click on each of the video files (in order) to view the videos that Dr. Kutscher showed in the room.
   
   www.cres-energy.org/events/misc/April2009
   
   
3. While the main "Slides" window is solid throughout this recording, the video and/or audio of Dr. Kutscher goes out from time to time. Be patient, as it comes back in before you miss too much.

Thank You and Enjoy!

Most power plants use fossil fuels to boil water. The steam
from the boiling water spins a large turbine, which drives a
generator to produce electricity. But a new generation of
concentrating solar power (CSP) plants uses the sun as a
heat source. CSP already plays an increasingly important
role in the fight against climate change, and that role will
grow with improved technologies, policies, and economics.
Join CRES and one of the world's leading CSP experts to
find out how this will happen.

Dr. Chuck Kutscher is a Principal Engineer and Manager of the Thermal Systems Group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado where he currently leads the research on parabolic trough solar collector systems. He is a Past Chair of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and was General Chair of the SOLAR 2006 national solar energy conference, which led to the ASES report, Tackling Climate Change in the U.S. (available at www.ases.org/climatechange). He is an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he developed and teaches a course entitled “Climate Change Solutions,” and he writes a regular column about climate change for SOLAR TODAY magazine. He has given many presentations around the country on climate change solutions and concentrating solar power.

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Thursday,
May 28
7:00 PM

CRES
Monthly
Meeting

CRES Monthly Meeting:
"What the Federal Stimulus
 will mean for Colorado's
 New Energy Economy"

Jefferson Unitarian Church
14350 W. 32nd Avenue
(just west of I-70)
Golden

When President Obama came to Denver to sign the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act in February - and had CRES Business Member Namaste Solar on stage next to him - it sent a clear message that the rest of America should follow Colorado's lead in creating a New Energy Economy for the 21st Century and beyond. Now that stimulus funding from this legislation is starting to reach Colorado, join CRES to find out how this will help further the goals of the New Energy Economy.

Jeff Lyng is the Renewable Energy Program Manager at the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office (GEO). He has also served as a Technical Consultant at Xcel Energy. In 2006, Jeff was the recipient of both the John & Barbara Yellot Award from the American Solar Energy Society (ASES, CRES’s parent organization) and the Mark McCray Award from the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (CoSEIA). He was Project Manager for the University of Colorado team that won the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Solar Decathlon” in 2005. Jeff is currently on the Board of Directors of ASES, and has also served on the CRES Board. He has an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado and a B.S. in Ecology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

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Thursday,
June 25
7:00 PM

CRES
Monthly
Meeting

CRES Monthly Meeting:
"Financing Renewable Energy
 in Today's Capital Markets"

Jefferson Unitarian Church
14350 W. 32nd Avenue
(just west of I-70)
Golden

Finding the right financing for renewable energy projects has always been a challenge. Today's combination of tight financial markets and the need for more utility-scale RE projects, however, makes this challenge even more significant. Join us for a discussion by one of the leading experts in this field to see how projects like these get financed.

Lee White is an Executive Vice President and Manager for George K. Baum & Company at its Denver Public Finance Headquarters. He has been in the investment banking business for more than 20 years and is responsible for underwriting over $6 billion of municipal bonds. Mr. White has assisted numerous state and local governments and private corporations finance their infrastructure needs.

The complete list of Mr. White's experience, accomplishments, and credentials is far too long to include here. But highlights of this experience include serving as lead banker for several hundred million dollars' worth of renewable energy and other utility projects, Co-Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee’s Study on Infrastructure in the United States, member of the Colorado Clean Energy Development Authority, and numerous other airport, stadium, higher education, and non-profit projects.

Mr. White received a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Masters of City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

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Thursday,
July 30
7:00 PM

CRES
Monthly
Meeting

CRES Monthly Meeting:
"The Colorado Carbon Fund"

Jefferson Unitarian Church
14350 W. 32nd Avenue
(just west of I-70)
Golden

The Colorado Carbon Fund (CCF) is a project of the Governor's Energy Office. It provides high-quality, credible carbon offsets for those interested in mitigating their carbon footprint supporting new clean energy projects in our state.

Susan Innis is the Colorado Carbon Fund Program Manager for the Governor's Energy Office. Prior to joining GEO in 2007, she spent eight years as an Energy Policy Advisor and Green Power Marketing Director at Western Resource Advocates, a regional conservation law and policy center. During this time she was involved with several industry groups, including Green-e (Governance Board, 2002-07), Colorado Renewable Energy Society (Board member 2006-07), New Mexico Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy (Board member, 2000-07) and the National Wind Coordinating Committee (Steering Committee, 2002-07). Before working on energy issues, she worked as an Urban Park Ranger in New York City and a researcher with an international marine conservation organization, Project Seahorse. Susan holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver and a BSc in Biology from McGill University (Montreal, Canada).

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Friday-Sunday,
August 28-30

Colorado Renewable
Energy Conference

"Clean Energy: Pathways to
 a Low-Carbon Footprint"

Colorado School of Mines
Golden

Conference PRESENTATIONS ...

• Presentation Tracks in
  - Communities,
  - Low-Carbon Power, and
  - Carbon Sequestration
  
  
• Keynote Address by Dr. Eric Barron
  Director, National Center for
  Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
  on "Climate - State of the Science"
  (FREE and Open to the Public!)
  
  
• Exhibit Hall showcasing
  the latest and greatest in
  clean energy technologies
  (FREE and Open to the Public!)
  
  
• Saturday Dinner Featuring
  KMGH TV-7 Meteorologist Mike Nelson
  on "Wild Weather in the West"
  
  
• Tours of NREL on Friday
  
  
• Smart Energy Living Workshops on Sunday
  
  
• Tours of Carbon-Negative Homes on Sunday
  
  
• and more!

Complete Conference Information at
www.cres-energy.org/conference/2009

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Thursday,
September 24
7:00 PM

CRES
Monthly
Meeting

CRES Monthly Meeting:
"Designing and Living
 in a Solar Home"

Jefferson Unitarian Church
14350 W. 32nd Avenue
(just west of I-70)
Golden

Join CRES to find out what's involved in creating and living in these solar homes that we've been hearing so much about ... from nationwide efforts to make zero-energy homes the rule instead of the exception to one long-time solar homeowner's experiences.

Ren Anderson joined the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 1983 and has worked on a broad range of building research. Working with industry partners and DOE, he has helped to plan and carry out the research activities of DOE's Building America Program. Ren is a senior project leader at NREL focusing on developing least cost approaches for the design of Zero Energy Homes.

John Avenson is one of the most passionate advocates for solar energy and a more sustainable future that CRES has ever known. His near zero energy home in Westminster is a regular fixture on The Denver Tour of Solar Homes, and is available for most informal tours almost anytime John is there.

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Saturday,
October 3
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Tour of Solar Homes

Denver,

Colorado Springs,

Fort Collins,

Alamosa
(SSI Solar PV Workshop - see below)

Boulder (Sat., Sep. 26),

Delta & Hotchkiss (Sat., Oct. 24),

Durango,

Estes Park,

Glenwood Springs & Carbondale,

Grand Junction (Grand Valley),
Grand Junction (Mesa County),

Walden (Jackson County)
(Alternative Energy Workshop - see below)

Westcliffe (Custer County),

and other communities throughout
Colorado and the USA.

The 2009 Denver Tour of Solar Homes will also include a Green Jobs Fair!

www.cres-energy.org/tour

Thursday,
October 22
7:00 PM

CRES
Monthly
Meeting

CRES Monthly Meeting:
"Biofuels Research"

Jefferson Unitarian Church
14350 W. 32nd Avenue
(just west of I-70)
Golden

Driven by the desire to limit imported oil and legislative mandates, research is being conducted to investigate the use of biomass to produce liquid transportation fuels. This research involves studies of plant science, chemistry, physics and engineering, and to be effective, technoeconomic analysis must be conducted to address important cost drivers. This presentation will discuss some of the important research efforts in biofuels production and how they are tied to technical targets to improve the economic viability of biofuels.

Bryon Donohoe applies his background in structural biology and plant cell biology to study the underpinnings of biomass recalcitrance. In particular, he has turned several years of studying the cellular mechanisms involved in plant cell wall assembly toward now understanding the biological disassembly of plant cell walls in biomass. Dr. Donohoe is a key user and mentor of the Biomass Surface Characterization Laboratory-a collection of imaging technologies including laser scanning confocal microscopy, environmental scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy-used to better understand structural changes during biomass conversion. In particular, he is expert at biomass sample preparation including cryopreservation, immuno-EM, and using electron tomography as a technique to study the complex 3-D structure of the cell wall at the molecular scale. Dr. Donohoe is also involved in efforts to understand microbial interactions with biomass and the structure of environmental microbial communities. He has a Ph.D. in Molecular/Cellular Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a M.A. in Biology from the University of Colorado at Denver, and a B.S. in Biological Science from Colorado State University.

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Thursday,
November 19
7:00 PM

CRES
Monthly
Meeting

CRES Monthly Meeting:
Alternative
Transportation
Options

Peak Oil, Global Warming, and other factors are converging to challenge our cherished tradition of driving anywhere we want in gasoline-powered vehicles. Join CRES and a panel of experts to discuss the increasing variety of ways to get around with little or no gasoline.

• CRES Communications Director Phil von Hake will begin this discussion with his Peak Oil Riot Act and the need for (many!) more alternative transportation options.
  
  
• Steve Stevens of The Sustainable Museum of Sustainable Transportation will discuss a wide variety of alternative transportation options like EVs, bikes, walking, and more.
  
  
• Carl Lawrence of EEtrex and Hybrids Plus will discuss Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (EVs).
  
• Kathleen Osher of the Transit Alliance will discuss Public Transit and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).

• And Graham Hill of 21 Wheels will discuss “Seeking a Better Path,” focusing on Car-Sharing, EVs and Bikes.
  
  

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