RI Clean Energy Leaders Examine the Impact of Economic and Legislative Forces on their Green Businesses
Where: Wolcott Eco-Office – 28 Wolcott Avenue, Providence RI
When: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at 6pm – 8pm
Wolcott Eco-Office, Providence RI, February 24, 2009 - The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), the nation’s leading regional membership organization promoting sustainable energy solutions, is organizing a panel of leading local clean energy leaders to discuss how economic conditions, the federal stimulus legislation, and recent and pending state legislation will impact their RI-based renewable energy businesses.
Up until now the dialogue in Rhode Island about the America Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the green economy has been dominated by policy experts and government officials. This panel adds the voice of small business professionals to learn more about the forces that are affecting their business decisions, and to find out where they think their businesses will be in the next five years.
The panel will convene on on Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at 6:00 PM at the Wolcott Eco-Office, a sustainable mixed-use building in the city’s Promenade district. Panelists include:
- Robert Chew, president of residential business at Alteris, a leading solar integrator
- Fred Unger, president of Heartwood Group, Inc., an energy project developer and consultant
- Karina Lutz, deputy director at People’s Power & Light
- Julian Dash – director of the RI Renewable Energy Fund
“This panel is the launch event for a more active NESEA RI chapter,” said John Jacobson, president of JTJ Investments, a Providence real estate redevelopment firm that recently opened the Wolcott Eco-office. ”These panelists demonstrate that we have what it takes to build a robust green economic sector in the state. Going forward, the NESEA RI chapter will convene once a month to showcase different RI clean energy businesses and to build a tighter network of clean energy professionals.”
“This panel seeks to deepen the conversation about the green economy,” said Fred Unger, president at Heartwood Group, Inc, who recently developed over 17% of the total installed solar capacity in Massachusetts and is currently developing a three megawatt wind project. “There are a number of trends taking place in the industry right now – such as the rapidly dropping price of solar energy, new legislation at the state and federal level, new financing opportunities and emerging technology – that bode well for the future of clean energy in RI. I’m glad to see that NESEA is spearheading this issue and look forward to attending future monthly chapter events.”
After the panel, a tour will be available of the Wolcott Eco-office – a self-sustaining building that generates its own energy needs from its own renewable sources.
To register for this event, please email jo@greenmachinepr.com.
To learn more about this panel, please join the NESEA RI Facebook event at: NESEA Panel – The State of the Green Economy in RI
To learn about other NESEA events, including the upcoming BuildingEnergy09 Conference in Boston, March 10-12, please go to www.nesea.org or call 413-774-6051.
About NESEA:
The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) advances the practical application and adoption of sustainable and low-carbon energy practices in the Northeast United States. NESEA accomplishes this through a number of ongoing programs and annual events including: the Building Energy conference and trade show, professional education workshops, the Green Buildings Open House Tour, and the Sustainable Green Pages. To learn more about NESEA and its members please visit our new web site and blog at www.nesea.org
