From the Executive Director

I recently received a call from Katherine Magruder of The Maryland Clean Energy Center asking for my assistance in managing The 2010 Maryland Clean Energy Summit. I was excited about the opportunity and then ecstatic when I learned board members of The Maryland Clean Energy Center had made the referral to Kathy based on the success of this year’s Solar and Wind Expo. Of course I jumped at the opportunity to be involved in this one day high level conference being held at the Hilton Inner Harbor on October 4th, 2010.

This Summit will bring thought leaders from industry, academia and government together to focus on the job creation and business development opportunities inherent in addressing the climate change challenge. Looking to the development of future technologies, policies, and finance, participants will identify options, issues, and action strategies to obtain winning outcomes for Maryland. For more information about the Summit and how to participate in this important event, call me or check out our information flyer .

It seems almost everyday that conferences focusing on alternative energy are taking place. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's Green Economy Forum was held on July 14th and gave us a snapshot of what the Maryland government has been doing to get the green economy rolling. And news about Tesla Motor's IPO and partnership with Toyota to bring back the all-electric RAV4 is another major news item covered in this newsletter.

We are proud to announce that The Solar and Wind Expo-Valley Forge dates have been finalized as June 10-12, 2011 at the Valley Forge Convention Center, King of Prussia, PA 19406. Bob Dixson, Mayor of Greensburg, Kansas will serve as the Keynote speaker, and we have also secured Paul Scott of Plug-in America as a speaker. The Expo organizers anticipate another successful event. If you are interested in participating in this and/or the Timonium location, please call me for more information.

George Lopez
Executive Director
Publisher
410-439-1577

“Maryland has made major strides in developing a green economy and creating green jobs”, said Governor Martin O’Malley and other participants in a July 14 forum in Baltimore. But sustainability and renewable energy must become even bigger players in the state’s economy if we’re to reach our full potential for creating green jobs, supporting the use of clean and efficient energy and protecting our environment.

The Governor’s Green Economy Forum July 14, held at the Maryland Department of the Environment, was convened to discuss the recommendations of the Green Jobs & Industry Task Force. The task force was headed by Christian Johansson, secretary for business and economic development, and included members from a broad range of businesses and state agencies

It was a high-profile event, with Governor O’Malley personally chairing it and a number of high officials present, including the heads of Maryland’s departments of the environment, business and economic development, natural resources and agriculture, as well as of the Maryland Energy Administration, the Maryland Clean Energy Center and others. The panel at the event itself included Sandy Roskes, VP for sales at Astrum Solar, platinum sponsor of The 2010 Solar and Wind Expo, and Robert Wallace, president of Bith Energy, an exhibitor at the Expo.

Astrum Solar's Sandy Roskes, GreenVest's Doug Lashley and Secretary of Dept of Environment Sharri Wilson

Nationally, green jobs grew almost 2 ½ times faster than overall employment between 1998 and 2007, according to the Pew Charitable Trust – 9.1% for green jobs versus just 3.7% for all.
Here are some of the participants’ other key points for growing Maryland’s green economy:

• The state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires 20% renewable energy by 2022, and EmPower Maryland, which mandates cutting state energy consumption 15% by 2015, are the key drivers in promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy as well as creating green jobs, in the state.
• More must be done to educate consumers on saving energy and making use of renewables.
• We need more financial mechanisms to leverage private funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
• We should incorporate new LEED standards in all building codes, and do it now, so we start building as sustainably as possible as soon as possible, and also create as many green jobs as possible in the building sector.
• Government needs to set good policies, and then turn businesses and entrepreneurs loose to carry out the policies, innovate and create jobs and wealth. For example, Bith Energy built a house in Cherry Hill, a low-income area of Baltimore, that integrates many energy-saving and renewable energy features and is an example of the innovation and outside-the-box thinking we need.