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May
Keystone Pipeline Debate: Cleantech Breakfast
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Past Events
WCTA Breakfast: Keystone Pipeline Debate, May 3, 2012
Ross MacFarlane of Climate Solutions vs. Scott Farris of TransCanada Pipelines Ltd.
“The Obama administration’s decision to reject TransCanada’s pipeline proposal – at least for now – represents an historic win for the environmental movement.” -Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith of Grist
“I will build that pipeline if I have to do it myself.” -Mitt Romney
See the entire discussion on video with slides embedded here.
The debate over the Keystone Pipeline System is a critical 2012 election issue. It is a wedge issue dividing those that believe job creation is paramount from those that would not risk damage to the environment. It will have implications on jobs in Washington state companies that provide products, services, and technologies that supply the energy field. The proposed pipeline would transport oil and natural gas from Alberta to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas. The project consists of the operational “Keystone Pipeline” and “Keystone-Cushing Extension,” and two proposed Keystone XL pipeline expansion segments. The Keystone XL has faced lawsuits from oil refineries and criticism from environmentalists and members of Congress. The State Department in 2010 extended the deadline for federal agencies to decide if the pipeline is in the national interest, and in November, 2011, President Obama postponed the decision until 2013.
- Scott Farris is TransCanada’s Director of Government Relations for the Western US, a post he has held since 2005. TransCanada, listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges, is one of North America’s leading energy infrastructure companies with diversified assets that include 40,000 miles of natural gas pipelines, oil pipelines, and twenty power facilities that include wind, solar, hydro, gas, coal, and nuclear generation. A former journalist, including time as a bureau chief for United Press International, Farris has previously served as a policy and communications advisor to former US Senator Malcolm Wallop (R-WY), former Wyoming Governor Mike Sullivan, former California Governor Gray Davis, and former Portland, OR, Mayor Vera Katz. Farris was himself the Democratic nominee for Congress in Wyoming in 1998. He is the author of the book Almost President: The Men Who Lost the Race But Changed the Nation, which was published by Lyons Press in December 2011. His second book, a comparative biography of Presidents John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, is scheduled to be published by Lyons Press in the fall of 2013. Farris lives in Portland, OR, with his wife and their two children. See Scott’s Keystone map here.
- Ross MacFarlane manages Climate Solutions Business Partnership program, which helps build support in the region’s corporate community for strong climate and energy policy and private investment in solutions. He is active in advocating climate and energy policy on both the state and federal levels. He recently managed the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest, the first stakeholder effort in the nation to point a path to low-carbon alternatives to power the next generation of flight. He has been selected by peers as a “Pivotal Leader,” which recognizes individuals who are have the skills and experience to drive the region’s clean energy economy. Ross brings more than 30 years of experience working on public policy and environmental issues. He was a partner at Preston Gates & Ellis (now K&L Gates) where he managed the environmental law practice and represented a wide range of public and private clients. He was recognized as a “Superlawyer” in the areas of Environmental, Transportation and Public law. A Northwest native, Ross is a graduate of Pomona College and University of Washington School of Law. He is passionate about hiking, skiing, and traveling. See Ross’ PowerPoint presentation here.
Apr
WCTA Breakfast: Natural Gas: Has the Cleantech Game Changed?
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Past Events
Is natural gas the next big thing? Experts call gas revolutionary and a game-changer. Pulitzer-Prize winner energy researcher Dr. Daniel Yergin claims that “by the beginning of this decade, the rapidity and sheer scale of the shale breakthrough and its effects on markets qualified it as the most significant innovation in energy so far since the start of the twenty-first century.” The President has proclaimed that the United States is “the Saudi Arabia of natural gas.”
See the discussion: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
- April 5, 730-900 a.m.
- Dorsey & Whitney, Columbia Tower, 701 Fifth Ave, Suite 6100 , Seattle
Moderator: Kirt Montague, Principal in NewPath Energy Capital, LLC and Chair, WCTA: NewPath Energy Capital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Black River Asset Management’s newly created LNG Fund. NPEC is focused primarily on acquiring and leasing LNG and CNG related equipment including storage tanks, vaporizers, mobile re-fuelers, transport trailers, and CNG and LNG fueling stations. NPEC also looks for investments in: 1) Projects, preferably with strategic partners, in the development, construction, and operation of LNG production facilities; and 2) Companies that enable the use of natural gas using CNG or LNG including equipment providers and service companies. Find the slides that Kirt used to open the discussion here.
Keynote Comments–Dan Kirschner, Executive Director, Northwest Gas Association, West Linn, OR. An expert on natural gas matters, Kirschner works to foster understanding among opinion leaders and informed decision-making by governing officials on issues related to natural gas in the region. Kirschner adds an MBA to his policy and public affairs experience giving him a unique perspective on the intersection of public policy and business imperatives. His duties with the NWGA include formulating and disseminating market intelligence, policy analysis on issues affecting the Northwest regional natural gas market, and communicating the industry’s perspective on a variety of issues to an array of stakeholders. Find Dan’s presentation slides here: Dan Kirschner Natural Gas 040512.- Respondent–Garret Alpers, President, World CNG. With over 25 years of experience in the development, fabrication, and installation of alternative fuel systems, World CNG is a well-established leader in the alternative transportation fuels industry. A continually growing company, World CNG specializes in the conversion of small- and medium-duty passenger and cargo vehicles to use compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of conventional gasoline. World CNG primarily caters to public and private fleets, public and private transit groups, and state and municipal governments.
Respondent–Jim Mothersbaugh, President and CEO, WaterTectonics. WaterTectonics is an Everett-based water treatment technology company. Jim originally founded the company in 1999 to address the needs of commercial and industrial stormwater clients in the greater Puget Sound area. In the mid-2000’s, WaterTectonics diversified into the oil and gas industry, primarily providing technology to treat frac and flowback water from natural gas drilling operations. After a few years in the industry, WaterTectonics was recognized as one of the leading companies and shortly thereafter secured a technology licensing agreement with Halliburton. Today, WaterTectonics continues to support commercial, industrial, and energy-related water projects across North America.- Respondent–Jim Hansen, Ravenna Capital Management
More information and perspectives:
Perspectives on Shale:
- Boosters: Amy Myers Jaffe, Wall Street Journal, “Shale Gas Will Rock the World,” May 10, 2010.
- Skeptics: Kirk Johnson, New York Times, “E.P.A. Links Tainted Water in Wyoming to Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas,” December 8, 2011
Supply:
- Less than we thought: Christina Buurma, Bloomberg, “U.S. Cuts Estimate for Marcellus Shale Gas Reserves by 66%,” January 23, 2012.
- More than we thought: Knovel, “U.S. Geological Survey: North Alaska Holds Vast Natural Gas, Oil Reserves,” February 24, 2012.
Technology (How it works): American Petroleum Institute, several videos and papers on how natural gas is extracted.
Public Policy:
- EPA’s perspective: US Environmental Protection Agency, “Natural Gas Extraction – Hydraulic Fracturing.”
- Oil/gas industry view: IHS Global Insight, “Measuring the Economic and Energy Impacts of Proposals to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing,” a study prepared for the American Petroleum Institute, 2009.
Mar
Financing Renewable Energy Projects in Washington State (and Beyond)
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Past Events
SOLD OUT! The panel addressed the financing and policy challenges and issues for renewable projects. In particular, projects that can generate carbon financing, such as biogas projects, were discussed. Discussion included how policy such as Washington’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (I-937) affects the development of renewable projects and how incentive structures can be hurdles to project development or create an enabling environment. There was discussion about on-the-ground project development in the state and around issues that arise from the new California Greenhouse Gas cap-and-trade program.
March 7, 2012 | at Arbor Group/UBS Financial, Fourth & Madison Building, 925 4th Ave, 18th Floor Conference Room
Ben Vitale, President, The Climate Trust: Ben is a carbon market expert and executive, with over 20 years of experience in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Before joining The Climate Trust, Ben served as Managing Director of the Conservation and Community Carbon Fund at Conservation International (CI), where he worked with the private sector to develop climate change solutions and new financial instruments that create business value and achieve measurable climate change results. He supported the development of conservation carbon projects in Biodiversity Hotspots around the world including Ecuador, China, and Brazil. He also advised governments and partners on climate change, particularly in the area of reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD). Prior to joining CI, Ben was co-founder and Vice President with Vcapital, a firm that raised corporate financing for businesses through a network of venture capitalists and investment firms. Ben holds a Master of Management degree from Northwestern and a B.S. degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Purdue.
See the video of Ben by clicking here. (Mouse over the video and click the start triangle.)
Nancy Hirsch, Policy Director, NW Energy Coalition: Nancy is policy director of the NW Energy Coalition, an alliance of more than 110 public interest organizations, clean energy businesses and electric and gas utilities from OR, WA, ID, MT, and BC. Since 1996, Nancy has directed the Coalition’s efforts to enhance investments in energy conservation, renewable resources, and low income energy services through work with utilities, commissioners, regulators, and legislators. The Energy Coalition promotes an energy future that is reliable and affordable with the least overall cost to society and the environment. She is currently chair of the board of the Renewable Northwest Project. Prior to joining NWEC, she spent twelve years in DC working on energy policy issues for Environmental Action Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation. She received her training in environmental policy at Michigan.
See the video of Nancy by clicking here. (Mouse over the video and click the start triangle.)
Kevin Maas, President and Co-Founder, Farm Power: Kevin is a manure entrepreneur – he co-founded Farm Power with his brother Daryl Maas in 2007. Kevin grew up in Skagit County and enjoyed the rural heritage that comes with living in the western WA. Farm Power believes that in order to maintain Washington’s unique balance between economic growth and outdoor quality of life, farming must be both economically profitable and environmentally sustainable. Farm Power’s goal is to build manure digesters that will serve as many Puget Sound dairy farms as possible, and works closely with dairy farmers to do this. Most western WA dairy farms are too small to build their own digesters and successfully market the products so Farm Power works with groups of dairy farmers to design regional digesters that serve multiple farms. They design the project, raise the funds to make it happen, and operate the digester to make it profitable.
See the video of Kevin by clicking here. (Mouse over the video and click the start triangle.)
Heather Mulligan, Green Power Market Manager, Puget Sound Energy: Heather has been Market Manager for PSE’s Green Power Program for the past five years. She has nearly 20 years of experience working on programs which support the deployment and use of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Prior to joining PSE in 2006, Heather worked as the national and regional coordinator of U.S. Department of Energy’s Million Solar Roofs Initiative. Ms. Mulligan has a B.A. from San Diego and a Master of Public Policy from American University.
See the video of Heather by clicking here. (Mouse over the video and click the start triangle.)
Feb
Visions of Clean Sustainable Transportation Systems featuring Mark Frohnmayer, CEO of Arcimoto
Posted by Tom Ranken | 1 Comment | Categories: Complete Digest, Past Events
WCTA Lunch: Visions of Clean Sustainable Transportation Systems featuring Mark Frohnmayer, CEO of Arcimoto. Frohnmayer founded Arcimoto in 2007 to help catalyze a sustainable transportation system. Arcimoto is currently developing the SRK, an ultra-efficient 3-wheeled electric vehicle for everyday driving. Mark will speak about the development of a long-range, integrated system approach to next generation sustainable mass transit using ultra-efficient vehicle platforms and self-driving car technology. The program will focus on connecting new transportation models with software, systems integration relationships.
Watch the video: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
- Mark Frohnmayer, Arcimoto, graduated from UC Berkeley in 1996 with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. After 11 years in the computer games industry and the sale of his first startup
company, GarageGames, Mark turned his entrepreneurial energy towards sustainable business development in OR. His current endeavor, Arcimoto, was founded in 2007 to design and build environmentally efficient solutions for transportation. Mark served on the OR governor’s Alternate Fuel Vehicle Infrastructure Working Group in 2009, has been peer selected twice as one of the PNW’s clean technology Pivotal Leaders and was appointed to the Oregon Transportation Commission. See a YouTube video of Mark presenting his vision here. - With a panel of expert respondents including:
Christopher Gil, President and Founder, MotoVolta, a startup company developing high performance zero emission motorcycles. He holds a Master’s degree in Engineering Mechanics from Pennsylvania State University, and worked in the aerospace industry for over 13 years before starting MotoVolta. Christopher is passionate about the use of clean energy in high performance vehicular applications, and believes that electric-powered vehicles are the future of transportation. His team at MotoVolta is developing innovative technology that will close the gap between electric-powered and petroleum-powered motorcycles.
David Allen, Executive Vice President, McKinstry: David is responsible for McKinstry’s brand development, managing the company’s strategic positioning, and overseeing its business development, community relations, and client service activities. He is widely respected for helping create McKinstry’s positioning strategy… a strategy that has resulted in the firm’s national reputation as a leader in integrated facility services delivery and engineered solutions in the clean technology sector. During his 30 years in the design, construction and facility management industry, David has championed countless marketing, client development, and strategic initiatives for McKinstry, driving its brand value to remarkable heights. Today he is a well-known seminar presenter, workshop leader, and trainer in the areas of corporate communications, branding, business development, marketing, client services, human resource management, workforce development, and project delivery. David serves on the boards of several industry associations, trade groups, community-based organizations, and business alliances including enterpriseSeattle and the Washington Clean Technology Alliance, the National Board of NAIOP, and The Seattle Chamber of Commerce. In addition, he was recently chosen to lead the Construction and Green Design/Building Skill Panel for the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County. David earned his Bachelor of Arts from UW.- When: February 1, noon-1:30 p.m.
- Where: Arbor Group/UBS Financial, 925 Fourth Avenue, 18th Floor Conference Room, Seattle
- Thanks to Jan Greylorn for organizing this event.
Jan
WCTA Breakfast: State of the Economy–Outlook on Capital Formation and Financial Trends for 2012
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Past Events
- Watch videos of the discussion: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
- Moderator: Patrick Drum, CFA, CFP®, UBS Financial – Arbor Group: Prior to joining the Arbor Group, Patrick worked in business valuation at Moss Adams. He has over ten years of direct investment management experience having worked with individual clients while at Morgan Stanley and with institutions as a member of the Washington Mutual’s Portfolio and Capital Markets Group. Patrick earned his BA in Economics from Western Washington, MBA from Seattle U, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder (CFA). Patrick is an avid baseball fan and enjoys kayaking, golfing and spending time with his family.
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Michael Butler, Chairman & CEO, Cascadia Capital: The co-founder of Cascadia Capital, Michael Butler leads the firm and is an emerging thought leader in the New Energy Economy. His recent focus on sustainable technology has helped propel Cascadia into some of the most important transactions in this market. Prior to co-founding Cascadia Capital, Butler served as a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers responsible for global equity sales and equity syndicate. He also served on the firm’s Equity Commitment Committee, Equity Syndicate Committee and Private Equity Commitment Committee. Before joining Lehman Brothers, Butler was a Principal with Morgan Stanley, where he was responsible for divisional global product and risk management and was a member of the division’s Operating Committee. He has been involved in numerous equity financing transactions for both public and private companies. Butler holds a BA in Political Science from UW and an MBA in International Finance from U. Penn. Michael serves on the Board of the Washington Clean Technology Alliance (WCTA) in Seattle, WA. 
Kirt Montague, Principal in NewPath Energy Capital, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Black River Asset Management’s LNG Fund: NewPath Energy Capital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Black River Asset Management’s newly created LNG Fund. NPEC is focused primarily on acquiring and leasing LNG and CNG related equipment including storage tanks, vaporizers, mobile re-fuelers, transport trailers, and CNG and LNG fueling stations. NPEC also looks for investments in: 1) Projects, preferably with strategic partners, in the development, construction, and operation of LNG production facilities; and 2) Companies that enable the use of natural gas using CNG or LNG including equipment providers and service companies.- Daniel Malarkey, Deputy Director, Washington State Department of Commerce: Daniel Malarkey was named Deputy Director for the WA State Department of Commerce in 2009. He serves as the department’s primary liaison to the private sector with responsibility for policy development to grow and improve jobs in the state. Malarkey has recently worked as a clean energy consultant to private companies and public entities. He brings over twenty five years of experience working on public policy issues as a consultant, business owner, and public employee. He was the founder and CEO of Washington Biodiesel, which developed an oil-seed processing and renewable fuels project in eastern WA. He served as General Manager of On-line Marketing at Amazon.com where he managed the group responsible for Amazon’s marketing relationships with other websites. Prior to working at Amazon.com, Malarkey was Managing Director of ECONorthwest, the region’s largest economic consulting firm. He has extensive experience in public infrastructure planning, finance, environmental economics, and economic development policy. He is a graduate of the University of OR and Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
Byron McCann, founded Ascent Partners which is focused on investments, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic alliances for cleantech and IT companies. He manages Ascent Cleantech Partners funds and is a venture partner at Prism Capital. He Co-chairs the Northwest Energy Angels, a cleantech private investor group and is the Pacific Northwest Regional Director of the Cleantech Open. He is an active member of three other angel investor groups. Formerly, he was CEO of Service Intelligence, a venture-backed, customer experience measurement company for retail chains. He co-founded genSoft, the first Windows database, which was acquired by Computer Associates; COO of a cable television advertising venture acquired by TCI; and was with Ernst & Young’s national telecommunications consulting practice. He was vice chairman of the Washington Technology Industry Association and was Board Chair of Broadway Bound Children’s Theatre. He has a Cum laude Harvard BA and a Stanford MBA.- When: Friday, January 13, 730-900 a.m.
- Where: Arbor Group/UBS Financial, 925 Fourth Avenue, 18th Floor Conference Room, Seattle
- Thanks to Patrick Drum, UBS/Arbor Group for organizing this event.
Dec
Working with the US Military
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Past Events
This WCTA Lunch featured an excellent panel discussion with leaders from the military, cleantech business, and economic development organizations discussing how cleantech companies can engage the Department of Defense for business expansion. Cleantech startups and established players learned about the opportunities in one of the world’s largest energy markets: America’s armed services. Participants were:
- Moderator: WCTA Board Member Tim Stearns, Senior Energy Policy Specialist, Washington State Department of Commerce
- Sean Murphy, Executive Director, Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition. See Sean’s presentation here.
- John Plaza, President/CEO/Founder, Imperium Renewables. See John’s presentation here.
- Paul T. Steucke, Jr., CIV USA IMCOM. See Paul’s presentation here.
- Tim Vinopal, Chief Engineer, Environment, Health and Safety, Boeing: See Tim’s presentation here.
- When: December 7, 2011, 11:00 am-2:00 pm
- Where: Arbor Group/UBS Financial, 925 Fourth Avenue, 18th Floor Conference Room, Seattle
- Thanks to Andrews Wells at Nyhus Communications for organizing this event.
Nov
Choosing Alternative Fuel
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Past Events
EnterpriseSeattle and the Washington Clean Technology Alliance:
Choosing an Alternative Fuel — Frequently Un-Asked Questions and the Answers You Need to Know.
- See the KING5 story and video.
- Powerpoint Presentation
- Watch the event below. Mouse over the screen and click the start button.
We automatically think of aspects such as cost, environmental advantages, and energy security, but how do we add up the synergies of infrastructure expense, payload, range, supply chain, fill (or re-charge) time and many other factors?
If you want to get the right (fuel choice) answer, you have to be asking the right (use-case) questions. Come join us for a “Lunch and Learn” co-sponsored by W.C.T.A. and enterpriseSeattle to consider the options that are here today and explore how we can bridge our way to the fuels of the future. At the end of this session, you’ll have a better understanding of how to qualify (or disqualify) various fuels that are vying to become the answer for our nation (or your fleet’s) fueling needs.
About the Speaker: Jeff Stewart (MBA, University of Oregon) is President of Blue Star Gas; a family owned and operated 74-year-old enterprise, which has 13 offices throughout Northern California, Oregon, and now, Washington. Jeff is also past chairman of the National Propane Benchmarking Council and has a broad and deep understanding of alternative fuel options. His even-handed approach to fuel choice questions will make this event a valuable tool for your understanding of alternative fuel use and choice.
Test Drives: The consistent comment heard is, “performance with AutoGas is equal to, or slightly better than, gasoline.” Come see for yourself. Several AutoGas vehicles are available for test-drives and a look under the hood from 10:00 a.m. to 11:50 and again after lunch from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. in the McKinstry garage.
- Where: McKinstry Innovation Center, 210 Hudson St, Seattle, Level 3
- When: November 30, noon-1:30 p.m.
- Cost: $10 for WCTA and enterpriseSeattle members | $15 for non-members | $30 day of the event.
- Register here.
- More information. Map.
Nov
Economic Trends in Energy, Water, and Infrastructure
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Past Events
Washington Clean Technology Alliance Breakfast, Economic Trends in Energy, Water, and Infrastructure: Simon Gottelier (Portfolio Manager, Impax Asset Management, London) and Jason Busch (Pacific Energy Ocean Trust, Portland).
- Simon Gottelier has worked at Impax since 2004, co-managing the Environmental Leaders and Water Strategies and has worked on the Impax World Global Green Fund portfolio since its inception in 2008. Simon joined Pax from Veolia (formerly Vivendi) Environment, where he was a financial analyst. His responsibilities included the analysis and modeling of potential investments and financing issues on the part of the Group’s water businesses. Simon began his career in Investment Banking in 1998 at NM Rothschild and subsequently moved to Deutsche Bank where he provided strategic, M&A and financing advice to European and US clients across a broad range of industrial sub-sectors. He has an honors degree in Modern Languages from the University of Bristol. See Simon’s presentation here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Slides
- Jason Busch is Executive Director, Oregon Wave Energy Trust and a Director of the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust. The Oregon Wave Energy Trust is a nonprofit public-private partnership funded by the Oregon Innovation Council in 2007. Its mission is to serve as a connector for all stakeholders involved in wave energy project development – from research and development to early stage community engagement and final deployment and energy generation – positioning Oregon as the North America leader in this nascent industry and delivering its full economic and environmental potential for the state. OWET’s goal is to have ocean wave energy producing 2 megawatts of power – enough to power about 800 homes – by 2010 and 500 megawatts of power by 2025. See Jason’s presentation here.
- Where: Arbor Group/UBS Financial, 925 Fourth Avenue, 18th Floor Conference Room, Seattle
- When: November 11, 7:30-9:00 a.m.
Nov
Utilities as Customers: Opportunities, Tactics, and Insights
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Past Events
This WCTA program focused on the role of utilities in the energy entrepreneurial process. How can entrepreneurs access and work with utilities as customers, partners, or investors?
Ethan Boardman is the Director of Business Development IDMS for Alstom Grid. He has been involved in the development and delivery of real-time network management systems for transmission and distribution utilities for the past 25 years at ESCA, Cegelec, and Alstom (formerly AREVA). He received his BSEE and MSEE from the University of Washington. Mr. Boardman is an active member of IEC TC57 WG14 focusing upon extensions to the Common Information Model (CIM) for distribution modeling purposes. View Mr. Boardman’s comments: Part 1 (10:00) | Part 2 (10:00) | Part 3 (3:01)- John Clark is a senior executive with over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience establishing, financing, leading, and operating companies. He currently advises and serves on the board of several early stage companies in the telecommunications and software industries. At GridPoint, a smart grid company, he served as EVP, Operations with responsibility for driving operational excellence, from supporting the initial sales process to delivering professional services and support throughout the customer life cycle. He was CEO of V2Green, a leading electric vehicle management company acquired by GridPoint. Previously, Mr. Clark was based in London as the SVP/Managing Director, Europe for TeleCommunication Systems, a provider of infrastructure and services to the wireless telecommunications industry worldwide. He has also served as VP, Operations & Deployment for Xypoint (acquired by TSYS in 2001) and Founder & President of Toll Free Cellular. Mr. Clark holds a degree in computer science and business administration magna cum laude from Western Washington University. View Mr. Clark’s comments: Part 1 (4:21) | Part 2 (10:00)
- Patrick Leslie is the Emerging Technologies Program Manager for Puget Sound Energy and is responsible for evaluating the feasibility, risks and benefits, and market potential for numerous technologies including electric vehicles, solar, energy storage, and fuel cells. Mr. Leslie has worked at PSE for nearly three years, previously performing financial analysis on power plant acquisitions. Before moving to Seattle, Patrick sold and installed solar and wind power systems in the Bahamas. He received his MBA from the UW and his BA in Spanish and Biology from Dartmouth. View Mr. Leslie’s comments.
- Discussion video: Part 1 (10:00) | Part 2 (10:00) | Part 3 (3:42)
Thanks to: Daniela Axinte moderated the panel and Peter Cancelmo of Garvey Schubert Barer organized the event.
Oct
WCTA Breakfast: Turning Waste into Energy
Posted by Tom Ranken | 1 Comment | Categories: Complete Digest, Past Events
Philipp Schmidt-Pathmann (CEO and Founder, WRSI Consulting Group) and Damon M.K. Taam (System Contract Manager, Spokane Regional Solid Waste System). Moderated by David Allen of McKinstry. October 5, 7:30-9:00 am. Philipp and Damon used real life examples, drew comparisons, and identified job potential that a revised waste management infrastructure presents.
Philipp Schmidt-Pathmann, CEO and Founder of WRSI Consulting Group, presented an overview of the waste industry and talked about the economic opportunity that a revised/modernized solid waste management infrastructure presents for Washington and the Pacific Northwest. Philipp’s presentation is here.
Video of Philipp with the slides imbedded, can be seen below. Mouse over the screen and click the start arrow.
Damon Taam, System Contract Manager, Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, talked about a real working financial model: The Waste-to-Energy facility in Spokane. He identifed the economic and environmental benefits that Spokane has experienced and why this could be a suitable solution for West of the Cascades. Damon’s slides can be seen here. Video of Damon’s presentation, with the slides imbedded, can be seen below. Mouse over the screen and click the start arrow.
