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The Current - September 2012 | Maryland Clean Energy Center

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News & Events » The Current - September 2012

The Current - September 2012Articles In This Issue:

● MCEC forms Innovation Network to foster clean tech

● Summit explores game-changing technologies and business models in the clean energy sector

● MCEC celebrates clean energy champions

● Woolf leaves MEA to tackle energy policies nationwide

● The Other Green: Extracting top profits from energy efficiency projects

● The Brick Companies converts entire Maryland portfolio to 100 Percent WGES CleanSteps WindPower

● Clean Energy Events Calendar

MCEC forms Innovation Network to foster clean tech

The Maryland Clean Energy Center is aiming to turn clean energy into one of Maryland’s top four economic

opportunity sectors within five years.

The MCEC Innovation Network in Cleantech (MCEC, INC.) initiative gained momentum this year to tackle a key,

industry problem:

“The clean energy sector in Maryland is growing, but it occurs in ‘local pockets’ around the state, which are

frequently not coordinated with nor connected to each other. As a result, it is often difficult to achieve the critical

mass necessary to sufficiently attract investors and customers, and to identify and facilitate partnerships and joint

venture opportunities,” states an executive summary for MCEC, INC.


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The newly formed network plans to create a statewide clean energy ecosystem that will support entrepreneurial

innovation and cleantech commercialization.

MCEC Board Member Jill Sorensen

Jill Sorensen, a MCEC board member and Chair of

the MCEC, INC planning group, said the network

essentially will function as a virtual incubator. By

forging partnerships with Maryland’s abundant

array of business incubators, universities, research

facilities, government agencies, industry groups

and individual entrepreneurs and investors, MCEC,

INC. will provide mentorship, networking and

business incubation to clean energy innovators.

Operating through an online portal, MCEC, INC will help those innovators connect with key resources and experts

so they can master prototyping, testing, scalability, light manufacturing, exporting, securing key advisors, and

attracting investors.

"We need to pump more fuel into statewide clean energy capacity build so that as many incubators, emerging

technologies and cleantech companies as possible will benefit," Sorensen said. "We believe we can stage virtual

incubation, real networking and resources for folks interested in sustainability and clean energy projects across the

state."

MCEC, INC, she added, will serve a broad universe of individuals at various stages of growing clean technology

businesses, including those focused on technology that advances clean energy, clean water, clean air and other

sustainable business offerings.

Organizers currently are working to raise both operational funds for MCEC, INC and an investment fund to support

cleantech innovators.

The Maryland Energy Administration has offered to fund one-third of MCEC, INC.’s first two years of operations if

the network can raise the remaining funds ($200,000) needed for operations.



MCEC, INC which already has partnered with TEDCO and DBED, also is looking to establish a $10-million

investment fund both to advance cleantech businesses and to draw additional investor attention to the clean energy

sector.

"Clean energy is a really important emerging technology sector in Maryland," Sorensen said. "The Innovation

Network in Cleantech has a vision of establishing the clean energy sector as one of the top emerging tech sectors in

Maryland within five years, along with biotech, IT and cyber security."

Organizers of MCEC, INC expect to create the network’s portal and begin operations before the end of the year. For

more information about MCEC, INC., please contact Jill Sorensen at [email protected].

BACK TO THE TOP

Summit explores game-changing technologies and business models in

the clean energy sector

Entrepreneurs, innovators, ground-breaking researchers, financiers,

regulators, elected officials, lobbyists and other key individuals in the

clean energy sector gathered September 17-19 for the third annual

Maryland Clean Energy Summit.

Focused on the theme “Making the Energy Technology Connection,”

this year’s summit featured top-level discussions of powerful new

systems and game-changing technologies in the energy sector. Those

included:

● information technology that enables companies to conduct detailed tracking of grid performance, energy http://mdcleanenergy.org/news_and_events/thecurrent-september2012 (4 of 15)10/1/2012 11:04:02 AM

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demands, market conditions, production at renewable sites, and individual equipment malfunctions;

● new systems for converting municipal waste, algae, chicken litter and other organics into clean energy;

● technologies and business/regulatory models that tap the power of micro grids, district energy systems and

community energy projects;

● financial systems that enable everything from residential solar, geothermal and wood-energy systems to

industrial and grid-scale clean energy installations;

● nano steel which could significantly lower the weight of cars and boost fuel efficiency; and

● the holy grail of the clean energy sector - highly efficient and affordable energy storage technologies.

For entrepreneurs and innovators in the clean

energy sector, the 2012 Maryland Clean Energy

Summit proved to be a valuable source of insights,

connections and opportunities.

Kathy Magruder, executive director of the Maryland

Clean Energy Center, said, “We were delighted to

have had 342 registered attendees this year, and

the content of the plenary and breakout sessions

was very high caliber. I am always pleased to hear about the outcomes of networking opportunities that result from

the Summit and expect this year will be better than ever.”

Marta Newhart, vice president of marketing, communications and investor relations at Suntricity Cells, said, “I have

attended upwards of 100 trade shows in my career and yours was one of the best organized and well developed. I

look forward to next year.”

Dr. Ory Zik - founder and CEO of Energy Points and a panelist in the “Using Energy Data and Analytics to Drive

Continuous Energy Savings in Commercial Facilities” discussion - called the Summit “a great conference. I am

happy to have the chance to sponsor part of it.”

Peter Gardett, managing editor of AOL Energy, said his panel of natural gas experts proved to be extremely sharp

as they debated the greenhouse gas impact, economic potential, environmental concerns, technological needs,

regulatory issues and other aspects of hydraulic fracturing.



Like many participants, Richard Rogers, vice president of Stellar Solutions, was impressed by the depth and breadth

of expert information presented at breakout sessions, such as the session on “The Magic of the Microgrid,” and

intended to follow up on information and opportunities presented.

The 2012 Maryland Clean Energy Summit

attracted a delegation from Bulgaria. Bulgaria is

moving towards adopting renewable energy

technologies, especially waste-to-energy plants.

Participants in the Maryland Clean Energy Summit

can access Summit presentations online the

Summit website - www.mcecsummit.org/2012.

Simply click on the “Speaker Bios” tab, then click

on the name of the desired speaker to access his/

her Power Point presentations.

The 2012 Maryland Clean Energy Summit also

demonstrated the growth of the state’s clean

energy sector.

Dan Utech, deputy director for the White House

Domestic Policy Council and a keynote speaker at

the Maryland Clean Energy Summit, noted that technological advances have helped the clean energy sector

experience growth in recent years.

For example, the U.S. constituted one of the largest and fastest growing wind markets in the world in 2011.

Americans installed 6.8 gigawatts of new wind energy capacity, a $14-billion investment. Nearly 70 percent of the

equipment installed came from domestic manufacturers, up from 35 percent in 2005.

“We believe the future for clean energy has never been brighter,” Utech said. “Maryland is truly a clean energy

leader.”

Bill Van Hoene, senior executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Exelon, said the Exelon-Constellation

merger “will serve as a catalyst for a wide range of [clean] energy initiatives.”

Under the terms of the merger, Exelon will install 30 megawatts of solar capacity in Maryland and 125 megawatts of



Tier 1 renewables, invest $32 million in offshore wind research and more than $100 million in energy efficiency

initiatives. It will also create an incubator for clean energy development and innovation at its new headquarters in

Baltimore.

BACK TO THE TOP

MCEC celebrates clean energy champions

MCEC honored leaders in the state's clean energy sector during the Maryland Clean Energy Summit.

Winners of the 2012 Maryland Clean Energy

Awards have spearheaded multi-million-dollar

energy efficiency efforts, pioneered new waste-to-

energy technologies, persuaded legislators to

support geothermal and solar thermal systems,

propelled the development of major solar projects,

and, in numerous other ways, driven the growth of

Maryland's clean energy economy.

The 2012 winners are:

● Clean Energy Champion of the Year: Joan Kowal, University of Maryland

● Advocacy: Brian Toll, Founder and President of ecobeco

● Industry Leadership: Angela Visintainer and Dion Banks, Cambridge Environmental Technologies

● Bright Light Award: Eric Coffman, Montgomery County

● Partnership: The Non-Profit Energy Alliance

● Entrepreneur of the Year: Craig Stuart-Paul, Fiberight



● Legislative Leadership: Senator Paul Pinsky

● Legislative Leadership: Delegate Sally Jameson

● Special Recognition: Jack Neil, Jack Neil and Associates

BACK TO THE TOP

Woolf leaves MEA to tackle energy policies nationwide

After five years as director of the Maryland Energy Administration, Malcolm Woolf left the agency in September to

spearhead policy and regulatory efforts by a new, national association for energy businesses.

Woolf led the MEA through a period of major advances for Maryland's clean energy sector. They included:

We talked with Woolf about his past and future work in the clean energy sector.

MCEC: What is your new position going to be?

Woolf: I am joining the Advanced Energy

Economy as their vice president of government and

regulatory affairs. They are a new startup business

association designed to promote all forms of

advanced energy solutions. It is technology neutral.

We need an umbrella organization that can speak

for all forms of new, advanced technologies. We

also need to work on a state-by-state basis

because there is no such thing as a national energy

policy. So AEE is forming chapters in all 50 states and hope to be an advanced energy chamber of commerce to

advocate both at the state level and the federal level.http://mdcleanenergy.org/news_and_events/thecurrent-september2012 (8 of 15)10/1/2012 11:04:02 AM


MCEC: With government and regulatory affairs, what do you expect will be the top issues you will be dealing with?

Woolf: I am going to have the ability to work at both the federal and the state level. At the federal level, the tax

uncertainty with the expiring production tax credit and the investment tax credit are issues that affect all forms of

clean energy.

Then at the state level, there are all sorts of innovations that are occurring in various states which hopefully we will

be able to transport to other areas. For example, Maryland has MCEC's MHELP program where we leveraged $15

million in private capital to lend out to citizens. That is a model that we can share with other states.

MCEC: How important is it to have this kind of a specialized organization at this point in the industry's history?

Woolf: I think it is critical at this stage in the clean energy economy. The market does not yet fully internalize the

benefits of clean energy and you need governmental policies to push the transition. If there are not entities that are

engaging with the state legislatures and the state public service commissions, then the business models aren't going

to be effective and the jobs aren't going to be created and our energy is going to remain mired in the past instead of

creating a new, enhanced energy future.

MCEC: You have headed MEA during such an interesting period. What do you see as being the biggest thing you

have accomplished over the last few years?

Woolf: I think the single biggest thing we have accomplished is to change the conversation. By focusing on

affordable, reliable, clean energy and how we can take control of our energy future to drive that result, I think the

conversation in Maryland is different. We are actively looking to create our own future rather than just hoping that

the market leads us to a good place. I think that is a real accomplishment.

MCEC: What is the biggest challenge you have dealt with?

Woolf: The flip side of trying to create our own future is, with our current market structure, there is nobody steering

the ship. So we can do energy plans, but no entity - not the General Assembly, not the Public Service Commission,

not the utilities, none of them - are accountable for implementing a plan. That has left us at the mercy of the market



in ways that private companies benefit but consumers do not.

MCEC: Is there a section of the clean energy sector in Maryland that you think has great potential but hasn't gotten

over a hurdle yet?

Woolf: Without hesitation, the energy efficiency sector has huge, unrealized potential. Maryland has 2.1 million

households. If every household has an energy makeover once a decade, that would be 210,000 energy makeovers

a year. Right now, we do several thousand a year. I think that market has the potential to explode if we could find

the right economic incentives to encourage homeowners to save themselves money. Despite that potential, the

energy efficiency sector is not organized. The large businesses who do energy performance contracting, are not

linked with the private home performance residential contractors who are not linked to the weatherization industry or

the manufacturers. I think if they could get together and speak as a single industry on behalf of energy efficiency,

they could drive policies that would dramatically expand the market in Maryland.

MCEC: Overall, how well do you think the clean energy sector has grown in Maryland and what do you see for its

future?

Woolf: I think we laid a great foundation. We have the core policy building blocks in place with the energy

efficiency statute, the renewable statute, and the greenhouse gas statute. That has lead to a growing market. But we

haven't yet gotten to the next level. We need to complement the consumer market with a manufacturing base and

the third pillar is academics. They are mutually reinforcing.

BACK TO THE TOP

The Other Green: Extracting top profits from energy efficiency projects

Shannon Sentman has a simple, blunt approach to convincing clients to invest in energy efficiency and

environmental improvements: Show them the money.



Sentman - cofounder, principal and chief strategist of Sol Vista in Silver Spring - built his company around the

"seemingly incompatible considerations of environment and capitalism."

A real estate lawyer who previously channelled his passion for the environment into advancing green building

policies, Sentman believed that owners of commercial buildings could reduce operational waste through energy

efficiency, water conservation and other green measures that would also deliver quick and significant financial

benefits.

A variety of building professionals at Sol Vista

assess clients' commercial buildings to identify

sources of waste and best opportunities to optimize

performance. Sol Vista then runs that data through

"currency filters" that assess the cost and likely

return on investment for each efficiency project.

"If owners have a poorly performing building from

an engineering standpoint, that doesn't mean anything to them unless they know what it means in dollars. And

frankly, most engineering shops don't put dollars on these things," Sentman said. "We show clients what will

generate a good return on investment, then the sell is pretty easy for us."

In just three years, Sol Vista attracted clients across the country, mostly asset managers for real estate investment

funds. Together, they manage more than 7 million square feet of commercial space, 6,000 hotel guest rooms, and

assorted high-end hotels, including Hotel Monaco DC, The Viceroy Miami, Mondrian Hotel Los Angeles, The

Benjamin New York, and The Grand Hotel Minneapolis.

Resource and financial savings from Sol Vista's projects have proven to be significant.

Hotel Monaco which won a 2012 Mayor's Sustainability Award, reduced its water use by nearly 68 percent, its

energy use by 26 percent, its greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent, and its utility costs by more than 32 percent.

Sol Vista enabled The Bernstein Companies to leverage a $25,000 investment in efficiency measures at 19 hotels

into annual savings of $300,000 and an ROI of 1,420 percent.



"This is capitalism at work," Sentman said. "In the real estate world, there are a lot of opportunities to make buildings

a lot more profitable and you just happen to make them greener in the process."

Sol Vista also developed a proprietary building performance management system, the My Vista Building Intelligence

Suite, to optimize efficiencies over the long term.

"You see a constant energy drift happen with buildings," Sentman said.

That drift can be caused by aging equipment, changing use patterns, broken utility meters, incompletely trained staff

or numerous other factors. My Vista, he said, can promptly identify and address performance issues.

"Just like a car needs to be tuned up every now and again, a building needs a tuneup every now and again too," he

said. "Otherwise, perfectly efficient systems will become less and less efficient as time goes on."

BACK TO THE TOP

The Brick Companies converts entire Maryland portfolio to 100 Percent

WGES CleanSteps WindPower

The Brick Companies announced September 26th that all of its properties in Maryland, including six

commercial buildings, two golf clubs and two marinas are now powered by 100 percent CleanSteps®

WindPower from Washington Gas Energy Services (WGES). The purchase of approximately 11.6

million kWh of WGES wind power will help reduce greenhouse gases and is equivalent to taking more than 1,500

cars off the road for one year.

“Committing to purchase 100 percent of our electricity from wind power provides an economic benefit based on our

historic energy costs and represents another step toward our goal of being a leader in environmental stewardship,”

said Lex Birney, CEO of The Brick Companies. “This means that our employees, tenants and customers can be



assured that by supporting us, they are also supporting green resources and clean energy.”

Commercial properties within The Brick Companies’ Maryland portfolio include Montrose West in Rockville;

Lakefront at Washingtonian in Gaithersburg; 600 Washington Avenue in Towson; The Brick Companies Center in

Edgewater; The Union Box Building in Baltimore; and the Lusby Center in Lusby. The Brick Companies also owns

Atlantic Marina Resort and Atlantic Marina on the Magothy in Pasadena; The Golf Club at South River in Edgewater;

and Queenstown Harbor on the Eastern Shore.

In 2011, total customer purchases of WGES CleanSteps® WindPower have helped prevent 1.2 billion pounds of

carbon dioxide from entering the environment, equivalent to taking more than 105,000 cars off the road for one year.

Harry Warren, President of WGES, said, “As a leading competitive energy provider, we are committed to offering

customers options that include green products. It is rewarding to partner with businesses such as The Brick

Companies who recognize that their choice of alternative energy products can produce a substantial and positive

impact on our environment.” Under Maryland law, businesses and residents can shop for electricity and natural gas

commodities from competing energy suppliers. As of June 2012, more than 534,000 residential and business

consumers combined in Maryland are taking competitive electric supply and exercising their right to energy choice.

BACK TO THE TOP

Clean Energy Events Calendar

Clean Tech Open Mid-Atlantic Awards

The Clean Tech Open Mid-Atlantic will host its first awards ceremony for regional finalists Tuesday, October 10th.

Hosted by Patton Boggs LLP in Washington, the evening will feature a keynote address by Vice Admiral Dennis

McGinn, president of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), the awards presentation, and an

opportunity to network with clean tech leaders and stakeholders.



For additional information or to register, please go to the event site.

Maryland Entrepreneur Expo 2012

Imagine 500+ attendees at a conference both shining a light on successful entrepreneurs in Maryland and our

region, and imparting much needed information and tools for entrepreneurs in a not-so-familiar way.

On November 13, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation will host the Maryland Entrepreneur Expo

2012 at the BWI Airport Marriott. The full-day event will feature:

This event is suitable for beginner to advanced entrepreneurs, as well as youth entrepreneurs.

For full details, go to the Maryland Entrepreneur Expo 2012 web page.

Accelerating Wood Energy in Maryland

The Maryland Wood Energy Coalition will host a one-day conference about public policies, environmental issues

and economic opportunities surrounding wood energy on November 14.

The conference in Annapolis will include discussions of:

For additional information about attending or sponsoring the conference, please contact Pam Thomas at

[email protected].

SOLAR 2013

SOLAR 2013 - the 42nd annual conference of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) - will be held at the

Baltimore Convention Center, April 16-20, 2013.

This is a premier event in the nation's solar industry. The 2012 conference featured addresses by U.S. Secretary of

Energy Dr. Steven Chu and National Renewable Energy Laboratory Director Dan E. Arvizu.


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In preparation for the 2013 conference, the ASES is seeking support in three areas: individuals to present papers

and forums, potential event sponsors, and companies to exhibit at the conference.

For additional information about SOLAR 2013, please go to http://ases.org/solar2013/

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