Oakland based Sungevity, a fast  growing residential solar company, today announced Paul Stroube as its Chief Information Officer (CIO). Stroube will report directly to Sungevity Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Birch, and is charged with further developing the company’s information systems that power its unique and easy online “iQuote” process.  Stroube was most recently general manager of the online gamer community, Xfire, and is the third key leadership hire in as many months for Sungevity. In February, the company announced Mack Irvin, formerly of SunPower Corp., as Chief Financial Officer, and in March, social media guru, Patrick Crane, formerly of LinkedIn, joined the company as Chief Marketing Officer. In the past 12 months, Sungevity has nearly tripled in size and now employs more than 150 people to support the company’s rapid growth.

“Like Mack and Patrick, Paul brings a wealth of knowledge to our rapidly growing company,” said Birch. “Paul’s experience building highly scalable systems and interactive online tools will enable us to further advance our industry leading customer experience and expand our solar social network.” Stroube has more than two decades of experience in consumer Internet software development.  Stroube oversaw technology, operations and monetization at Xfire, an online community connecting over 10 million gamers around the globe.  Prior to Xfire, Stroube served as Vice President, Web Engineering and Production at Ask Jeeves/Ask.com, the number one brand for answering questions online with more than 90 million monthly users. He also worked in management roles at IGT/WagerWorks.

“Sungevity has built a growing community of smart homeowners that are saving money on their electricity bills,” said Stroube. “By improving upon our customers’ experience, adding data, and introducing new social media tools, we can grow this network even further, particularly as we prepare to formally launch our services on the East Coast.”Danny Kennedy is the founder of Sungevity.

WALK THROUGH A GREEN DOOR

New Jersey-based Trinity Solar, New Jersey’s largest solar energy provider and named by NJBIZ as the 26th fastest growing company in the state, has reached a major milestone with its 2,000th solar electric installation – nearly double the number of any other solar provider serving the Garden State. This is a landmark achievement not only because of the sheer quantity of systems Trinity has installed, but also because Trinity has firmly established itself as the preferred solar provider in New Jersey.

“We’ve seen a substantial uptick,” reports Ed Merrick, Trinity’s Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “We’ve grown our installation base to over 150 per month, with the majority of our systems being installed in New Jersey. The state is embracing solar power.” Trinity also serves customers in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. Merrick credits several factors for the surge in interest in Trinity, starting with substantial savings. According to Merrick, residential customers are first excited to learn that generating their own power via solar panels can save them up to $2,000 annually on their electric bill.

Next comes the realization that solar buildings can produce income – in most cases thousands of dollars a year – when owners sell energy credits back to utilities. Finally, Trinity Solar offers multiple financing options that eliminate the start-up fees that once deterred clients.  With Trinity, home or business owners are able to go solar at a greatly reduced cost and immediately reap the rewards of a lower energy bill.

JERSEY SHORE

DRIVE ELECTRIC VEHICLES

SunPower Corporation sponsor of the 250-megawatt (AC) California Valley Solar Ranch power plant, announced today the project has been offered support via a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $1.187 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). California Valley Solar Ranch is expected to create 350 jobs during construction, will power approximately 100,000 homes, and will be one of the largest photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants in the world, when complete.

NRG Solar, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. will assume all ownership and financing responsibilities for the project, subject to certain conditions. SunPower will design, build, and initially operate and maintain the solar power plant.Construction is expected to start in the second half of 2011, contingent on permitting and financing, with a portion of the project expected to begin operations by the end of 2011 and the balance coming on line in 2012 and 2013. “The offer of a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee from the DOE’s Loan Programs Office is a significant milestone for this project, which will make a substantial contribution to California’s effort to generate 33 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020,” said Tom Doyle, president of NRG Solar. “In addition to creating hundreds of jobs and displacing carbon dioxide emissions, the California Valley Solar Ranch will demonstrate photovoltaic technology at a large scale.”

“With this loan guarantee, San Luis Obispo County is one step closer to benefiting from more than $315 million of economic development from the California Valley Solar Ranch, while protecting thousands of acres of local habitat,” said Howard Wenger, president of the utility and power plants business group at SunPower. “The Department of Energy is driving innovative technology deployment to reduce the cost of central station solar power plants. Together with NRG, this is a transformative investment that the federal government can uniquely deliver to nurture innovation, create immediate jobs and stimulate the economy.”  The DOE Loan Programs Office was designed to accelerate the domestic commercial deployment of innovative and advanced clean energy technologies at a scale sufficient to contribute meaningfully to the achievement of national clean energy objectives, including job creation and reducing dependency on foreign oil.

UPDATED EVENTS

Jobs for the Future (JFF) today released three new publications examining innovative ways community colleges are serving their students, communities, and emerging workforce needs. JFF develops, implements, and promotes new education and workforce strategies that help communities, states, and the nation compete in a global economy. In more than 200 communities across 43 states, JFF improves the pathways leading from high school to college to family-sustaining careers.

Informed by research from the MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Award program and other JFF initiatives, the briefs highlight effective examples of preparation in mathematics and for careers in health care and the green economy. Each offers new perspectives on the issue of college and career readiness. “Across the nation, community colleges are leaders in providing educational and career opportunities for students of all ages and supporting local economic development,” said Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. “The profiles of innovation in these publications provide good news for students and the future of America’s workforce.”

“Community colleges are instrumental in preparing, retraining, and reenergizing the U.S. workforce for the 21st century,” said Marlene B. Seltzer, president and CEO of Jobs for the Future. “The colleges featured in these briefs provide prime examples of creative solutions that specifically address community-based challenges.” The report highlights community colleges development in developmental math healthcare training and going green. The emerging and expanding green economy has the potential to create not just jobs, but career opportunities across the United States as green manufacturing, products, and services fuel demand for workers at all skill levels. Community colleges are leading the way in defining and addressing these opportunities, developing programs in expanding fields from solar energy to green construction; creating new and better training programs for green jobs; and developing educational pathways that lead to the Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees that are key for advancing in these emerging careers.

GREEN WEBINARS