WEBINAR

SAVE ROOFTOP SOLAR TO SAVE DESERT LANDS

Thursday, November 18, 2021
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Register to attend: info@desertcoalition.org

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Join the California Desert Coalition, Clean Coalition, Rábago Energy LLC and The Climate Center on Thursday, November 18th from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to learn more about how you can help decide our local energy future to benefit the health of our desert communities,  economy, and environment.

Our panel of experts will describe how each of us can strengthen state policies to promote rooftop solar and battery storage while protecting our spectacular natural lands by taking action now.

Resources:

Speakers:

Rosana Francescato, Clean Coalition

Prior to joining the Clean Coalition, Rosana was Communications Director for Sunible, an online solar marketplace, and for MyDomino, an energy savings concierge service. In over 14 years at Adobe Systems, Rosana held senior technical editing and project management positions. She has written extensively on clean energy for publications like CleanTechnica, PV Solar Report, pv magazine, and Energy Central. While on the steering committee of the Local Clean Energy Alliance, Rosana helped evaluate shared renewables legislation in California. She has served on the boards of several clean energy nonprofits and volunteers installing solar with GRID Alternatives. Rosana holds a BA in English from Earlham College in Indiana.

Karl R. Rábago, Rábago Energy LLC 

Karl R. Rábago operates an energy consultancy as Rábago Energy LLC, based in Denver, Colorado. Karl recently led the Pace Energy and Climate Center, at the Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law in White Plains, New York, where he also taught energy law. Karl has 30 years of experience in energy and climate policy and markets and is recognized as an innovator in utility regulatory issues relating to clean and distributed energy services and technologies. Rábago is a frequent author on electricity industry issues and has provided testimony as an expert witness in more than 100 electric and gas utility regulatory proceedings. Karl serves as Chair of the Board of the Center for Resource Solutions, a San Franciscobased non-governmental organization that manages the Green-e Certification program for green power products, and on the Board of Solar United Neighbors. Rábago has been a Commissioner on the Texas Public Utility Commission; a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Energy; Vice President of Distributed Energy Services at Austin Energy; Director of Regulatory Affairs for the AES Corporation and AES Wind; Managing Director & Principal of the Rocky Mountain Institute; and Energy Program Manager for the Environmental Defense Fund. While on active duty in the US Army, Karl served as an Armored Cavalry officer, as a Judge Advocate, and as assistant professor of law at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY. Karl is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Business Management. He earned a Juris Doctorate (Honors) from the University of Texas, and hold Master of Laws degrees in environmental law and military law from Pace Law School and the US Army Judge Advocate General’s School.

Kurt Johnson, The Climate Center

Kurt began working at the Center in 2019. He previously founded and directed a renewable energy project development consulting firm, bringing new projects online ranging from 8 kW to 8 MW. Kurt also founded a small hydropower trade association where he lobbied successfully for regulatory reform before Congress and the Colorado legislature. Kurt also worked in the solar industry for Recurrent Energy and also for the California Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco. Kurt worked at the U.S. EPA for eleven years where he founded the EPA renewable energy program, the Green Power Partnership. Kurt started his career in 1991 working on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC as a Legislative Assistant for U.S. Rep. Richard Swett (D-NH). Kurt holds an MS in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Johns Hopkins University and an MA and BA from Stanford University.

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Why it Matters

The California Energy Commission (CEC) estimates are truly staggering – the state will need three times as much rooftop solar as in 2019 and about one million acres of land for utility-scale wind and solar projects over the next 25 years to meet clean energy targets under Senate Bill 100 (SB 100).  

More rooftop solar means more landscapes can be preserved and protected.

  • The more we meet this need using rooftop solar, battery storage, and energy saving measures, the less wild landscapes will bear the brunt of energy development.
  • Rooftop solar and battery storage are also important tools for achieving energy democracy, keeping local money in local hands, and reducing overall costs for ratepayers who don’t (yet) have solar.
  • Rooftop solar also reduces the need for costly investments in the grid such as increased transmission and distribution as well as capacity investments, saving ratepayers billions of dollars in the coming decade.

The electric grid is a critical part of this picture, and our speakers will discuss the current issues in electrical transmission, including how Transmission Access Charges (TAC) create market distortions that affect ratepayers and create barriers for the adoption of local renewable energy sources like rooftop solar and battery storage.

What’s wrong with Transmission Access Charges

Register to attend this conversation by emailing info@desertcoalition.org by Wednesday November 17th at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. We will send out Zoom access information thereafter.

As always, our workshops are free of charge. We are able to do this thanks to the generosity of our speakers and our wonderful donors. Whether you can give $15 or $50, every contribution makes a direct impact on the programming and resources we offer to the community. Visit our new website to support our work and GIVE TODAY.

Watch the webinar: