2011 October: The Future of Solar
Elaine Hebert
Elaine Hebert has about 13 years of service on the NorCal Solar board. She’s been interested in solar since the late 1970s and started her renewable energy career as a volunteer for Boston’s Urban Solar Energy Association in the early 1980s. Before earning her B.S. degree from University of California/Davis in Environmental and Resource Science, she worked in the wind energy industry and continued to volunteer in solar. In 2005 the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) awarded her the prestigious Rebecca Vories Award for outstanding volunteer efforts supporting ASES’s mission. In 2007, ASES named her an ASES Fellow.
Elaine works at the California Energy Commission and has been there since 1994. Her current position is in the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program, where she manages contracted research work in zero energy homes and sustainable communities. In her spare time she renovates a 1910 Victorian house to be as “green” as possible.
Patrick McCoy
Patrick McCoy is a Program Planner for the solar PV incentive programs with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. His responsibilities include program planning for the commercial and residential retrofit markets with a program goal of installing 125 MW by 2016. Prior to joining SMUD, Patrick was a Program Manager for the California Department of General Services’ Solar Power Purchase Program. With over sixteen years of experience in the energy industry, Patrick has developed a broad base of energy experience and expertise, including the natural gas industry, the electricity industry, the energy efficiency and conservation industry, and the distributed generation industry. Past projects include 1.8 MW of cogeneration systems installed at several DGS facilities, 4.25 MW of solar PV systems utilizing third party power purchase agreements, and several multi-million dollar energy efficiency projects.
He also developed additional solar PV power generation projects at numerous state and CSU facilities, totaling 16 MW with a number of projects currently under or completing construction, as well as evaluating wind power, fuel cell and biomass energy generating technologies. Prior to leaving the state Patrick developed and launched a procurement program for the purchase of large commercial stationary fuel cell generated energy under a third party power purchase agreement business model. Patrick has a Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from California State University, Sacramento, and a Masters in Business Administration from the Graduate School of Management, University of California, Davis.
Jamie Cutlip
Jamie is an Associate Planner and Certified Green Building Professional (CGBP) TM with the City of Sacramento’s Long Range Planning Division. Her expertise extends from permitting and entitlement review to sustainability program management and policy development with emphasis in green building, solar permitting and infill development. Jamie also serves as Energy Committee staff for Mayor Kevin Johnson’s Greenwise Initiative and program manager for the City of Sacramento’s Solar America Cities grant award from the Federal Department of Energy.
With over 10 years of experience within the government and nonprofits sectors, Jamie has an extensive background in community planning, economic development and environmental advocacy. Prior to joining the City of Sacramento, she had worked with several nonprofits including Sonoma County Conservation Action, Bay Area Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC), Urban Solutions and Greenbelt Alliance in San Francisco. Jamie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies from San Francisco State University.