What are we doing?

Building on Silicon Valley’s history of innovation, Joint Venture is working with business, government, academia, labor and the community to encourage the growth of our clean and green industries as they simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  The strategy for this initiative – The Greenprint for Silicon Valley –provides the framework for a plan of action to insure that Silicon Valley is the leader in the clean energy revolution that will meet our current economic, environmental and energy challenges.  The Climate Prosperity Initiative focuses on four areas based on the California Global Warming Solutions Act and the opportunity to leverage local resources: renewable energy, building efficiency, clean, convenient transportation and green infrastructure.

This effort is currently focused on the following project areas:

• Accelerate improved energy efficiency in existing buildings
• Explore funding mechanisms to finance carbon abatement technologies
• Identify impediments to the adoption of renewable energy technologies
• Grow the energy storage industry in Silicon Valley
• Grow the smart grid industry and create a large scale demonstration site for the smart grid in Silicon Valley

Why are we doing it?

The fact that our climate is changing is widely recognized as scientifically proven. Emission targets and renewable portfolio standards have already been established to combat climate change.  The goal of the Climate Prosperity Initiative is to develop a road map showing how Silicon Valley can achieve these standards. We believe that protecting the environment can be an economic driver for the region.

In Silicon Valley, we have a unique advantage.  We both produce and consume the technologies, products and services needed to achieve Climate Prosperity.  Our strategy is to stimulate local demand for clean and green technology and supply those solutions to global markets.  Silicon Valley is uniquely prepared for this challenge.  The region has been at the forefront of information technology and biotechnology innovation. This experience uniquely positions Silicon Valley to be the leader in clean technology innovation.  We have supportive public policies, the venture capital community, research programs and a talented workforce.

Achieving Climate Prosperity has significant benefits for Silicon Valley:

• More energy efficient homes and cars mean less money spent on energy and more disposable income that is likely to stay in the community.
• Adding solar and other renewable energy sources on local homes and offices accomplishes important energy goals, expands a newly emerging sector, and stimulates the local economy.
• Retrofitting homes and offices to be more energy efficient creates new jobs for construction workers, energy auditors, efficiency monitoring tools, network installers, and manufacturers of products ranging from temperature sensors to building components made from sustainable materials.
• Our ongoing search for transportation alternatives reduces our use of fossil fuels, cleans up the air, and has important lifestyle and health benefits.
• Livable, walkable, sustainable communities are more appealing to the rising generation of talent that we need to locate here.
• Progress on all these fronts helps California achieve its goal of reducing emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.

Who’s involved?

The Climate Prosperity Council is composed of leading minds from all aspects of the clean technology sector in Silicon Valley. It is chaired by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Chris DiGiorgio, California Managing Director of Accenture, who also serve as co-chairs of the Joint Venture board.  Council members include:

• Chuck Reed, City of San José – Co-Chair
• Chris DiGiorgio, Accenture – Co-Chair
• Mark Bauhaus, Juniper Networks
  
• Bill Berry, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Jack Bolick, Adura Technologies
• Barry Cinnamon, Akeena Solar
• Ben Foster, Optony
• Charlie Gay, Applied Materials Inc.
• Todd Glass, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich Rosati
• Carl Guardino, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
• Don Hall, Pacific Gas & Electric
  
• Russell Hancock, Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network
• David Knapp, City of Cupertino and Santa Clara County City Managers Association
• David MacMillan, MegaWatt Storage Farms
  
• Michael Marlaire, NASA Ames Research Park
• Tom McCalmont, McCalmont Engineering
• Rick Needham, Google
• Mark Patel, McKinsey & Company
  
• Bobby Ram, SunPower
• Harry Sim, Cypress Envirosystems
• Sven Thesen, Better Place
• Tim Walsh, Silicon Valley Bank
  

What are the latest developments?

The Climate Prosperity Initiative was launched in early 2009 and is funded by a generous grant from leading solar and semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials.  The Climate Prosperity Council was then assembled and a team was hired to spearhead the initiative. On April 24, the Climate Prosperity Council met for the first time at Cypress Envirosystems and identified its first five project areas. The Council continues to meet quarterly. In June, Kelly Krpata and Rachel Massaro were hired as Director and Associate Director, respectively, of Climate Prosperity.

On June 30, 2009 we convened a Summit of Silicon Valley Mayors to discuss our Valley’s ability to capitalize on the next wave of innovation - clean technology.

On August 6, 2009 Joint Venture and a consortium of local organizations submitted an application to the Department of Energy (DoE) for $9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) funds for a project aimed at retrofitting existing commercial buildings to enable auto-demand response (Auto-DR). An additional cost-sharing application was submitted to the California Energy Commission (CEC) for $1 million.

On January 20, 2010 we held the first annual Silicon Valley Energy Storage Symposium & Technology Showcase.  More information about Joint Venture's Energy Storage Initiative is available here.

On January 29, 2010, we co-hosted an event with Alston & Bird and Exponent on The Intersection of Smart Grid Technology and Intellectual Property Issues.  Presentation materials from the event are available here.

On April 19, 2010, we convened the Silicon Valley Cleantech Funding Roundtable to examine a variety of bottlenecks now slowing funding in the clean technology lifespan from technology conception to mass commercialization.  Nearly three dozen thought leaders from the Climate Prosperity Council and the regional finance community gathered to discuss innovative and sustainable cleantech funding mechanisms.

What are the next steps?

We are working vigorously to launch specific events and programs in each of our project areas.  As progress is made each of these areas, we will add additional areas of focus to keep Silicon Valley at the forefront of the clean technology revolution.  It is our goal to bring together leaders from business, government, academia, labor and community organizations on a regular basis to discuss best practices and to and implement change.  To this end, these are the next steps currently in the works:

• Silicon Valley Cleantech Policy Summit - We are organizing a review of the current clean tech policy landscape and planning a summit to determine policy and procedure changes needed at the local and state levels to drive the  implementation of clean technology products and services.
• Develop a Microgrid or Premium Power Park in Silicon Valley - Silicon Valley is the leader in developing clean technology products and should also be a "Center of Excellence" for installing these products.  We are working with several local companies to become industry leaders in power use. 
  
• Silicon Valley Mayors and City Managers Summit - We are holding the first gathering of the mayors and city managers from all of the Silicon Valley cities and towns on June 9.
  
• Climate Prosperity Council Meeting – On July 23, the Climate Prosperity Council will hold its next quarterly meeting.

To learn more about the initiative, contact: Kelly Krpata: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or Rachel Massaro: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .