AgEE program offers energy efficiency resources Merced County farmers

Agriculture is a huge economic engine for the San Joaquin Valley, with annual gross production values in excess of $25 billion dollars. As with all industries, to be sustainable and remain economically profitable, it is becoming increasingly important for farming operations to find ways to reduce energy consumption, costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The new Agricultural Energy Efficiency (AgEE) Internship Program will provide a strategic energy resource for agricultural operations in Merced County. 

The program, which kicked off in April, is offered through a partnership with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the Great Valley Center (GVC).

The goal of the initiative is to provide information and technical assistance to local farmers on energy efficient solutions that may help to reduce energy costs, improve sustainable practices, and build capacity within Central Valley communities.

Five college interns have been hired – four are University of California, Merced students and one is a student from Merced College. The interns are being trained to augment the work being performed by PG&E’s Energy Solutions and Service  team.  Duties will include building relationships with agricultural customers while matching available resources with each customer's operational needs.

Major objectives of the program include promoting energy efficiency, building local presence, workforce development, and fostering a long term relationship between the utility and its customers.

“In order for energy efficiency and climate action to take shape on a regional scale, a broad cross section of community stakeholders must be involved in crafting solutions to preserve the Central Valley,” said Bryce Dias, the program manager who oversees the AgEE program and GVC’s other energy and climate initiatives.

AgEE is just one of the energy and climate strategies on which GVC is working.

Green Communities, another collaborative effort implemented by PG&E, ICLEI and the GVC, provides GHG emissions inventories for budget-strapped local governments, assisting them to quantify and address GHG emissions. The Great Valley Center will soon be hiring seven additional college interns for a third round of Green Communities this spring. The program, dedicated to providing innovative energy efficiency and climate change solutions for governments and communities, has completed 25 projects to date in the San Joaquin Valley.

These programs are funded by California utility customers and administered by PG&E under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. Click here for more information on GVC's Energy and Climate Initiatives.

Green Communities intern hired as a program coordinator

Caldean “Dean” Biscocho is proof that an internship can help you land a job.  Selected as an intern for the Green Communities program in November, he has been gathering and analyzing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) data for the City of Tracy over the past five months.  In June, Dean was hired by Great Valley Center as a full time program coordinator within the Green Communities program. 

He now assists interns and local governments in collecting and analyzing GHG data, preparing final reports for agencies.  These reports provide a carbon emission baseline for local governments, helping in their efforts to reduce emissions and improving energy efficiency.

Dean graduated from University of California, Davis in 2011 with a degree in Civil Engineering and a minor in Construction Management.  He worked as an undergraduate research assistant for the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, focusing on California environmental policy.  He was deeply involved in the campus civil engineering community, becoming club president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) UC Davis Branch. 

“As president of ASCE, I oversaw the administrative responsibilities of the club.  This helped me develop as a professional,” reports Dean.  “We were responsible for the project competitions for our civil engineering students, with the top two regional teams advancing to the national competition. It was an exceptional experience.” 

Dean also served as an intern for the Development and Engineering Services Department of the City of Tracy, where he learned about the Green Communities program sponsored by Pacific Gas and Electric Company. After he expressed an interest, PG&E connected him with the Great Valley Center, where he was eventually selected as an intern.

Dean intends to work further into the civil and environmental engineering arenas, hoping to obtain a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering.

“The people who work in the environmental sciences and engineering community have a worldly mindset that I aspire to,” Dean explains. “I enjoy the learning involved with reanalyzing how we live as Californians and Americans.  The Great Valley Center radiates the mentality of giving back to the community in a sustainable way.  This provides motivation for people like me, who grew up here, to stay here and contribute to the valley.”

Dean speaks Tagalog and visits family in the Philippines. He also has roots in the Central Valley, and currently resides with his family in Tracy.  Part of a musical family, Dean plays piano and dabbles in music composition.

When asked what advice he would give to college or graduate students considering an internship experience, Dean responds, “Go for it, but take it as seriously as possible.  It will only be as rewarding as you make it.”

The Great Valley Center welcomes Caldean “Dean” Biscocho to the staff team!

Great Valley Center Highlights, February 2011

Now in its second decade, the Great Valley Center continues to address the challenges of our special place on this earth. We continue to operate programs that seek out potential leaders and lift them to higher levels. We also work to overcome the digital divide as our Pixley Connect program now expands to two other communities. Sustainability continues to be a key theme as we work to implement energy retrofit strategies. All of this and much more would not be possible without the generous support of our funders, some of whom have been with us for many years. We extend our appreciation to all our donors for their confidence in us and for their support.

A few highlights for the coming year:

• We are excited to announce our involvement with California Connects, a new statewide digital literacy initiative headed by the California Community College Foundation and the California Community College Technology Center.
  
  GVC is leading the Central Valley component of California Connects, and will recruit individuals into libraries and public computing centers in 18 Central Valley counties to provide in-person training on basic digital literacy skills. We will focus on reaching populations for whom computer and internet use is still a challenge yet necessary to enhance their lifelong learning ability, improve their economic status and advance their quality of life.
  
  California Connects is funded by a $10.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration for Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The three-year program will ultimately provide access to more than 61,000 broadband users in California.
  
  Read the CA Connects Fact Sheet →
  
  
• The Great Valley Center Energy Program has developed Green Communities, a new program that will train local government staff in the Central Valley to plan for climate change over the next three years. The program, funded by PG&E and the California Public Utilities Commission, will help cities and counties develop a detailed list of greenhouse gas emission sources and levels, and identify ways those emissions can be reduced.
  
  Working with Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), paid university interns will provide hands-on assistance to develop the inventory. Green Communities will allow many local governments to at least begin the process of analyzing local emissions data. Eventually, the baseline data will be used to set emissions reduction goals and develop strategies to achieve these goals.
  
  This effort could help cities reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as mandated by Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which is set to take effect in 2020. Cities must start this year to show how they will meet reduction measures by the 2020 target.
  
  Visit www.gvc-energy.org/green-communities.html →
  
  
• Class II of the American Leadership Forum Great Valley Chapter is expected to graduate in May 2011 where they will join the Senior Fellows from Class I. Recruitment for Class III is underway.
  
  The American Leadership Forum is dedicated to joining and strengthening established leaders in order to serve the public good. The Great Valley Chapter of the American Leadership Forum serves the 3-county region of the Northern San Joaquin Valley of Central California.
  
  ALF Fellows participate in a yearlong intensive leadership development program, which includes monthly seminars and a five day wilderness experience. Upon graduation, these Senior Fellows join an active network of over 1,000 graduates nationwide, and continue to work together on regional problems.
  
  Visit www.greatvalley.org/alf →

Highlights from Fiscal Year 09-10

• The National Parks Institute: Leading Strategic Change Seminar graduated its inaugural class, which included 15 U.S. National Park Service leaders and 11 international participants.
• We launched Great Valley TV, a new public affairs television series that aired 30 half-hour episodes weekly in Sacramento, Fresno, and Redding.
• 18 leaders graduated from the inaugural class of the American Leadership Forum Great Valley Chapter.
• 20 leaders graduated from the 2010 Class of the Institute for the Development of Emerging Area Leaders (IDEAL).
• 11 leaders graduated from the Great Valley Leadership Institute (GVLI).
  
  Download our Year-at-a-glance timeline of activities (PDF) to see all our accomplishments during Fiscal Year 09-10.
  

While our challenges may be great, we continue to feel that the future of our Valley is alive with possibilities. All of us working together, cultivating leadership and a more collaborative spirit, are needed to transform these possibilities into reality.

Thank you for your continued support and we hope to see you at one of our events in 2011!

Sincerely,

Dejeune M. Shelton, Interim Executive Director
Kathy McKim, Board Chair