While long-promised, this may actually be the dawn of commercial advanced biofuels – American, United and other airlines are flying with biofuel; the US military is spending significant amounts of money for advanced biofuel capabilities and commercial-scale advanced biofuel plants are under construction or have recently commenced commercial operation.

Come and hear market leaders and participants describe the current state and bright future for advanced biofuels.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Cost: Free to energy professionals. Hors d’oeuvres and a liquor bar will be provided courtesy of Mayer Brown.

Schedule:

• 4:00 pm: Opening remarks
• 4:10 pm: Panel Presentation - Advanced Biofuels: Ready For Primetime?
  Speakers to be announced once they are confirmed
  
• 4:50 pm: Q&A
• 5:30 pm: Reception Starts
• 7:30 pm: Close

Location: 71 South Wacker Drive (corner of Monroe), Mayer Brown Offices Please note you will need to enter on the Franklin side of the building. 72 S. Franklin Ave.

Attendance, who is invited? Please note — this is a business-to-business networking event for those in the energy industry! We define “energy industry” as the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining, distribution, financing, engineering, legal consultation, and any other related services. The CCEA reserves the right to screen and approve all registrations.

If you are a job seeker or do not work specifically in a company defined above, please contact Bryan Villano at Bryan@TheCCEA.org for volunteer opportunities. CCEA reserves the right to refuse entrance to any individual that does not fit our requirements for attendance. We are expecting 300+ Energy Related Professionals so please sign up before space runs out.

About the CCEA: The Chicago Clean Energy Alliance was formed to connect professionals in Chicago who are related to the energy industry. The CCEA provides thought leadership on power generation issues with a particular focus on renewable technologies. We are always thinking about new ways to expand and bring new value to the CCEA and our audience. If you have an idea or would like to be involved, please email Bryan Villano at Bryan@TheCCEA.org.

The CCEA & Mayer Brown have assembled the following panel of energy experts:

• Confirmed: Dan Foley, Acciona, CEO
• Confirmed: Hans Detweiler, Director of Development, Clean Line Energy based in Houston.
• Confirmed: John Flynn, VP, Strategic Planning & Business Development, ATC
• Confirmed: Steven T. Naumann, Vice President of Wholesale Market Development, Exelon Corporation
• Confirmed: Paul J. Astolf, Partner, Mayer Brown

This panel will address:

• Cost allocation issues between developers, utilities, and governments.

• How to create a supportive policy environment to foster privatized transmission development.
• What necessary policy steps does the renewable industry needs to take to put more steel in the ground.
• How utilities analyze transmission and interconnection issues when analyzing PPA bids.

• The CCEA & Mayer Brown is assembling a panel of expert presenters to be announced shortly.

Cost: Free to energy professionals. Hors d’oeuvres and a liquor bar will be provided courtesy of Mayer Brown.

Schedule:

• 4:00pm: Opening remarks
• 4:10pm: Panel Presentation (Transmission Development–One of Renewable Energy’s Biggest Hurdles)
• 4:50pm: Q&A
• 5:15pm: Reception Starts
• 7:30pm: Close

Hey folks… Summer is approaching, and we’re moving to THE RAMP this time for our next Climatini. They’ll be roping off a section for us. Many people confirming for this event. Hope to see you there!

The Ramp Resturant
855 Terry A Francois St San Francisco, CA 94158

If you tweet up the event be sure to make @climatini.

The CCEA cordially invites you to attend our final event of the year on Monday, December 6, 2010. Join us as we celebrate the holidays and the successful completion of our inaugural year.

Who is attending:
Corporations, niche energy firms, venture capitalists, politicians, government, NGO, legal, traders, and other experts involved with wind, solar, geothermal, biofuels, CCS, clean coal, emissions trading, climate change and electric vehicles.

When: Monday, December 6, 2010

Where: Crystal Gardens
700 East Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611

Time: 5:30 – 8:00 PM

Reasons to attend:

• Meet keynote speakerIL Senator Susan Garrett
• Connect and network with the top players in Chicago’s clean economy
• Enjoy free hors d’oeuvres and a panoramic view of Chicago
• Discuss cutting-edge ideas and inventions, promising business deals, government energy policies, and other hot topics.

CCEA Value
We have implemented new standards to ensure that professionals who attend the CCEA are representatives that work within the clean economy. We are keenly aware that the state of the economy will naturally attract job seekers and are sympathetic to anyone who is unemployed. However, the CCEA reserves the right to deny entrance to those who are not connected to the clean economy. The purpose of this event is to encourage deal flow and networking within the industry.

Social Networking
Join the community and sound off; Do you have a comment about the event, a successful connection you would like to share; post your comments online. You can also join us on Leebug, Facebook and Twitter

Sponsorship:
Want to connect with Chicago clean energy community? Do you have a product or service you would like to promote to a group of people that represent innovative companies in our local community leading the way to a new clean economy? Consider becoming an Event Sponsor and get connected to the largest focused networking group in the Chicago area that brings together influential, affluent, decision-makers that are open to new ideas. If you are interested in sponsorship (website advertising, event table and more) gifting or donations, visit our sponsorship page or email Dan Fedor at dan@chicagocleanenergyalliance.org

Selected organizations that attended our previous event:
AWEA, Acciona, Argonne National Labs, Bank of America, Capstone Financial Group, Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago Climate Exchange, Citadel Investment, Cora Capital Advisors, Deloitte Consulting, Delta Institute, eOn Climate and Renewables, Gamesa, Gas Technology Institute, Holland and Knight, Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Commerce Commission, Illinois EPA, Illinois Finance Authority, Illinois General Assembly, Invenergy, McDonald’s Corporation, Saint Consulting Group, Sanyo, Sargent and Lundy, Siemens, SoCore Energy, Suzlon, Tesla Motors, Village of Franklin, Park Village of Oak Park …for a full list visit: http://cleanenergyalliance.eventbrite.com

Carbon TradeEx was held at Chicago’s McCormick Place Sep. 28th-29th. The Chicago Clean Energy Alliance & Climatini was a co-sponsor of the related networking event held in the main atrium of the Field Museum the evening of the 28th. Over 300 people were in attendance and the atmosphere was lively. While the typical Clean Energy Alliance & Climatini is more of a local meetup, the conference brought in many people from out of town which made for an excellent event.

One of the recurring themes at past Clean Energy Alliance & Climatini events has been frustration at the lack of progress made by Congress on the issue of clean energy and cap and trade/emissions regulation. While clean energy is still a major focus, consulting services in greenhouse gas accounting and toxic land reclamation were discussed more often than carbon credits. Basic accounting services are being desired by more companies even if there are not mandatory emissions requirements to ensure future developments do not catch them unawares.

There was optimism amongst attendees for future legislative developments but the upcoming midterm elections makes it unlikely anything will happen, unless there is an unforeseen lame duck push by Congress at the end of the year. Several attendees mentioned that this year’s CarbonTradeEx was the most significant large climate finance gathering since the Waxman-Markey bill was first released. The private sector has accepted the fact that Congress will not act anytime soon, there are clear legal issues if the EPA tries to proceed next year on its own and California’s AB32 is seen as the last best hope to kick starting CO2 emissions regulation here in the US. 18 months ago it seemed like Congress was ready to act, the EPA wasn’t supposed to have to play the heavy and there was Republican support from the Governor of California for GHG emissions regulations.

At this time next year the landscape will probably be much clearer. Consulting and legal services will probably continue to thrive no matter what happens in the climate finance space while financial services and clean energy research are going to need clarification from Congress in order to really take off. We hope to see everyone at the next Clean Energy Alliance & Climatini events to talk about new developments later this Fall.

Since it’s summertime, we’ve made the obvious decision to take over the rooftop at Medjool. The nice folks there have agreed to rope off an area for us and give us our own wait staff.

Medjool Sky Terrace
Thu, Sept 9th @ 5:30pm till whenever (it’s summer, so leave work on time for once)
2522 Mission St at 21st
(The Sky Terrace is a CASH-ONLY bar, though an ATM is conveniently located there).

Come early, find a seat and let loose. Shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops and other not-so-professional attire are strongly encouraged.

Climatini is the somewhat irreverent semi-regular networking event for the climate, carbon and cleantech community. We’re in this for the fun of it, and it’s strictly non-commercial, no-sponsor and free (though we do occasionally plug folks we think are doing good work). Please invite who you like.

We’ll be joined by the team at Bioneers– who will be present to answer questions about their Oct 15-17th conference. Bioneers is at the Marin Civic Center as always, and with a plenary address by Jim Hansen and the participation of other cleantech entrepreneurs, it’s shaping up to be an engaging Climate and Cleantech event. To learn more, or get a 10% discount as a patron of Climatini, register with this code: CLIMATINI2010 at http://www.bioneers.org/conference

Hope to see you on the 9th. Pray for good weather… In case prayers don’t work, we’ll meet downstairs and inside.

Yours,

Dan Whaley, Climos
John Balbach, CleanPath Ventures
Neil Cohn
David Pascal, SF Carbon Collaborative
Warner Philips, Tendris
Anup Jacob, Virgin Green Fund
Neal Dikeman, CarbonFlow

“A Night at The Field Museum”

Presented by Baker & McKenzie for Carbon TradeEx 2010

When: Tuesday, September 28th, 2010.

Where: Chicago Field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Dr
Chicago, IL 60605

Time: 5:30 – 8:00 PM

Who is attending: Corporations, niche energy firms, venture capitalists, politicians, government, NGO, legal, traders, and other experts involved with wind, solar, geothermal, biofuels, CCS, clean coal, emissions trading, climate change and electric vehicles.
Reasons to attend:

• Meet and have the chance to network the leading global players in the clean economy. Carbon TradeEx America features more than 100+ industry experts (view list) and will gather more than 800 professionals who are active in the business of climate change.
• Exclusive access to the Field Museum’s outstanding exhibits, including “Climate Change” which is only at the Field Museum for a brief time.
• Free cocktails, Free food
• Discuss cutting-edge ideas and inventions, possible business deals, government energy policies, and other hot topics.

$45.50 advance registration fee.

Official Side Event:

Enablon, one of the world’s leading Carbon Management Software providers at the Carbon
TradeEx America.

Enablon (www.enablon.com), a software provider rated as one of the leading Carbon and EHS management software providers by the analyst community will be present at Carbon TradeEx America.

Attendees of the Carbon TradeEx will benefit from free registration to the best practices seminar (limited availability) through the registration links below and will receive free access to a carbon management webinar and business cases.

Carbon Management Challenges Wednesday September 29^th, 2010 from 8:00 am to 9:00 am in room 402a at McCormick Place, Chicago attendees free registration link.

The Business Case for Carbon Management: three leading companies strategies to manage
carbon: attendees free registration link.

The lack of clarity from Congress has left many renewable energy projects hamstrung and the possibility of federal cap-and-trade is all but a distant memory.  While California’s AB32 calls for a statewide cap-and-trade system to be enacted in 2012, GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has openly stated she will kill the program if elected.  The success that seemed to be certain in April ’09 as Waxman-Markey was released now looks uncertain, even unlikely.  In spite of this several attendees talked of new companies they were starting up to provide emissions and sustainability consulting services.  The expectation seems to be that there will still be demand from corporate interests for voluntary emissions reductions and environmentally responsible practices, regardless of what government does.

Although it is difficult to be optimistic about the progress of energy/climate legislation, the automotive sector seems to be finally committed to producing more efficient vehicles using alternative fuels and the BP disaster will hopefully result in new commitments to clean energy.  The private sector will ultimately dictate whether or not clean energy and sustainable practices prevail in the market and events like Climatini are crucial to enabling the inter-industry connections required to implement such ideas.  We look forward to seeing everyone again at our next event, at a date TBA in late September or early October.

Climatini Chicago’s third event of 2010 will be held on July 21^st from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at the Westin Hotel, located at 320 N. Dearborn St. in Chicago.

Climatini Chicago is a networking group for professionals and academics involved in carbon finance, clean energy and conservation.  It is a great opportunity to meet people in different fields who share the desire to make US energy policy more sustainable and environmentally responsible.

Climatini Chicago’s third event of 2010 will be held on July 21^st from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at the Westin Hotel, located at 320 N. Dearborn St. in Chicago. Please join us (register online at http://climatinichicagojulymeetup.eventbrite.com, its free) to reconnect and discuss recent developments over drinks.  The BP spill and Congress’ continuing inaction on climate and energy legislation has only made it more urgent that the US takes steps now to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and ensure the safety of fragile ecosystems.

Climatini Chicago meets periodically to provide a forum for individuals with varying areas of expertise to share ideas on how to deal with climate change and expand renewable energy sources.  We promote a culture of collaboration and innovation that will be necessary to achieve these goals.  Climatini events have launched in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Maine and Washington DC with more chapters forming.

We hope to see you July 21^st.  Please RSVP by July 19^th.

http://climatinichicagojulymeetup.eventbrite.com

Several people commented on the coming wave of electric vehicles (EVs) over the next couple of years.  This is a welcome development for emissions reductions but there is still a great deal of infrastructure that needs to be built for charging EVs away from home.  There were a few people working on smart grid applications and one scientist was involved in Superfund cleanup.  There was some interesting discussion on low-light solar technology as well.  There was also some talk of carbon credits and carbon trading but until there is some clarity on cap-and-trade, interest in those areas may suffer.

The topic that came up more than any other was the need for Congress to enact some sort of meaningful clean energy and/or climate bill before the midterm elections.  Everyone agreed that the Waxman-Markey bill and subsequent tabling of discussion by the Senate was a big disappointment last year.  This government inaction could result in private enterprise losing interest due to a lack of clear signal on how to proceed.  It also fails to hold dirty power producers accountable for their environmental impact.  There is a Lieberman/Graham/Kerry-type of bill that is expected to be announced around the end of April.  If nothing gets done by Memorial day, expect the EPA to start getting involved in the process.  Either way there should be a lot to discuss at the next Climatini in June, thanks to everyone who showed up and made for another great event!