Institute for Sustainable Energy
Board of Advisors
Board Meeting August 9, 2004

Members present:
Arthur Diedrick, Chairman of Development, Office of the Governor
Donald Downes, Chairman, Dept. of Public Utility Control
Shirley Bergert, Public Benefits Taskforce Director, CT Legal Services
John Mengacci, Undersecretary, Strategic Management Division, OPM
Emily Smith, Managing Director, Government and Corporate Relations, CT Innovations

Guests:
Dr. Michael Pernal, Vice President, ECSU
William Leahy, Associate Executive Director, ISE
Laurel Kohl, ISE, Acting Secretary

The meeting was called to order by Arthur Diedrick at 9:27 AM.

Arthur Diedrick requested that the Advisory Board members consider the minutes of the July 12, 2004 meeting. A motion was made by Donald Downes to accept the minutes. It was seconded by John Mengacci. The motion carried.

ISE /CEAB Energy Summit
CEAB will partner will the ISE for a December conference. We are discussing several possibilities, including a focus on CT legislators, the particulars of the preferential standards, the CT Energy Plan, and CT Climate Action Plan initiatives that will require legislation in the 2005 session. The location of the summit would be at the LOB, with invitations going to legislators and their staffs with special focus on key environment, energy and technology committee members. The dates discussed are early December or early January. There was a preference expressed by the Board for the early December dates and William Leahy was directed to complete the planning.

Connecticut Energy Website and CT Energy Messaging
It was reported that progress has been made on creating a new Energy Information website and a consistent state message with positive participation of the key players. Discussions in the website group have centered on how most people search for information today. It is thought that more people search by keywords than by direct access to a URL with a catchy name. The State has www.CTenergyinfo.com available for their use. The need for a portal with links to participants, a calendar of energy related events, energy “headlines” and energy developments is the direction of discussion. Additional meetings are expected before the plan is finalized.

Southwest Connecticut Workshop
John Ruckes of OPM is working with ISE to partner in a “Peer Exchange” workshop in southwestern Connecticut. The location will be in one of the central towns in Fairfield County. The plan is to invite key leaders from the 14-18 targeted communities and to feature 4 case studies from their area, including Stamford’s work with benchmarking and ICLEI, Norwalk’s efforts as CL&P’s targeted Community Conservation Programs, Fairfield and it’s success with renewable energy, and Derby’s work with Performance contracting and ESCO’s to make needed improvements in their schools. This program is being developed as a model that will be taken to other regions of the state.

Green Campus Workshop
Chris Nelson of CT DEP is partnering with ISE on a workshop for Connecticut’s 35 campuses. Planned for November, and to be held at Central Connecticut State University, the program will feature the ISE’s 13 step Green Campus Plan, and successes stories from Connecticut’s Universities and Colleges. Each Connecticut institution will be invited to send a team of a staff person, a faculty member and a student. It was suggested by the board that we present the program to the CSU Board of Directors.

Grant Activity
The Fuel Cell project for ECSU, which will house a 850kW fuel cell at the campus, is progressing. This will be a $3.8 million project. At this time about $2 million is promised through CCEF and Department of Defense. The project development team that includes ECSU and ISE is still working to secure the final grants before the October deadlines. The board discussed alternative contacts, with Donald Downes stating he had discussed this with Rosemary Solerno who will present the matter to the State Homeland Security Committee. Bill Leahy will be meeting with Congressman Rob Simmons to ask his assistance in freeing funding available from Oak Ridge National Lab.

UN Children’s Conference
450 10-13 year olds and 250 adults attended the Conference. ECSU was well represented, including the efforts of the ISE in planning program and the Greening Committee, the work of ISE interns in all planning stages and at the conference, participation by Bill Leahy and Laurel Kohl as presenters, by ECSU faculty as presenters, and by a combined force of more than 30 ECSU-related volunteers for the week. The conference was deemed a success and great fun by all who attended. Bill and Laurel are already planning to attend the 2005 Children’s World Summit in Japan next summer.

Future meetings were discussed. Next meeting will be held on Monday, September 13.

A motion was made by Donald Downes to adjourn. The motion was seconded by John Mengacci. The meeting was adjourned at 11:02 AM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Laurel Kohl

Acting Secretary