BUSINESS BRIEFS

CEDA BREAKFAST

The Churchill Economic Development Authority’s Business Council meeting is Wednesday at 6:45 a.m. at the Stockman’s.

Guest speaker is Eric Kreutzberg, regional manager of Industrial Development for Union Pacific that covers Northern Nevada and Northern California. He provides project management leadership and guidance for firms seeking to establish rail service on UP. He is located in Roseville, Calif.

Prior to accepting his current position, held held positions in UP’s Automotive and Industrial Products groups. In those roles, Eric successfully negotiated new contracts with major automotive and waste customers. He began his career in Southern Pacific’s Mexico Group in 1991.

Make reservations no later than Monday: Office 775-423-8587/Fax 775-423-1759/Deborah@ceda-nv.org/www.ceda-nv.org.

NV ENERGY SURVEY

NV Energy has proposed to the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada a Subscription Solar pilot program as an additional renewable energy option for its customers.

The company is currently conducting a survey to gauge customer interest in the program. All customers are invited to take the survey, which is available at nvenergy.com/survey. The survey will close on Monday.

The proposed Subscription Solar pilot program provides an opportunity for NV Energy customers who are either unable or unwilling to participate in existing rooftop renewable energy products, but are interested in expanding Nevada’s renewable energy economy while meeting their sustainability goals.

If the program is approved as filed, customers will be able to subscribe to 100 kWh ‘blocks’ of solar energy and in return will receive a solar production credit on their bill for these blocks.

The program will charge a small premium to customers, but does not require any long term contracts or upfront investments. NV Energy will acquire up to 10 MW of solar energy from facilities that will be developed in northern and southern Nevada specifically to serve the Subscription Solar program and its participants.

The Subscription Solar program offering is contingent on PUCN approval. For more information visit https://www.nvenergy.com/subscription-solar-faqs.

TESLA SPEAKER

JB Straubel, co-founder and chief technical officer of Tesla Motors, will share an energizing overview of how advanced battery technologies and electric cars can pave the way toward energy independence and economic development, and how education and innovation plays a key role in reaching those goals.

Straubel will speak at the annual College of Engineering’s Distinguished Lecture Series Oct. 11. His talk on the University of Nevada, Reno campus.

He will talk about his passion for electric vehicles, an interest he developed early. He rebuilt a discarded electric golf cart at the age of 14 and has built a custom electric bicycle and an electric Porsche 944 that held a world electric vehicle racing record.

As a co-founder of Tesla, Straubel has overseen the technical and engineering design of the vehicles, focusing on the battery, motor, power electronics and high-level software sub-systems. He also has responsibility for new technology evaluation, research and development, all software, electronics and propulsion across Tesla’s portfolio.

Straubel earned a bachelor’s degree in energy systems engineering and a master’s in energy engineering from Stanford University. He is also a lecturer at his alma mater where he teaches the popular Energy Storage Integration class in the Atmosphere and Energy Program.

“With this lecture series, we bring distinguished guest speakers with timely topics to the campus and community,” Manos Maragakis, dean of the College of Engineering, said. “We’re excited to have JB come to the University to share his experience and knowledge. Tesla is a game-changer for our economy and the college is evolving to meet the needs and challenges of our regional and national economic development efforts.”