Municipalities that lead the way in energy efficiency initiatives also see the gains to be made in renewable energy. This webinar will showcase local leaders in North America, and examine successes and barriers, and what support is needed to spread the trend of linking renewable energy and energy efficiency. We will look at several bold initiatives such as the Mayor's Tower Renewal initiative in Toronto, and the City of Albuquerque's renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives. Several communities will provide a brief overview of their actions and plans, and there will be an extensive question and discussion period.

Speakers and Format:

1. Mayor Martin Chávez, City of Albuquerque (20 minutes) – Biography
   Martin J. Chávez is a native of Albuquerque and is serving his third term as mayor. He earned a Bachelor's Degree from the University of New Mexico and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown. From 1989 to 1993 he served in the New Mexico State Senate. He is a Trustee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Chair of the Water Council. He is also on the Board of Directors of ICLEI USA. During his tenure, Albuquerque received the World Leadership Award for Water Programs at the 2006 World Leadership Forum in London. In 2007, the United States Conference of Mayors selected Albuquerque as the best city in the United States for addressing Climate Change. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave the same recognition to Albuquerque in 2008. The same year, the International Association of Energy Engineers selected Mayor Chavez as "Alternative Energy Innovator of the Year.
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   • Mayor Chávez was the first to sign onto the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and has been leading the way ever since with innovative and effective local programs and policies that support renewable energy generation and energy efficiency. Learn how Albuquerque is leading the green way.
2. Eleanor McAteer, City of Toronto's Mayor's Tower Renewal Program (20 minutes) – Biography
Eleanor McAteer's career with the City of Toronto has focused on environmental initiatives, including the Climate Change, Clean Air and Sustainable Energy Plan for Toronto. She is currently Project Director of Mayor's Tower Renewal. Mayor's Tower Renewal is a multi-faceted city-wide project that will provide social, economic, environmental, cultural, financial and other benefits to the residents of Toronto. Eleanor is a Professional Engineer, she has an MBA and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Toronto Chapter of the Canada Green Building Council.
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• Mayor's Tower Renewal: a neighbourhood initiative, the first of its kind to combine green renewable and energy efficiency technologies that will revitalize Toronto's concrete slab towers and surrounding communities.
3. Leaders Forum (20 minutes)
   • Several communities in North America will briefly comment on their initiatives including:
     • Ed Sands, Okotoks, Alberta
     • Chris Wade, City of Calgary, Alberta
     • Mike Wozny, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
4. Questions and Discussion (30 minutes)
   • Moderator to involve participants in interactive question and answer session using both chat and audio functions.

What is the impact of various local and regional renewable energy financing and outreach initiatives? This presentation will examine in detail a number of initiatives in Canada and the United States including Local Improvement Charges, Climate Smart Loan Program, and the PowerHouse program. From these examples, we will draw some conclusions about what is working and what is not.

Speakers and Format:

1. Emanuel Machado, City of Dawson Creek (20 minutes) – Biography
Emanuel Machado is the Director of Corporate Planning and Sustainable Community Development for the City of Dawson Creek. The majority of his work involves creating and implementing the framework around sustainability and energy planning which has situated Dawson Creek as a "hub of alternative energy technologies" in a Northern environment.

Dawson Creek's sustainability planning is based on the concept of planning for people and with this in mind the City is updating all of its planning tools, and creating new ones as necessary, with the goal of putting people first. Emanuel is also promoting the use of renewable energy and developing a framework that allows municipalities to meet its energy needs with clean renewable technologies such as wind, biomass and solar. In 2007, Mr. Machado was awarded an Arbor Vitae Award from the BC Minister of the Environment for his contributions to the protection and stewardship of the environment and in June of last year he received the "Professional Award for Innovation in Local Government" from the Local Government Management Association of BC.
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• Local improvement charges help community homeowners finance energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements by rolling the cost of the improvement into their property taxes.
2. Ann Livingston, City of Boulder, Colorado (20 minutes) – Biography
Ann is currently serving as Boulder County's first Sustainability Coordinator. She works to increase the sustainable practices of the County as an organization and on efforts to improve the sustainability of the County as a whole. This includes numerous collaborative efforts with the municipalities in Boulder County, the University of Colorado, non-profits, and the private sector. Ann has received a Bachelors degree in English from the University of Florida (1995) as well as a Juris Doctorate and Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Environmental Policy (2000) from the University of Colorado. Her previous work at the Natural Resources Law Center, USDA Forest Service Office of General Counsel, Environment Colorado, the Wirth Chair in Environmental and Community Development Policy, and the American Institute of Architects among others provides her with a unique perspective on issues related to sustainability. She has extensive experience in working with diverse groups in a collaborative manner in order to promote sustainable communities, including matters related to energy efficiency and renewable energy.
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• Boulder Colorado's ClimateSmart Loan Program provides financing for renewable energy and/or energy efficiency improvements to residential and commercial properties in Boulder County–the loan program is a groundbreaking program that builds on the special assessment model piloted in Berkeley, CA.
3. Stephanie Thorson, Summerhill (20 minutes) – Biography
Stephanie Thorson is passionate about renewable energy. In 2007, she worked to lead and bring together stakeholders in Ontario's solar energy sector by hosting a workshop "Bringing solar water heaters to Ontario residents". She also created Go Solar, a solar public outreach program supported by the Ontario Ministry of Energy that highlights new government incentives, provides detailed information on solar technologies and what homeowners need to know to make their purchase. She also developed and helped execute the marketing strategy for the PowerHouse zero-interest loan and rebate program for renewable energy technologies. Stephanie completed a three-week US State Department tour of renewable energy and energy conservation policy and initiatives in six US cities in the summer of 2008. She has been a speaker at the solar industry conference two years in a row. Stephanie has 19 years' experience in the energy sector, in public, private and not-for-profit settings. Her work has ranged from creating and managing energy conservation programs, to holding specialized workshops for energy professionals, to municipal policy development. She has a Master in Environmental Studies degree with a focus on strategies for changing energy use.
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• The PowerHouse program provided zero interest loans and rebates for residential renewable energy technologies in Ontario.
4. Questions and Discussion (30 minutes)
• Moderator to involve participants in interactive question and answer session using both chat and audio functions.

Many U.S. local and regional governments are on the leading edge of the climate issue, forging ahead in areas such as renewable portfolio standards and Property Assessed Clean Energy financing. It is at the local level that many key lessons are being learned regarding successful renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. This webinar will review the best practices that were identified as part of a project to share relevant U.S. local-level best practices with China, India and other developing countries. The project was led by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) with support from the Alliance to Save Energy and the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE).

Speakers and Format:

1. Maria Ellingson, REEEP North America (10 minutes) – Biography
Maria Ellingson serves as the Senior Program Manager for REEEP North America, headquartered at the Alliance to Save Energy. Previous to this, she served as Campaign Director on the communications team at the Alliance to Save Energy, working to educate and raise awareness about the importance of saving energy. Ms. Ellingson has nearly ten years experience in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, most recently implementing a $3 million national public service advertising campaign in conjunction with the Ad Council. She is a passionate advocate for using energy resources wisely. Ms. Ellingson previously worked as the Director of Energy Efficiency Programs for Energy Outreach Colorado, distributing grants to improve energy efficiency and incorporate renewable energy into affordable housing in Colorado. She also taught about energy mortgages and worked with builders, energy auditors, and other housing specialists at the Colorado Home Energy Rating System, a program that analyzed existing or new homes to determine the most cost-effective upgrades needed to reduce energy bills. She has served on the board of directors for the Colorado Renewable Energy Society; and on the Built Green committee for the Denver Home Builders Association.
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• Maria will discuss a forthcoming local-level Compendium of Best Practices report being developed for policy-makers in China, India and other developing countries.
2. Merrian Fuller, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (20 minutes) – Biography
Merrian Fuller is a researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Her work focuses on the financing and deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy, and workforce development opportunities in these sectors. Prior to joining LBNL, Merrian partnered on clean energy projects with the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL), the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, the California Public Utilities Commission, SunPower Corporation, and New Resource Bank. Merrian has an MBA from the Haas School of Business, a Masters from the Energy & Resources Group at UC Berkeley, and BA in International Relations from Stanford University. She currently serves on the boards of Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and the Goggio Family Foundation, and is an adviser to the E.F. Schumacher Society.
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• Merrian will discuss an innovative financing mechanism called PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy bonds).
3. Jennifer Perrone, Policy Analyst, Sierra Club, Cool Cities Campaign (20 minutes) – Biography
Jennifer Perrone is a Policy Analyst for Sierra Club's Cool Cities Campaign, a national Clean Energy Solutions program that brings together community members, organizations, businesses, and local leaders to implement clean energy solutions that save money, create jobs, and help curb global warming. She is currently working in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in advocating for municipal green building policies. Prior to joining the Sierra Club, Jennifer worked for New York University's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. Jennifer holds an MPA from New York University and a BA in Policy Studies and Geography from Syracuse University.
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• Jennifer will present examples of how cities are taking a whole systems approach to becoming low-carbon cities.
4. Hilary Flynn, Project Consultant, Meister Consultants Group (20 minutes) – Biography
Hilary Flynn is a Project Consultant focusing on sustainable energy and system dynamics. She has advised electric utilities, government agencies, product manufacturers, engineering firms and financial institutions on renewable energy and emissions markets, energy and environmental policy and business strategy. Prior to joining MCG, Hilary was a consultant for PHOTON Consulting where she was instrumental in launching and managing a monthly retainer service on solar silicon and a Bloomberg-listed silicon price index. She was also a senior researcher at Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development and was a policy analyst at M.J. Bradley & Associates. Hilary has presented her work at conferences in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America, and has been published in peer-reviewed journals Energy Policy and System Dynamics Review. She has also written articles for Renewable Energy World, Solar Today and PV News, and previously authored a monthly column in PHOTON International magazine. Hilary earned an MS from Washington State University and a BS from Rutgers University.
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• Hilary will discuss U.S. local level feed-in tariff programs.
5. Questions and Discussion (20 minutes)
• Moderator to involve participants in interactive question and answer session using both chat and audio functions.

Green Jobs have evolved quickly in the United States and Canada. What's the role for local government in supporting the creation and support of new green jobs in their communities? Is the private sector doing everything it can? What can we do to ensure the sustainability and quality of these jobs? We will examine these issues and also take a look at the various motivations in play, the roles of local government, the non-profit and private sector, and potential opportunities and conflicts of interest and what we have learned since the green jobs movement began to gain momentum in early 2009.

Speakers and Format:

1. Sarah White, Centre on Wisconsin Strategy (20 minutes) – Biography
Sarah L. White is a Senior Associate at the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS), a national policy center at the University of Wisconsin dedicated to high-road economic development. Her work at COWS focuses on sustainable workforce strategies at the state and federal level, and she is a national expert on career pathways in the clean energy economy. White came to COWS from Wisconsin's Department of Workforce Development, where she served as the Secretary's policy advisor for federal employment and training programs. Before that, she ran the Development Education Office of Interfaith Hunger Appeal in New York, working to integrate academic and NGO efforts addressing poverty, food security and sustainable development. A labor historian by training, White holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Wellesley College.
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• The Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) has helped to shape the green jobs movement in the United States by bringing labour, industry, government and community to the table, and working with allies around the country like the Apollo Alliance, the Center for American Progress, and Green for All. Reflecting on the successes and challenges over the past year, Sarah will speak about ongoing opportunities and challenges for green jobs in the clean energy economy.
2. Clifford Maynes, Green Communities Canada (20 minutes) – Biography
Clifford Maynes is founding Executive Director of Green Communities Canada, established in 1995, which is the national umbrella for over 30 community-based non-profit member organizations. Green Communities work to achieve sustainability through positive action and broad-based partnerships. Clifford has also written extensively on environmental themes, and served for 18 years on the board of his local public utility.
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• GCC is a leading provider of ecoENERGY audits in Ontario. This session will explore and analyze the impact this is having on green job creation in local communities. Specifically this session will look at the work of the Windfall Ecology Centre has been doing with Chippewa of Georgina Island First Nation in rural Ontario.
3. Tim Weis, Pembina Institute (20 minutes)
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• The Pembina Institute, a leading Canadian environmental NGO, will present their recent research findings and discuss opportunities for green jobs in the Canadian context.
4. Questions and Discussion (30 minutes)
• Moderator to involve participants in interactive question and answer session using both chat and audio functions.

In preparation for the economic transition that will result from the Green Economy and Green Energy Act, this webinar will explore the issue of training and employment in the renewable energy industry.  Necessary qualifications, existing programs and staffing shortages will be discussed.

Speakers and Format:

1. Catherine Cottingham, Electricity Sector Council (15 minutes) – Biography
Catherine Cottingham has held the position of Executive Director and CEO of the Electricity Sector Council since its inception in 2004. In that time, she has brought the staff complement from 2 to 10 which has necessitated an office move three times in three years. Catherine is intimately familiar with the human resources profile of Canada's electricity sector. Formerly one of six managers responsible for vetting the global workforce strategies of a billion-dollar multinational telecom corporation, Catherine joined the Canadian Electricity Association in 2003. While there, she applied her experience developing large-scale human resources plans to head a national assessment of the electricity sector's HR challenges and opportunities. Catherine's research and management skills are backed by academic expertise acquired during her years at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Catherine's insights into human resources management have been featured in several magazines, including HR Today and Canadian HR Reporter, and covered by CBC Newsworld. She is a leading speaker on HR issues in the electricity sector.
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• The Electricity Sector Council (ESC) recently completed a Labour Market Information study that examined Canada's electricity sector. Catherine will describe the findings and the implications for the next renewable energy generation.
2. Kerry Johnston, Humber College (15 minutes) – Biography
Kerry Johnston is the academic manager for the Sustainable Energy and Building Technology Program at Humber. Kerry is a professional land surveyor in the province of Ontario and, since joining Humber, has undertaken graduate study in education at Central Michigan University. Currently, Kerry is a doctoral candidate with research interests in integrative approaches to learning, critical thinking, problem solving and how the concept of sustainability may support improved learning.
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• Humber College's Sustainable Energy and Building Technology Program prepares graduates to support individuals and organizations with energy conservation, energy efficiency and the implementation of renewable energy technologies. Kerry will speak to some of the challenges and opportunities he sees emerging.
3. David Nixon, Kortright Centre (15 minutes) – Biography
David Nixon is the Sustainable Technologies Education Coordinator for the Kortright Centre for Conservation. David designs and implements training workshops for Seneca Colleges, the Canadian Solar Industry Association, Local 53 of the Electrician's union and all photovoltaic training for the Kortright's home and cottage public education programs. David is also the coordinates the solar component of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authorities Sustainable Technology Evaluation Program. Prior to working at Kortright David work for over 15 years in the solar industry and in that time has taken solar courses all over North America. David is recognized as one of Canada's solar pioneers and leading experts.
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• The Kortright Centre offers hands on training in the renewable energy field; David will speak to some of the challenges and opportunities that he sees emerging.
Sanyo (15 minutes)
4. KC Chang– Biography
KC Chang is the sales and marketing manager for solar products at SANYO Canada Inc. headquartered in Woodbridge, Ontario. Since joining SANYO Canada in January, 2006, KC has been instrumental in creating awareness of availability of clean renewable energy for the Canadian public, in supporting the solar power system requirements of Canadian residential and commercial customers, in supporting the growth of Canadian solar power industry, and in contributing to the overall growth of solar revenue for SANYO Canada. Prior to joining SANYO Canada, KC has been working in the semiconductor industry for over 20 years in product management and business development capacity for various leading edge global semiconductor companies in North America.

KC Chang has a Bachelors degree in Applied Science and Engineering (Engineering Science) from University of Toronto.
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• From the solar industry perspective, KC will discuss in what areas there is pressure for growth and training.
5. Ben Rodgers– Biography
Ben Rodgers studied genetics at Carleton University in the 1990s, and began learning about solar electricity in Madagascar on a telemedicine project in 1997. He has been working in the PV industry in Ontario since 2000, and has designed and/or installed numerous commercial, residential and industrial solar power systems in the GTA. He was among the first three Canadians certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) in 2006. Starting in 2006 he worked as an instructor in the Seneca College correspondence courses, and conducted seminars for on PV and the Canadian Electrical Code. Ben is coming to the end of a 2-year term as a director on the board of the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA). He is currently a solar power systems specialist for SANYO Canada Inc, headquartered in Woodbridge, Ontario.
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• From the solar industry perspective, KC will discuss in what areas there is pressure for growth and training.
6. Questions and Discussion: A moderated 30 minute question and answer discussion.
   Key questions to consider during webinar:
   • In what areas are stakeholders feeling pressure for growth that cannot be met due to lack of skilled workforce?
   • What are stakeholders prepared to do to help educate/train workers? (i.e. offer internships, provide funding, participate in consultations?)

With the passing of the Green Economy Green Energy Act, micro-FIT will be available to encourage small scale renewable energy projects in Ontario.  This presentation will focus on opportunities for distributed generation and community power.  The province's Feed In Tariff program will be discussed.

Speakers and Format:

1. Deborah Doncaster and Kristopher Stevens, Community Power Fund & OSEA (15 minutes)
   – Deborah Doncaster Biography
Deborah Doncaster is the Executive Director of the Community Power Fund. She was the founding Executive Director of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association formed in 2001. Under Deborah's leadership, OSEA accomplished the delivery of a Standard Offer Contract Program for Ontario. She was also one of three Project Developers with the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative working on the Exhibition Place turbine project on Toronto's waterfront. Deb is the campaign director for the Green Energy Act Alliance, responsible for the adoption of a world-class Act to support renewable energy and conservation in Ontario. In recognition of her work with the Alliance, Deb was awarded the Green Toronto Award for Market Transformation in April 2009. Deborah holds degrees in Philosophy, Law and Environmental Planning.
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– Kristopher Stevens Biography
Kristopher Stevens, a frequent speaker on Sustainable Energy and Community Power across North America, is the Executive Director of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association. Kristopher is a "transformative entrepreneur" with experience on three continents in the corporate, public and non-profit sectors, who specializes in stakeholder engagement, sustainable energy policy, corporate communications and strategic planning. Throughout his colorful career Kristopher has been an executive recruiter for fortune 500 multinationals and a radio host in South Korea, researched economic reform in Africa, and completed leading research on the sensitive topic of social friction in Ontario's electricity sector. Kristopher is the leader of the dedicated OSEA team who is actively championing Community Power and the evolution of Ontario's electricity sector to 100% renewables.
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• Deborah Doncaster, Executive Director of the Community Power Fund, and Kristopher Stevens, Executive Director of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, will bring their wealth of knowledge to the table to discuss community power and what Ontario's new microFIT could mean for generators in Ontario. Highlights from the 1st Annual OSEA Community Power Conference taking place in Toronto, Ontario on November 15 -16, 2009, will also be discussed.
2. Jim MacDougall, Ontario Power Authority (15 minutes) – Biography
Jim MacDougall is a professional electrical engineer with 20 years of diverse experience in the energy sector. Starting his career with a small seller of off-grid electricity systems, Jim has maintained an interest in renewable energy throughout his career. He worked overseas developing energy training programs in Sierra Leone and Eritrea, both in Africa. Jim's professional experience also includes:
  • the Ontario Ministry of Energy,
  • Toronto Hydro's retail energy services company,
  • the Ontario Energy Board
before coming to the Ontario Power Authority to help roll out the Standard Offer Program for distributed generation, including renewable energy and clean energy electricity supply. He is now overwhelmed with working through implementation logistics associated with the proposed Green Energy Act and Feed-in Tariffs.
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• Jim MacDougall will discuss funding and outreach support and opportunities that now exist with the microFIT for distributed generation and community power.  How these financing mechanisms can work, how the Renewable Energy Facilitation Office (REFO) can help, and how stakeholders can engage will be on top of Jim's agenda.
3. Ken Traynor, Our Power (15 minutes) – Biography
Ken worked for years as a policy analyst with the Canadian Environmental Law Association before starting up the Community Solar Program for TREC. He is a member of the Canadian Solar Industry Association (CANSIA), and chairs the Toronto Solar Roundtable. Ken was the volunteer coordinator of the West Toronto Initiative for Solar Energy (WISE) project that mobilized the installation of 87 solar systems in 2007/08, and has worked supporting the development of similar projects in Mississauga, Thornhill, Halton Region, Waterloo and Guelph. He has had a long engagement with solar energy from the wheat fields of Saskatchewan, to solar ovens and hot water systems in southern Africa, to the design and building of a solar powered, energy efficient, off-grid house in Ontario. In December 2008, Ken received a Solar Leader of the Year Award from CANSIA.
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• Ken Traynor of Our Power and the Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative will provide on-the-ground perspective from those who are purchasing and participating in community power.  Key learnings, challenges, opportunities, recommendations, and uptake under the microFIT will be discussed. Learn how community power works in practice!
4. Questions & Discussion: A moderated 30 minute question and answer discussion.

This session will advance the existing dialogue on Net Zero Energy houses by exploring the on the ground experience of Drake Landing, innovative  BeOpt software that can assist builders to identify optimal building designs for Net Zero Energy and how Ontario's Feed-in-tariff will be an important financing mechanism that can directly be applicable to NZEH.

Speakers and Format:

Gordon Shields, Net Zero Energy Homes Coalition (moderator) – Biography

Gordon Shields is one of the founders and is the Executive Director of the Net-Zero Energy Home Coalition. As Executive Director, Mr. Shields' role is to help expand the Coalition's network of industry knowledge and participation and identify areas where government and private sector stakeholders can help accelerate community scale NZEH deployment. Through the Coalition, Mr. Shields has led the private sector proposal for supporting a 1500 net-zero energy home demonstration initiative that was endorsed by the federal government (Canada Mortgage and Housing) in 2005. Through the organization of workshops and industry outreach, the Coalition remains active in developing homebuilder and cross-sectoral support for advancing knowledge and investment in net-zero energy housing design and construction.
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1. Bill Wong, P.Eng., Drake Landing Solar Community an example of innovative integration of renewable energy (15 minutes) – Biography
Mr. Wong is the Manager of the Renewable Energy and Climate Change Program in the Ottawa, Ontario office of SAIC Canada and is SAIC's technical expert for solar energy and inter-seasonal thermal energy storage technologies. He is a strong promoter of renewable energy use and makes his contribution by finding innovative ways to incorporate renewable energy solutions into sustainable community energy planning, as well as in commercial, institutional and industrial applications. Most significantly, he was the lead consultant for the development and implementation of the first large-scale solar seasonal storage demonstration project in North America.

He has a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Applied Science from the University of Toronto and a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Ottawa.
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• The Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC) is a master planned neighbourhood in the Town of Okotoks, Alberta, Canada that has successfully integrated Canadian energy efficient technologies with a renewable, unlimited energy source – the sun.
• The first of its kind in North America, DLSC is heated by a district system designed to store abundant solar energy underground during the summer months and distribute the energy to each home for space heating needs during winter months.
• Bill will discuss how funding was obtained by multiple sources, and how the project integrated the needs of many stakeholders - builders, governments, utilities, and technology providers.
2. Ren Anderson, National Renewable Energy Laboratory: BEopt: Software for Identifying Optimal Building Designs on the Path to Zero Net Energy (15 minutes) – Biography
Ren leads the residential building research team at NREL. Ren joined the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 1983 and has worked a broad range of building energy systems including advanced switchable window coatings, advanced desiccant cooling and heat recovery systems, BCHP (Building Cooling, Heating, and Power) systems, and residential ventilation systems. Ren's research team is currently focusing on the development of least cost approaches to the design of net zero energy homes in partnership with DOE's Building America and Builder's Challenge programs.
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• BEopt is a computer program designed to find optimal building designs along the path to ZNE. A user selects from predefined options in various categories to specify options to be considered in the optimization. Energy savings are calculated relative to a reference. The reference can be either a user-defined base-case building or a climate-specific Building America Benchmark building automatically generated by BEopt. The user can also review and modify detailed information on all available options in a linked options library spreadsheet.
3. Rob McMonagle, City of Toronto: Gearing up for the feed-in tariff (15 minutes) – Biography
Rob founded Prometheus Energy in 1978 while still in University, which was one of the pioneer firms in renewable energy in Canada. Prometheus' solar installations included Canada's first residential grid-connected solar system and leading edge solar installations around the world including the Russian arctic, central and South America and in Africa.

Prometheus Energy was sold to ARISE Technologies of Kitchener in December 2001.

Rob McMonagle was the Executive Director of the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) from 2002-2006. He is the author of numerous CanSIA reports including "Sunny Days Ahead", "The State of the Solar Industry in Canada”, and “The Job Creation Potential of Solar."

Rob was hired by the City of Toronto in 2007 and was responsible for developing the City's Sustainable Energy Plan.

Rob is currently responsible for the City of Toronto's renewable energy initiatives such as the Toronto Solar Neighbourhoods Initiative and the SolarCity Technology Assessment Program. He was instrumental in the development of the City's Renewable Energy Bylaw which provides property owners with the "right" to generate energy on their property.

Rob has served on the board on numerous renewable energy organizations including the Solar Energy Society of Canada, the Canadian Solar Industries Association, and the Energy Action Council of Toronto. He has sat on the Ontario government's Council on Renewable Energy, the federal Technical Advisory Committee on Renewable Energies, the North American Regional PV Training Council, the CSA Distributed Generation Interconnection Technical Committee and the Ontario Solar Task Force.

Rob received the Solar Leader Award in 2007 from CanSIA for his pioneering work in founding and growing the solar industry in Canada.
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• Countries that have been the most successful at rapidly developing renewable energy (Germany, France, and Spain) use feed-in tariffs as the principal if not only policy mechanism. Ontario's Green Energy Act aims to improve conservation programs and promote investment in renewable energy projects through North America's first feed-in tariff program. The City of Toronto, will speak to how they intend to prepare for feed-in tariffs in the context of promoting Net Zero Energy Homes.
4. Questions and Discussion: A moderated 30 minute question and answer discussion.
   

This webinar will focus on how to recognize and communicate the value of NZEH by discussing how the real estate and appraisal sector can be engaged, exploring innovative financing models that correlate value and how they can fund and finance RE upgrades as well as looking at municipal level financing opportunities specific to NZEH.

Speakers and Format:

Gordon Shields, Net Zero Energy Homes Coalition (moderator)

1. Walter Cuculic, Director of Sustainability, Pulte Homes: How the real estate and/or appraisal sector could contribute to the communication of the value of a NZEH (15 minutes)
Cuculic bio.

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• Walter will give a presentation on how the sector could value and market a NZEH, how to place a higher premium on NZEH as an attractive feature for ownership, and how to mandate energy analysis evaluation for rental / lease or home sales.
2. Eleanor Hughes, Manager of Policy for Canadian Mortgage and Housing Loan Insurance: Innovative financing for energy efficient and NZEH (15 minutes)
Hughes Bio.
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• Eleanor’s presentation will focus on the opportunities for receiving rebates and financing available for energy efficient homes that meet specific qualifications.
3. John Godden, on behalf of the City of Newmarket, Ontario: Municipal green financing options (15 minutes)
Godden Bio.
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• John will discuss how the City of Newmarket is financing green homes. John is an experienced builder and will provide a unique, grassroots perspective.
4. Questions and Discussion (30 minutes)
• Moderator to involve participants in interactive question and answer session using both chat and audio functions.