Our fiscal sponsors are Power Trip Energy Corp, Port Townsend Paper Corp, Sunshine Propane, Alaska Power & Telephone Co,  Huber’s Inn,  Frederickson Electric, The Port of Port Townsend, Friends of Energy Lunch and our two newest sponsors: Ravenna Capital Management and Washington State Department of Commerce.

When you patronize these businesses, please thank them for their support!

The Jefferson County Energy Lunch series invites energy experts to present to our interested citizens, business leaders, government officials, and energy professionals.

The monthly Energy Lunch programs, was held every third Thursday at the Port Townsend Yacht Club (2503 Washington Street at the Boat Haven), and were aimed at increasing awareness of how energy, energy technology and energy policy affect life and business in Jefferson County.

Participants are welcome to bring their lunch and arrive at noon to join an informal conversation with local energy professionals. Programs begin at 12:30 p.m. and are followed by a Q&A session, which typically wraps up around 1:30 p.m. A workshop and panel discussion further exploring the speaker’s topic usually follows from 2-3 p.m.

Apr. 15, 2014:  Paul B. Manson, President & CEO of Sea Breeze Power Corp., a Vancouver, Canada-based diversified renewable energy company, presented his financing experiences with renewable energy projects, including the use of professional studies, addressing political obstacles, and taking into account the accelerating transition from reliance on the fossil fuel industry. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Mar. 18, 2014:  Kurt Cobb, author and speaker from Portland, Ore., examined four key rates of energy flow — the rate of extraction of fossil fuels, the rate of greenhouse gas emissions, the rate of conversion to a new energy infrastructure, and the rate of energy consumption — and the implications for our energy destiny. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Feb. 18, 2014:  Philipp Schmidt-Pathmann, an internationally recognized authority on waste management and resource recovery, addressed the ecologic-economic challenges and opportunities associated with waste treatment technologies, and how moving away from landfill operations can contribute to economic development, climate action goals, sustainable jobs, local energy security, and resource recovery.(WATCH THE VIDEO)

Jan. 21, 2014:  Virgil Beaston, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Powin Energy in Oregon, outlined the “state of the art” in battery storage technology. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Dec. 17, 2013:  Stephen Crolius, head of the Clean Tech practice at Alliance Consulting Group in Boston, addressed how Jefferson County can move away from fossil fuels to local energy, and what that energy mix might look like in 2025 (he posits it will be primarily electricity, with anhydrous ammonia for storage). (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Nov. 19, 2013:  Jan Lars Mueller, executive director of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas USA (ASPO-USA), spoke about local innovation and investment, and on adapting to a “New Energy Reality.” (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Oct. 15, 2013:  Mike Henson, the chief security officer at NoaNet, discusses the need for both information and energy network security. His talk will focus on the two networks newly acquired by our county’s Public Utility District—the electric grid and fiber optic/wireless broadband communications. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Sept. 17, 2013:  Brian Evans, Ph.D., a project manager and development engineer at the Space Propulsion Group, Inc., in Sunnyvale, Calif., discussed using local green energy to produce ammonia to power gas turbine generators. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Aug. 20, 2013:  Richard C. Locke, the executive director of the state’s new Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness (which incorporated the Energy Office), discusses the developing energy policies of Governor Jay Inslee’s administration, with special commentary on how these state-wide plans might impact the numerous Jefferson County energy operations, programs, and projects now underway. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

July 16, 2013:  Tom Saxton, board member and chief science officer at Plug In America and a pioneer in the use of electric vehicles (EVs), discussed their benefits and the potential for EV tourism on the Olympic Peninsula. Check out his blog. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

June 18, 2013:  Gary Petersen of TRIDEC (Tri-City Development Council) describes the Hanford nuclear site and clean-up operations as well as current economic development plans, including continued operation of the Columbia Nuclear Power Plant and existing and future renewable energy projects. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

May 21, 2013:  John Miedema of the Pacific Northwest Biochar Initiative and BioLogical Carbon, LLC, discussed producing biofuels and biochar with pyrolysis and the opportunities this presents for local energy storage. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Apr. 16, 2013:  Jim Patton, executive director of the Port of Coupeville (which owns Greenbank Farm), and John Hastings, president and founding member of Island Community Solar on Whidbey Island, discuss profitably developing the solar energy on local farmland. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Mar. 19, 2013:  Brad Beauchamp from ROUSH CleanTech in Michigan explained the production and use of propane as a transportation fuel and describe how ROUSH came to launch its CleanTech initiative. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Feb. 19, 2013:  Representatives from Jefferson County’s Public Utility District #1 (PUD) and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) provided an update on the transition of our electric utility from private to public. The launch of the new public power utility was April 1. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Jan. 15, 2013:  Norm Olson, director of the Iowa Energy Center at Iowa State University, discussesd the role of energy in farm machinery, fertilizer and transport, as well as the possibilities for energy generation on farms. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Dec. 18, 2012:  Eileen V. Quigley, New Energy Cities program director, discussed how small- to medium-sized cities are pioneering the clean energy economy in our region. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Nov. 20, 2012:  Ted Beatty of Energy Northwest discussed balancing energy sources, variable power rates, and new energy storage systems. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Oct. 16, 2012:  State Rep. Steve Tharinger gave an update on Initiative 937 and the Washington Energy Independence Act. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

    The Energy Lunch Program was produced with the assistance of Local 20/20’s Energy Action Group, the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, and WSU Jefferson County Extension.