Daily Business Report-May 30, 2017

The EPA’s ‘Top 30 On-Site Generation’ list ranks San Diego eighth nationally, with more than 51 million kilowatt hours of green power produced annually. (click to enlarge)

San Diego Ranked Eighth Largest

Green Power User in the Country

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ranked the city of San Diego as the eighth largest green power user in the country in its annual list recognizing agencies for generating power from alternative energy sources, including solar, landfill gas, hydro-electric, and wastewater methane energy systems.

“We’re constantly looking for new ways to lead by example and use innovative technology to expand our use of renewable energy,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “We’re marching toward our goal of 100 percent renewable energy and this ranking reflects the significant progress San Diego is making to build a cleaner and more sustainable future for the next generation.”

The EPA’s “Top 30 On-Site Generation” list ranks San Diego eighth nationally, with more than 51 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power produced annually. The EPA estimates San Diego’s green power production is powering 28 percent of its total municipal electric power needs — the equivalent of electricity necessary to power 5,000 homes.

San Diego is among the best in the country among the 1,400 agencies surveyed within the EPA’s Green Power Partnership, a voluntary program that encourages organizations to use renewable energy production as a way to reduce environmental impacts.

“By making the choice to use clean, renewable energy, the city is more sustainable,” said Environmental Services Director Mario Sierra. “Using green power is a sound business decision and an important tool in reducing one’s carbon footprint in the fight against climate change.”

Green power is zero-emissions electricity that is generated from renewable resources like wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass, and low-impact hydro. Using green power helps build demand for the development of new renewable energy capacity nationwide and helps users reduce their carbon footprints.

“We are coordinating our efforts with several departments to implement several green power projects that will benefit the city in many ways in addition to the energy savings,” said Jack Clark, the city’s Environmental Services Department deputy director.

__________________

Spacecraft with Northrop’s Navigation Tool

Travels Through Gap Between Saturn, Rings

ExecutiveBiz

A Northrop Grumman-built navigation platform has worked to provide attitude control capabilities for NASA’s Cassini space vehicle in support of the Saturn exploration mission.

The spacecraft with Northrop’s Space Inertial Reference Unit maneuvered through a 1,500-mile gap between the planet and its rings on April 26, the company said.

Northrop’s SIRU navigation platform has a hemispherical resonator gyro component and works to provide data on critical angular rate to facilitate attitude control and stabilization of spacecraft and satellites as well as their corresponding instruments.

NASA expects Cassini to perform up to 22 dives between Saturn and its rings to collect additional data on the planet through mid-September.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been operating the Cassini spacecraft for NASA’s science mission directorate since its launch in 1997 as part of the mission that seeks to study the planet, its rings, magnetosphere and moons.

Northrop has supplied products to NASA in support of MESSENGER and other space exploration missions and leads an industry team that builds the James Webb Space Telescope through a contract with the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

NASA plans to launch the telescope in late 2018.

__________________

Model Home Grand Opening Set

for Rancho Tesoro in San Marcos

Homebuilders Brookfield Residential and California West announced the completion of 12 model homes at Rancho Tesoro, a new 250-acre master planned community in San Marcos. The public is invited to tour the model homes for the first time on Saturday, June 3 at 10 a.m. The community is located at Twin Oaks Valley Road and Village Drive, just south of State Route 78 in San Marcos.

Rancho Tesoro’s homes come in a variety of architectural styles, such as Monterey, Spanish and Santa Barbara. The model grand opening will have live music, refreshments including a gourmet coffee truck, along with balloon artists, face painters, giveaways and more. Festivities will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Tours will take place on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Shoppers can tour the following single-family-home neighborhoods, where prices range from the $600,000s to the $800,000s.

Terracina by Brookfield Residential: Terracina offers 2,211 to 2,594 square-foot homes having three to five bedrooms including optional dual-master bedrooms, up to three-and-one-half baths and a two-car garage. Homes are priced from the $600,000s.

Vientos by Brookfield Residential: These 2,458 to 3,009 square-foot homes with have four to five bedrooms and three to four-and-one-half baths. Some plans have a “California garage” design with a front- and rear-door opening. Homes are priced from the $600,000s.

Westerly by California West: Located along the community’s western edge, Westerly features single-family residences of 2,801 to 3,521 square feet with up to five bedrooms and four-and-one-half baths, and the option for an Elan home automation system. Homes are priced from the $700,000s.

Candela by Brookfield Residential: This neighborhood of residences offers 2,689 to 3,565 square feet of open living space, four to six bedrooms, three to four-and-one-half baths, a two-car garage and opportunities to customize with a children’s play area, library, music room or home gym. Homes are priced from the $800,000s.

Upon completion, Rancho Tesoro will have 346 homes.

__________________

New Dean Named for SDSU

Fowler College of Business

Lance Nail has been named the new dean of San Diego State University’s Fowler College of Business. Nail previously served as dean of the business schools at both Texas Tech University and the University of Southern Mississippi. Most recently, he served as founding chairman of the board of advisors for the Texas Tech University Innovation Hub and Research Park.
“Lance has an extraordinary record of success improving the national rankings and increasing philanthropic giving at the universities he has served,” said Chukuka Enwemeka, SDSU provost and senior vice president.

While at Texas Tech, Nail increased annual philanthropic giving from an average of $5.9 million per year to more than $16 million. While at Southern Miss, he grew the college endowment by more than 10 percent and successfully raised $36 million for the college.

__________________

NAWBO Presents BRAVO! Awards

The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) San Diego celebrated the achievements of female entrepreneurs at its annual awards dinner, presenting BRAVO! Awards to eight women.

The award winners:

• Woman Business Owner of the Year: Janis Stevens, Innovative Tub Solutions.
• Rising Star Award: Nicole Sutton, Nexus Search Group.
• Signature Award: Deb Hubers, La Vita Compounding Pharmacy.
• Green Community Award: Kelly Afsahi, Biozenic LLC.
• Trailblazer Award: Alexandra Linyard, 1218 App Team.
• Women’s Advocate of the Year: Kara Horat, Connect for Success.
• Corporate Leader Award: Karen Harrison, Bank of America.
• Corporate Leader Award: Jaymee Lomax, San Diego Gas & Electric.

__________________

Return of the RV Roger Revelle

Scripps Oceanography research vessel Roger Revelle stands ready at the Nimitz Marine Facility pier, back in San Diego Bay for the first time in more than four years.

The global class research vessel has been carrying out scientific missions around the Pacific and Indian oceans since early 2013 and it’s only home for a brief stop. R/V Roger Revelle heads to out sea this week to gather data on the California Current Ecosystem during a month-long cruise for biological oceanographer Mark Ohman and a team of other Scripps researchers.

And later in the year, R/V Roger Revelle will head to the Pacific Northwest to support a series of projects on the Cascadia subduction zone, the Juan de Fuca seafloor spreading center, and the Ocean Observatories Initiative, America’s NSF-funded cabled ocean observatory offshore Washington and Oregon.

Roger Revelle (1909-1991), the ship’s namesake, was director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography from 1951 to 1964. Long associated with the University of California, Revelle’s vision and energies led to the establishment of the UC San Diego campus in 1960.