Please join us for a meeting of the Bay Area Chapter of the California Solar & Storage Association (formerly CALSEIA) on Tuesday, June 19th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Freewire Technologies.

In addition to time for networking with others in the industry, the event will include:

-The Assemblymember from the 18th District and the Assistant Majority Leader, Rob Bonta will be joining us! Assemblymember Bonta has been a longtime supporter of California's solar industry and combatting climate change.

-Learn more about Alameda County's new community choice energy agency, East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), from their CEO, Nick Chaset, who will talk about EBCE's history, plans for the future and the role of solar and storage in their energy mix.

-See firsthand the future of mobile power by FreeWire Technologies - clean, quiet, connected mobile energy systems. FreeWire will also be giving a tour of their facility, followed by a virtual reality experience on the future of mobile power, created with the help of the 3D experience specialists at Trihelix.

-New Solar Advocacy Group: With constant attacks from the utilities, we need all hands on deck, including the roughly 700,000 solar customers in California. We'll hear about the Solar Rights Alliance, a new organization mobilizing solar customers across California to defend solar choice and energy independence from their executive director, Dave Rosenfeld.

Sponsored by Clean Solar.

Refreshments and Food will be provided.

The meeting is free and open to all California Solar & Storage Association members. If you are interested in learning more about membership or attending but you are not a member, first contact California Solar & Storage Association Membership Director Carter Lavin at carter@calssa.org or 610-772-6591.

Speaker Bios:

Assemblymember Rob Bonta was elected to the California State Assembly's 18th District in 2012, where he represents the cities of Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro. He is the first Filipino American legislator in the 165-year history of California. Bonta currently serves as the Assistant Majority Leader. He serves on the Appropriations, Communications and Conveyance, Governmental Organization, Revenue & Taxation, and Health Committees. He is also chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.

Nick Chaset is Chief Executive Officer of Alameda County’s new community choice energy agency, East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), which began providing service in June to businesses and municipalities in the county and 11 of its cities, Nick has been instrumental in all aspects of its formation, bringing with him over a decade of energy policy and legislative experience. Nick is also very active working on CCA issues across California as a member of the Board of the California Community Choice Association. Prior to EBCE, Nick served as Chief of Staff to Michael Picker, President of the California Public Utilities Commission and as a special advisor to Governor Jerry Brown focused on distributed energy resources. He began his career working in clean energy for Q-Cells,RenewFinancial, the California Public Utilities Commission and KEMA Consulting. Nick holds an MBA from Georgetown University and a BA in international relations from Tufts University.

Serena Xu is Director of Marketing at FreeWire Technologies. Her professional background is a unique blend of visual design, user experience, marketing strategy, and engineering, and thus she wears many hats at FreeWire. Joining as the first non-engineering hire, Serena worked closely with the founding team to define the vision, create a brand, and scale the company.

Dave Rosenfeld is the Executive Director of the Solar Rights Alliance. Dave is an expert social change leader and consumer advocate, with over two decades of organizing, campaigning, policy making, fundraising and nonprofit management experience. His recent work includes seven years as the Executive Director of the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG), where he doubled the organization’s dues-paying membership and led successful campaigns to cut health insurance rate hikes, expose secret government tax subsidies and strengthen campaign finance laws.The Solar Rights Alliance brings California's 700,000+ solar users and supporters together to defend and expand the right to choose solar energy. Those rights are under unprecedented attack by the utility monopoly, which is lobbying to slap solar owners with higher fees, cut the net metering credit and seize control over rooftop solar and storage systems. Solar Rights Alliance was founded with a grant from the CA Solar & Storage Association, and is now working to grow from 1,000 to 50,000 members over the next year. Support and partnership with the solar industry is essential to the success of the Solar Rights Alliance.

Bay Area Chapter Meeting of the California Solar & Storage Association