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For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Zan Dubin Scott
Office: (310) 392-1130
Cell: (310) 383-0956

Free Eco-Fest to Feature Roof-Top Solar Tours, Seminars, Green Family Fun
Make it a “Consumption-Lite” Season With Renewable LA: The First Annual Solar Open House & Green Holiday Gift Fest

VAN NUYS—Roof-top tours of one of the San Fernando Valley’s largest solar installations—100 kilowatts of clean energy—will highlight a free eco fest to be held on Sat., Dec. 8 at American Hi Definition, 7635 Airport Business Park Way, Van Nuys. “Renewable LA: The First Annual Solar Open House & Green Holiday Gift Fest” will also feature seminars, clean-car test rides, a film screening, family fun and “consumption-lite” holiday shopping.

“The holidays tend to focus on overconsumption, so we decided to start a new tradition and celebrate all things renewable this season,” said eco fest organizer Ady Gil. “Our goal is to further educate the public about simple, effective actions each of us can take to keep climate change at bay and to keep our air and water clean. We want to make it a lot of fun, too.”

Gil is co-owner of American Hi Definition and Sweetwater Digital, digital video equipment companies housed in the facility on which the 100kW-solar array will sit. “Renewable L.A.” will take place in the 28,000-square-foot facility’s large parking lot from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In addition to solar tours, the event will offer expert seminars such as “The Basics, a.k.a. Environmentalism for Dummies,” “Solar Home Financing,” “Biodiesel: Out of the FOG (Fats, Oils & Greases),” “How to Build Green,” “The State of Clean Car Technology,” and “Why Population is an Environmental Matter.”

Chris Paine, director of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” will speak about the award-winning documentary, to be shown continuously in American Hi Definition and Sweetwater Digital’s special screening room. (Seating is limited to 45 people per screening.)

To make it a “consumption-lite” holiday, attendees will be invited to donate to an environmental or animal protection group in their loved ones’ names. Among the nonprofits participating: TreePeople, Global Green, American Lung Association of California, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, California League of Conservation Voters, Plug In America, Green Depot and Much Love Animal Rescue.

“We’ll give each donor a special certificate to show that he or she has made a contribution on behalf of a family member or other loved one,” said Sarah Connolly of Rainforest Action Network. “This kind of a gift can be uniquely meaningful and it’s a great way to use your money to effect change.”

Among the clean vehicles available for test rides at “Renewable L.A.” will be a ZENN neighborhood electric vehicle, a Vectrix Maxi-Scooter, a plug-in hybrid by Plug-In Hybrid Conversions, an eBox by AC Propulsion, a Toyota RAV4 EV and a Volkswagen Jetta Wagon running on 100-percent biodiesel.

“Some of the electric cars at this event are charged with electricity generated with solar power, so people will get the chance to drive on one-hundred percent clean energy,” said Paine of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” “What’s really promising is that people are demanding these kinds of cars and now no fewer than ten auto companies, including GM, Ford, Toyota and Volvo, have announced plans to develop fully electric or plug-in hybrid cars.”

Family activities at the eco fest will include solar print-making using the sun with Pasadena’s Armory Center for the Arts and toy- and gadget-making from recyclables with Cy Tymony, author of “Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things.”

For those who prefer to deliver holiday cheer in a pretty package, gift boutiques such as Green With Envy and Handmade Galleries of Sherman Oaks will sell such earth-friendly items as jewelry made with recycled Scrabble pieces, organic-cotton toddler toys and bamboo tableware.

The event will also include food and music.

American Hi Definition and Sweetwater Digital are hosting “Renewable L.A.” with Energy Efficiency Solar of Pomona, installer of the 100kW solar array. All three businesses are committed to environmental stewardship. Each has a fleet that includes clean cars powered by electricity or biodiesel and each utilizes other sustainable operational technologies.

The solar array will meet all the electricity needs of the event’s host facility, thereby displacing dirtier electricity that would otherwise be provided by the grid. This will reduce by 180,000 pounds the amount of carbon dioxide—the chief global warming gas—emitted into the air each year.

The array, comprising 600 190-watt individual panels, will supply free electricity to the site for decades. Its panels are guaranteed for 25 years and expected to last up to 50. The upfront cost of the system will be earned back within about 10 years (at present electricity rates).

All “Renewable L.A.” activities are free to the public. For a list of participating organizations and more information, visit www.renewablela.org or email info@renewablela.org.

American Hi Definition, Inc. is one of Hollywood’s leading providers of large-screen video projection technology. For more information, visit www.hi-def.com.

Sweetwater Digital Productions is a leading equipment rental company providing video production trucks, custom control rooms, display technology, camera systems and flypacks to entertainment and corporate clients. For more information, visit www.svptv.com.

Energy Efficiency Solar has been installing solar power systems as large as 246 kilowatts for homes and businesses for more than a decade. For more information, visit www.eesolar.com

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Mayor Cacciotti Recognizes Community Leaders Jeffrey Burke & Lorraine Triolo for Installing Largest Commercial Solar System in South Pasadena and Pasadena
 Solar Array Will Offset 67,000 Pounds of Carbon Dioxide Annually in Fight Against Air Pollution and Energy Shortages

SOUTH PASADENA, CA—Mayor Michael Cacciotti will recognize business leaders Jeffrey Burke and Lorraine Triolo at a news conference on Thursday, Nov. 15 for installing the largest commercial solar electricity system in South Pasadena and Pasadena, thereby reducing the community’s carbon footprint. The 41.58-kilowatt array, to be unveiled at the 11 a.m. event, also will help support the cities’ power supply.

        Installed by Energy Efficiency Solar of Pomona, the photovoltaic system will provide a significant portion of the electricity needed to power a commercial building at 99 Pasadena Avenue, where 60 employees work for JupiterMedia. Burke and Triolo (Burke’s wife), long-time South Pasadena residents, own the building and founded PictureArts, the corporation they built into one of the Internet’s largest stock photography suppliers before its acquisition by JupiterMedia.

        By displacing a portion of the electricity that would otherwise be provided by the grid, the solar array will reduce by nearly 67,000 pounds the amount of carbon dioxide—the chief global warming gas—emitted into the air each year.

        “The effort to curb climate change must be undertaken by all segments of our society, from the government to the private sector,” said Mayor Cacciotti, who will present Burke and Triolo with a Certificate of Recognition at the news conference. “Jeffrey Burke and Lorraine Triolo’s use of solar power, a clean, abundant and renewable resource, is a great example of entrepreneurial leadership and establishes an environmental benchmark for other businesses to follow.”

        Solar arrays such as this one, which will generate 5,500-kilowatt hours of electricity each month, not only help in the battle against global warming, but can shore up the community’s electricity supply. The system comprises 198 solar modules from SunPower Corp., which manufactures the most efficient panels available. It will produce the most power during peak periods of demand on the local grid, thereby reducing the risk of community brownouts.

        “In the long run, the system will be profitable for us as the building’s owners,” Burke said. “But more importantly, it’s the right thing to do. Our son, Dylan, turns 17 today, and Lorraine and I want the world that he and his sister, Marla, and their children inhabit to be the best world it can possibly be.”

        Congressman Adam B. Schiff, whose 29th district includes South Pasadena and Pasadena, also commended Burke and Triolo for the installation. “Many of America's most successful companies have realized that something must be done to contain global warming…The American people are ready for a clean energy economy,” Congressman Schiff said earlier this year on the House Floor.

        “I applaud our own local business community leaders Jeffrey Burke and Lorraine Triolo for doing their part to help curb climate change.” The green upgrade to 99 Pasadena will include other improvements to the energy efficiency of the building, as well as construction of an educational display allowing employees and visitors to learn about the solar array and to see how much electricity it is generating moment to moment. This work is being done by Energy Efficiency Solar, which has completed more than 500 solar panel installations throughout Southern California. William Korthof, Energy Efficiency’s owner, will attend the installation’s unveiling. The new solar system represents a first step in the redevelopment of 99 Pasadena Avenue’s immediate area, known as South Pasadena’s Ostrich Farm district.

        Burke and Triolo, named 2005 Entrepreneurs of the Year by the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, invested heavily to purchase and rehabilitate the property in 2002. Their renovation of it resulted in the creation of a new headquarters for PictureArts, formerly based in Culver City. Burke and Triolo also have begun construction on a new three-story, 20,000-square-foot building on property acquired from the city of South Pasadena, to be attached to the existing 16,000-square-foot structure. The addition will have a solar array of its own, said attorney Greg Surman, who is Burke’s chief consultant on the solar electricity projects. Completion and leasing availability for that project is scheduled for January 2009.

        “I hope that our work will demonstrate for other local property owners the financial and environmental benefits of solar power and other sustainable energy technologies,” Burke said.

        Energy Efficiency Solar has been installing solar power systems as large as 246 kilowatts for homes and businesses for more than a decade. For more information, visit www.eesolar.com or call (909) 865-8561.

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