Pacific Gas & Electric Company (www.pge.com) received the Brilliant Utility award due to their leading example in being a sustainable utility. Over 50 percent of the electricity they deliver to customers comes from sources that emit no greenhouse gases. PG&E have worked with our customers to prevent the emission of more than 125 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Among other efforts, PG&E is working with technology companies and entrepreneurs on innovative strategies to advance and commercialize energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies and the “smart grid.”

The City of Santa Monica (www.santa-monica.org) won the Brilliant Community award for its significant strides in solid waste management, water availability and quality, controlled development, transportation management, green purchasing, green power, toxic waste management, urban run-off recycling, the City has taken on a Citywide implementation of bundled efficiency and solar power (both electric and thermal). The City has partnered with four solar installation contractors and four financial partners to offer the public affordable packages that will help the city achieve high levels of renewable energy supply.

Flexcar (www.flexcar.com) received the Brilliant Transportation award for it’s accomplishments in changing people’s transportation habits. Flexcar operates a national car-sharing program, in which it places fleets of environmentally-friendly cars and trucks in dense urban areas across the country. Using sophisticated technology, its members can reserve and drive these cars by the hour, with a simple fee covering the cost of the car, gas, insurance, parking, maintenance and 24/7 emergency assistance.

The Greenstone Building, designed by Manasc Isaac Architects Ltd. (www.miarch.com) won the Brilliant Building award for it’s numerous sustainable features that have been integrated at every level including the most prominent being a 353m² curtainwall-integrated BIPV (Building Integrated Photo-Voltaic) system that provides over 33kW of electricity for the building and replaces the need for shading the four-story high atrium. Energy savings for the building are expected to save $70,000 per year, while reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are calculated to be 370 tonnes per year.

Silver Springs Network (www.silverspringnetworks.com) is receiving the Brilliant Innovation award in Electric Grid for bringing a new approach to utility networking; one that is based on open standards and the robust and field-proven suite of internet protocols, known as IP. Silver Spring Networks leverages IP and enables utility companies to create the critical networking infrastructure necessary for the 21st century; one that enables energy efficiency and ‘green’ energy to be practical and cost effective. They call it a Smart Energy Network.

Earth Class Mail (www.earthclassmail.com) received the Brilliant Innovations for Business Processes because it gives people the ability to access postal mail online from anywhere in the world. The Earth Class Mail service is used by businesses and individuals in more than 80 countries. It is an eco-friendly business that helps the environment by increasing paper recycling of postal mail, and by reducing fuel and carbon emissions of delivery costs.

Greenwood Technologies (www.greenwoodfurnace.com/ ) won the Brilliant Innovations award in Residential Solutions for its clean burning wood boiler (furnace) that heats an entire home and provides all hot water. It is up to 85% efficient and enables home owners to replace oil, natural gas or propane as a fuel source for heating their home and replace it with wood. Through a process called wood gasification, the Greenwood burns not only the wood, but the smoke and gases released from the fire.

Westport Innovations (www.westport.com/) is receiving the Brilliant Innovation award in Vehicle Technologies for its high pressure direct injection (HPDI) technology for heavy-duty trucks. The Westport LNG System for Heavy-Duty Trucks, uses the HPDI technology, to allow heavy-duty trucks to operate with approximately 95% replacement of diesel fuel by natural gas. In addition to this heavy-duty product, Westport has a 50:50 joint venture company with Cummins Inc., Cummins Westport Inc. (CWI). CWI manufactures and sells the world's widest range of low-emissions alternative fuel spark-ignited technology engines for commercial transportation applications such as urban trucks and buses

Western Washington University's Vehicle Research Institute (VRI) won the Brilliant Innovation award in Waste-to- Energy for developing a small-scale biomethane scrubbing facility that will for mitigate fecal coliform loading in the Nooksack River basin, offset the climate change impacts of dairy farming, and provide the region with a clean burning, locally produced renewable fuel.
    

Envision Solar (www.envisionsolar.com) was granted the Brilliant Innovation award in Distributed Energy because of their Solar Grove,™ a system of “solar trees”  built in a San Diego parking lot. The Solar Grove™ produced about 431,000- kilowatt hours of electricity in its first year of operation—enough to power 68 single family homes. Envision Solar is targeting this Solar Grove™ for major commercial markets such as Casinos, Convention Centers, and Theme Parks.

Jones & Stokes (www.jonesandstokes.com) received the Brilliant Innovation award for Environmental Planning for their consulting work to East Contra Costa County (www.cocohcp.org). The Conservation Plan created for the community will protect open space, generate $350 million without raising taxes, provides greater regulatory and economic certainty and provides local government more control and facilitates permit for crucial infrastructure.

THANK YOU TO CANLIS GLASS FOR PROVIDING THE AWARDS