It pays to be green

Green business practices aren’t just good for the environment, they’re good for the bottom line.

That was the message delivered Friday to Sonoma County business leaders at the annual Business Environmental Alliance breakfast in Rohnert Park.

“We know that green is gold,” said Carl Guardino, CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business coalition that includes California’s largest technology companies.

“We have to take these steps if we want a strong environment and a sustainable economy,” he said.

Examples abound in Sonoma County, where green technology companies are developing products to improve the environment and save money.

In Petaluma, HydroPoint Data Systems is making “smart” irrigation controllers that use satellite weather forecasts to manage water use. The technology will save businesses $75 million and reduce wasted water by 11 billion in gallons in 2009, said Chris Spain, HydroPoint’s chairman and chief strategy officer.

“When you waste water, you waste energy,” Spain said.

Companies that use HydroPoint’s WeatherTRAK system to manage their landscape irrigation find the technology pays for itself, Spain said.

“Clean technology has to be economically sustainable,” he said.

Another Petaluma company, Enphase Energy, has developed microinverter technology that increases the efficiency of solar power systems up to 25 percent, said company co-founder Raghu Belur.

Enphase was founded in 2006 and has quickly grown to 70 employees as customers deploy its system, he said. Green technology promises to be a good source of jobs for Sonoma County, Belur said.

“You cannot outsource these jobs,” he said.

In Santa Rosa, ThermaSource is helping expand production of geothermal energy production at The Geysers and other sites around the world, said CEO Lou Capuano Jr.

ThermaSource operates drilling rigs and provides services to geothermal operators, he said. Demand for steam energy is growing as governments require more alternative power sources, he said.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. plans to provide 500 megawatts of solar power — enough for 150,000 homes — by 2015, said Randy DeCaminada, North Coast manager for the utility. About half of the production will come from independent generators, he said.

Guardino lauded North Bay voters’ approval last year of a commuter rail system for Sonoma and Marin counties.

“We want to get people out of their cars,” he said. “It’s a great way to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Friday’s conference was hosted by Sonoma County’s Business Environmental Alliance, a volunteer group that promotes green business practices. It presented 16 Sonoma County businesses with its Best Practices Award for saving energy, reducing waste and taking other steps to protect the environment.

Award winners include Asti Winery, DoubleTree Hotel, Friedman’s Home Improvement, Ghilotti Construction, Hilton Sonoma Wine Country, Jordan Vineyard & Winery, Lace House Linen Supply, Lescure Engineers, Liberty Valley Doors, Mrs. Grossman’s Paper Co., Redwood Credit Union, Redwood Hill Farm, Santa Rosa Junior College, St. Francis Winery & Vineyard, Winzler & Kelley and Wright Engineered Plastics.