Innovators Large and Small Converge on San Jose to Explore Sustainability Solutions
VERGE event to operate on 100% renewably-powered microgrid
SAN JOSE, Calif., October 21, 2015 /3BL Media/ — GreenBiz Group’s annual flagship event, VERGE, will be taking over downtown San Jose October 26-29, a convergence of the world’s biggest companies, most innovative disruptors, cities, utilities and others to explore how technology can address the world’s most pressing challenges.
VERGE 2015 will be powered by a renewably-powered microgrid created onsite for the event, a powerful demonstration of the potential of a distributed and clean-energy future. It models resilience, interoperability and radical efficiency — all key themes of VERGE.
“As a global leader in clean technology, San Jose is proud to host the most innovative clean technology businesses at this year’s VERGE conference. These companies promote the cutting-edge sustainable practices that are critical to achieving our Green Vision goals of improving environmental sustainability, while encouraging economic growth,” said Sam Liccardo, Mayor of San Jose. On Tuesday October 27th, Mayor Liccardo will address market leaders and kick-off the event.
“With a rich history in technology innovation, we are proud to bring VERGE to San Jose, as it will continue to be a place of inspiration and industry growth,” said Eric Faurot, CEO of GreenBiz Group.
An outdoor portion of the VERGE Interconnect Expo will be open to the public as an opportunity to share insights, promote collaborative learning and inspire higher rates of renewable energy and energy efficiency. The expo will be powered by SunPower’s 400W solar array, Primo Wind’s 250W unit, Genset’s biodiesel generator and All Power Labs’ 25kw biomass gasifier as primary sources of energy. Spirae will provide the microgrid controller and manage the systems integration of the project. Other microgrid partners include Pacific Gas & Electric (battery storage), ChargePoint (electric vehicle chargers), FreeWire (battery storage) and Loadtec (load bank). Interconnect will also feature electric vehicles, 3D printers, drones and virtual reality technology.
The VERGE program includes more than 100 sessions and 250 speakers that focus on how technology is accelerating sustainability solutions across industries and sectors in an interconnected world. Last year, VERGE attracted more than 1,000 attendees from corporations, innovators, public agencies and utilities. Attendees this year will hear directly from key market leaders including:
- Tom Steyer, Founder of NextGen Climate
- Van Jones, President & Co-Founder of Dream Corps
- Steve Jurvetson, Partner DFJ
- Ev Williams, Co-founder of Twitter
- Robin Chase, CEO of Buzzcar & Co-founder of Zipcar
- Cady Coleman, NASA astronaut and technology liaison
Among Silicon Valley presenters include Aclima, Autodesk, BMW of North America, Code for America, Electric Power Research Institute, Enlighted, Future Cities Lab, Genentech, Google, HP, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Lyft, Nauto, Nissan Future Lab, Obvious Ventures, Proterra, Salesforce.com, Thinkstep, Tesla Energy and Yahoo!
ABOUT GREENBIZ GROUP
GreenBiz Group’s mission is to define and accelerate the business of sustainability. It does this through a wide range of products and services, including its acclaimed website GreenBiz.com and e-newsletters, GreenBuzz and VERGE; webcasts on topics of importance to sustainability and energy executives; research reports, including the annual State of Green Business; the GreenBiz Executive Network, a membership-based, peer-to-peer learning forum for sustainability executives; and conferences: the annual GreenBiz forum and VERGE.
Media contact: verge@missionc2.com
