California Center for Sustainable Energy

Renewable energy expert to speak in San Diego Oct. 14

Carl Zichella, a nationally renowned expert on environmental and renewable energy issues, will speak about “Progress, Opportunities and Obstacles to the Climate Challenge for the World’s Largest Economy” during a presentation at CCSE on Thursday, Oct. 14, at 6:30 p.m.

Zichella is currently director of western transmission for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), but for more than 23 years he was affiliated with the Sierra Club. Most recently, he was the Sierra Club’s director for western U.S. renewable projects where he was responsible for overseeing the organization’s work on renewable energy siting and transmission issues. His career at the Sierra Club includes serving as the organization’s regional director for California, Nevada and Hawaii from 2000-2008 and for the Midwest from 1987-2000.

Adding to Zichella’s unique leadership role in nongovernment agencies is his service as a founding steering committee member of the California Apollo Alliance, a director of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technology (CEERT) and the founding director of the American Wilderness Coalition. In addition, he has been the environmental representative for the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI), the Western Governors’ Association Renewable Energy Zone identification process and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s Transmission Expansion Planning Policy Committee.

At the NRDC, Zichella is leading efforts to ensure that environmental protections are fully evaluated in siting and transmission planning across the West. He is part of an extensive team of NRDC energy, climate and natural resource experts working to identify the right places for renewable energy generation and transmission projects and increase the production and use of clean energy sources.

“Zichella’s efforts to find solutions to locating renewable energy projects that also conserve and protect the environment give him a unique insight into the role that a wide range of clean technologies can play in America’s movement toward a sustainable society,” said Irene Stillings, CCSE executive director.

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