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Newsletter

January 2006

Kumeyaay wind project begins feeding juice to San Diego


 




Mark Your Calendar

Board Meeting,
January 12, 2006
3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Escondido City Hall, Mitchell Room

North County RMDZ workshop and luncheon
Thursday, February 16, 2006.
Tri-City Hospital, 11:30-1:00p.m.




For location information,
contact staff at
760-598-9311.


Save the Date

State of the County Address
February 7, 6 p.m.
California Center for the Arts

Center for Entreprenomics
January 26th
Press Conference

January 27th
Entrepreneural Roundtable

January 28th
The Game Introduction of Entreprenomics




Welcome & Happy New Year!

SDNEDC New Members! Please join us in welcoming our new members: JDS Production & Southwest Community Bank.

On December 8th SDNEDC held its 5th annual Holiday Luncheon and Awards Presentation. This year we had over 120 people register to attend. They had a chance to hear our guest speaker Michael Levine, author of "Broken Windows - Broken Business", talk about the importance of small details and the major impact they have on our bottom line.

It was also the time for SDNEDC to recognize organizations, companies and individuals who supported us and made contributions to the North County Region. The Private Partner Award went to SDG&E and the Public Partner Award was given to Palomar Pomerado Health.
The Leadership Award went to Joe Gabaldon of Cox Communications and the Chairman's Award was given to County Supervisor Bill Horn. We want to congratulate all of the winners and thank them for their outstanding service to North County!

We also want to recognize our sponsors, without their help this event would not be possible: SDG&E, SignOnSanDiego, NYCA, Community National Bank, Biofilm, Poseidon Reources, Watkins Manufacturing and 1st Pacific Bank.

Economic council discusses small business help center, unveils business cluster list

ESCONDIDO ---- The San Diego North Economic Development Council gave more details about a new program to help small businesses and identified 12 local business clusters at its 2005 Holiday Luncheon and Awards Presentation, held Wednesday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

The council's Center for Entreprenomics is aimed at helping small businesses get off to a good start by making the most effective use of their limited resources and avoiding common mistakes. It can be reached through the council at (760) 598-9311 or on the Web at www.entreprenomics.com.

Gary Knight, president and chief executive of the council, said small businesses are the foundation of North County's economy.
"Ninety-five percent of businesses in North County have five or fewer employees," Knight said. "We're letting them know help is out there."
Starting in January, the council will publicize one of the business clusters each month, he said. The council will release a report of each month's highlighted business cluster, focusing on its contributions to North County.

The clusters are: tourism/gaming, banking/finance, manufacturing, sports and extreme sports, agriculture, health care, military/defense, education, biotech, high tech, transportation, and marketing and communications. A centerpiece arrangement at each table symbolized the clusters by bearing items representing each industry.

The council also gave awards to businesses and individuals for their service to North County.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co. received the Private Partner of the Year award; Palomar Pomerado Health was named Public Partner of the Year; Joe Gabaldon of Cox Communications, and former chairman of the council, received the Leadership Award; and Supervisor Bill Horn, a major supporter of the council, received the Chairman's Award.

A report on the North County economy will be released early next year, Knight said. The "San Diego North Economic Outlook" will be released on Feb. 7. It will be available at a council dinner event held at 6 p.m., also at the Center for the Arts in Escondido.

For more information on how to become a member of the EDC, or if you know of someone that should be involved, please contact our office at 760-598-9311.


  • Kumeyaay wind project begins feeding juice to San Diego

    • Electricity from the largest wind power farm on Indian land has begun flowing into California's grid. The wind farm is the result of a partnership between Babcock & Brown and GE Energy Financial Services. Energy Financial Services invested $51 million in the 50- megawatt Kumeyaay Wind project near San Diego.

    The wind farm comprises 25 turbines that each can generate two megawatts of electricity. After eight months of construction and a month of testing, the turbines are feeding power into the San Diego Gas & Electric grid from the Campo Indian Reservation atop the Tecate Divide 70 miles east of San Diego and 18 miles north of the Mexican border. Babcock & Brown, which will retain a substantial equity interest and remain the long-term manager, has six wind facilities in the United States that will go into service by year's end.

    "The Kumeyaay project represents significant growth of our already sizeable renewable energy portfolio. Consistent with GE's ecomagination initiative, it builds on our investments earlier this year in seven German wind farms, and continues our productive relationship with Babcock & Brown," said Alex Urquhart, President and CEO of GE Energy Financial Services.

    Ecomagination is GE's commitment to expand its portfolio of "cleaner" energy products while reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions.

    "For us, this transaction is consistent with our strategy of working with investment partners to expand in the rapidly growing wind energy sector, particularly in the United States and also continues our long and successful relationship with GE in power," said Hunter Armistead, Vice President of Babcock & Brown Power Operating Partners.

    For the Campo tribe, the wind farm diversifies its income from the lease of the land beneath the turbines.

    The Kumeyaay Wind farm annually will produce power sufficient for about 30,000 homes and will save approximately 110,000 tons a year in greenhouse gas emissions, compared with equivalent fossil fuel generation. It will help San Diego Gas & Electric meet its target of supplying at least 20 percent of its customers' electricity from renewable sources by 2010.

    The transaction is the second renewable energy investment in San Diego County by GE Energy Financial Services this year. The first, in April, was an investment in solar roofs covering 14 of the City's public schools.

    Phone Number 760-598-9311
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    This email was sent to stephanieweber@sandiegonorthedc.org, by garyknight@sandiegonorthedc.org
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    San Diego North Economic Development Council | 100 N. Rancho Santa Fe | San Marcos | CA | 92069