 Welcome here to Stanford and welcome to the Precord Energy Efficiency Center annual event the Silicon Valley Energy Summit. I'm really pleased to see this large group of people here and I know what the registration numbers are so it's gonna get filled up even more than this so when you leave your seats make sure you stake out your position because they may disappear later but I'm just really pleased to see everybody here at the event. For those energy or fiction autos it's an interesting time. President Obama made his I like to say long-awaited actual serious statement of energy policy and climate policy which in this case it's really all in the one thing because all the climate policy was energy policy actions that that he was taking. We asked him to hold it off till we asked him it was a day before he sort of messed up a little and got it a couple of days before our event but it's close as close as possible. I say when we said slow down we didn't really mean six years but but it is good that that you see now a statement that for those of us in California it's sort of gratifying. It looks to be that the rules that the EPA may end up with for electric utilities may end up looking very much like we've already implemented in California. Just as not long ago the automobile efficiency standards set up levels now mimic what we've set up a few years ago in California. The method of of tradeability among the manufacturers and the vehicles that they're now setting up looks just like we've done in California. So the pattern continues in many of these regulatory energy and energy environmental rules things start in California they're tested out here they're picked up by other states and finally the federal government starts moving in that direction and we've seen that example recently so that in itself would make this a propitious time for today's event but other things have been happening and that make this energy very interesting. California's cap and trade system is fully operational now. We have some challenges here and around the world and nuclear power. Santa Nofri plant has just been announced it will be permanently shut down and with the challenges of possibly if we have a hot summer we could have some shortages of electricity in Southern California but that's actually nothing in comparison to Korea that has 11 of their 23 nuclear power plants are now shut down based upon construction problems that turn out to be construction turns out to be not as good as they thought it was and so almost half are shut down but they're not as bad as Japan who has all but two of their nuclear power plant shut down so we've had some challenges around the around the world in nuclear power. We have a time where we're beginning to be really recognized that natural gas is the game changer right now in the energy system it's really great if you're a petrochemical firm if you were a plant planning on importing LNG it's not so good if you're planning on exporting it may be better if you're having a renewable and competing with with low cost electricity generated from from from gas you may view it as well this gives us some breathing room where we don't have we can't sell our product for a while so goods and bads the same same time we're seeing a lot of the early stage capital pulling back from the clean tech world at just the time that things are beginning to happen in Washington so that may create some interesting dynamics at the same time you have several companies around here which are really booming in the energy area. Finelite is the first of those been more under the radar but booming very well Tesla Solar City we see those as startups that no longer can call themselves startups they they're so far along now you see companies now routinely making the decision as to not whether they put in charging stations but how many and what the management rules of those charging stations are you see energy efficiency being implemented in buildings all around around here the number it's almost as if you can't build a new commercial building for a high-tech company unless it's lead certified so it's been very exciting and and many of those issues are ones that we will talk about here at at the Silicon Valley Energy Summit I'd like to before we get into our speakers I want to give some thanks to the planning committee because there's a they've just done a spectacular job and I'd like each of you to stand up as I just stand up planning committee members and I will be calling your names Jeff Byron, Alan Gartner, Mark Golden, Barbara Haydorn, Mukesh Qatar, Pedro Mocrian, Anarunda Munchi, Ralph Rene, Heather Richmond, Murek Samotij, Susan Sweeney, John Wyant, Chuck Wilhelm this group has been working since fall and I think they really need to be commended for putting together such a fine program I like to also thank Michael Killen who created the paintings you see around here as not many energy conferences have such fine art associated with them last year he he brought one of those very very large painting and it was seen by Nancy McFadden who's essentially the governor's chief of staff and as a result of that a year later it's now been set up where that painting that was here will be displayed outside the governor's office in the Capitol as well as a group of his other paintings that will be on tour throughout the California Capitol so that's just one of the follow-ups that has happened from from last year's event so thanks to Mike for Michael for bringing his paintings I'd like to also thank ahead of time all the speakers and moderators it's an impressive lineup but anybody who's giving a talk here has to have spent some time preparing had to come here have to give in so great thanks to all of you who are who are giving going to be giving talks here today just two issues that I'd like people to start working on on each of your tables there's evaluations it's very important what we get those filled out and there's some parts of it you can start filling out right now like how did you hear about this in the first place email was it a Twitter feed was a KQED announcement what are the things that that you heard about the event it helps us for future years making sure we get the word out and finally for those of you who enjoy tweeting there's a Twitter feed at SVES and so tweet to your delight to your heart's delight and outside there will the Twitter fees will be displayed out in the board outside here with that I'd like to move to a first speaker and call up Jeff Bingaman