CH2M HILL Sustainability Expert Named to Smart Grid Oregon Expert Advisory Council

CH2M HILL sustainability expert Stephanie Stoppenhagen has been named to the Expert Advisory Council of Smart Grid Oregon, a trade association committed to promoting the smart grid industry and infrastructure in the state of Oregon.

Ms. Stoppenhagen is recognized as an expert in global sustainability, renewable energies and smart cities technology. Her work for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America Communities program received 2011 Environmental Business Journal and Climate Change Business Journal awards.

Smart Grid Oregon is believed to be the first state smart grid trade association in the U.S. While initially focused on Oregon, Smart Grid Oregon is positioned to seek opportunities and partners within the Pacific Northwest and beyond to expand the organization’s reach in promoting the smart grid.

The Smart Grid Oregon Expert Advisory Council is tasked with guiding the organization’s focus on challenges and opportunities relevant to Oregon’s Smart Grid industry. Council members help convey the critical importance of Smart Grid initiatives to many communities through speaking and other interactions with private and public sector leaders and professional organizations.

Ms. Stoppenhagen’s work in leading sustainability “think tank initiatives” at CH2M HILL includes development of a patented, first-of-its-kind Solar Mapping tool. This web-based technology allows a city’s residents and businesses to estimate the cost to equip their roofs with solar panels, calculate a building’s savings using solar power, and select a local solar installer.

Since its first implementation in San Francisco in 2008, the Solar Map has enabled installation of nearly 4,000 solar systems throughout the city, producing 31,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy annually, creating $6 million in estimated annual energy savings, and reducing more than 6,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually. Ms. Stoppenhagen led development of a related renewable energy tool, the San Francisco Urban Wind Map which was introduced on Earth Day in 2012.

Her involvement in eco-innovation encompasses numerous eco district projects including the North American EcoDistricts Program for nine U.S. cities; the District of Columbia DC Green Map “green portal” helping residents adopt green energy solutions and reduce storm water discharge; North Carolina’s Envision Charlotte project using Smart Grid technologies to pursue a 20 percent reduction in water use and electricity consumption; the San Francisco Urban EcoMap to track greenhouse gas emissions by zip code related to transportation, building energy use and waste; and the Green Energy Dashboard website for Reno, Nevada to track energy generated city-wide by solar and wind power installations.

Ms. Stoppenhagen joins fellow Smart Grid Oregon Expert Advisory Council members Rob Aldrich (Cisco), Rick Crinklaw (Lane Electric Cooperative), Michael Grainey (Business Oregon), Jeff Harris (Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance), David Kalez (Pacific Crest Securities), Michael Jung (Silver Spring Networks), Cheryl Linder (IBM Energy and Utilities Industry), Elliot Mainzer (Bonneville Power Administration), Patrick Miller (EnergySec), Pam Neal (Portland Development Commission), Bill Nesmith (National Association of State Energy Officials), Elaine Prause (Energy Trust of Oregon), Vijay Satyal (Oregon Department of Energy), Amos Tsikayi (eMeter, a Siemens Business).

Headquartered near Denver, Colorado, USA, employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in consulting, design, design-build, operations, and program management for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. The firm’s work is concentrated in the areas of water, transportation, environmental, energy, facilities and resources. With US$7 billion in revenue and 28,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record. Visit us at ch2mhill.com