According to an announcement made by City of San Jose, it played the host for a free community open house for the San Jose Green Vision Clean Energy Showcase, a new, interactive innovation center housing installations of cutting-edge clean energy technologies available on the market today and in the future.

The event was organized on Saturday, Dec.11 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, located across from City Hall on E. Santa Clara Street between 4th and 5th Streets. It was attended by residents of San Jose, members of Silicon Valley community and visitors.

Organized by Services San Jose Environmental Department, the showcase was designed to provide knowledge about clean energy education and spread awareness, and gave visitors hands-on experience with advanced solar, wind and energy efficiency technologies. The showcase also provided information required to make informed decisions about clean energy options, and furthers community participation in San Jose's Green Vision.

"

While most are aware that clean energy options are available to us, few have actually had the opportunity to see for themselves exactly what the latest technologies are and how they operate in-person," said Kerrie Romanow, assistant director of the City's Environmental Services Department, in a statement. "The Green Vision Clean Energy (News - Alert) Showcase brings all these working innovations to ground-level, giving our community the true hands-on experience they've been missing."

Open through December 2011, the showcase will advance key goals of San Jose's Green Vision as it looks to educate consumers about clean energy solutions, advance available resources for green collar workforce training, and provide vital training and education for San Jose's students.

The site for the showcase was provided by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency and site interconnection by PG&E (News - Alert).

Inaugural companies and organizations in the Green Vision Clean Energy Showcase included: Akeena Solar (Westinghouse Solar), Burnham Energy, Chromasun, Fat Spaniel (Power-One (News - Alert)), Fresco, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, NanoSolar, Real Goods Solar, San Jose Fire Department, Schüco, SMA (News - Alert) America, Stion, Sunlink, SunPods, SunPower, SunWater Solar, US Solar & Wind Synergies, and Windspire Energy.

Rahul Arora is a TMCnet contributor. He has worked as an editor and freelance writer for several reputed organizations in India. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jaclyn Allard