Phil Erro

Phil Erro honed his energy efficiency credentials working for one of the biggest farming operations in Fresno County and during five years with the Peace Corps.

Erro, a huge proponent of energy conservation and efficiencies, said one of his most satisfying memories came in Malawi. He had given a ride to a student he recognized, and the young man spoke on and on about how much a life-changing event it was to have light in his rural school, which was way off the electrical grid.

Erro had installed a fluorescent lighting system powered by a photovoltaic panel and simple battery system a couple years before. A converter transformed direct current to alternating current.

“The light allowed them to study at night,” Erro said. “They thought they’d gone to heaven.”

Erro said energy conservation through efficiencies is important to the private sector. “Once you’ve reduced utility costs, you free up money to do other things,” he said.

The future of clean energy in the central San Joaquin Valley is flush with opportunity, he said, with land fallowed by lack of water providing opportunity for solar power installations and increased use of photovoltaics by the farming and oil industries. He said he foresees farmers using solar panels to power water pumps as prices for the panels decrease. He said oil companies likewise increasingly will turn to solar panels to power some of the energy requirements on oil wells.