San Jose, CA ---- San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales announced that the regional summit to address solutions for energy reliability and self-sufficiency in Silicon Valley will be held Friday, March 16, at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

"Our principal goal will be to develop practical strategies to achieve a more reliable energy system and greater energy self-sufficiency for our entire region," said Mayor Gonzales.

"We expect that every city in the region can present concrete proposals for projects, policies, and sites that could help increase power generation and increase energy conservation to meet the needs of our residents and businesses both in the short and long term."

Gonzales will co-chair the energy summit along with Jim Beall and James Woody. Beall is chairperson of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and Woody is the chairman of the board of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group.

"Silicon Valley has earned an unmatched reputation in the state, nation and the world for our creativity, new technology and innovative partnerships to solve complex challenges," said Gonzales. "I know we can continue this tradition regarding collaborative solutions to meet our goals for energy reliability."

Participants at the energy summit will include the mayors of Santa Clara County cities, legislators, and business and community leaders. In order to achieve tangible results, Gonzales has asked participants to identify concrete proposals for energy generation and conservation to share at the summit. Proposals could also include partnerships among cities, public/private ventures, and cooperation with the state and federal governments that could yield greater results.

Gonzales recently released his approach for energy solutions in San Jose that includes multiple small clean generation facilities that could be located in appropriate industrial zones; developing regional consensus on locations for major power plants that would protect residential neighborhoods; and expansion of conservation programs.

The full-day energy summit, which is open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m.