This op-ed was written by David Herrlinger Vice President of CBA member, Hot Purple Energy, a Palm Springs-based company specializing in custom energy solutions and services including rooftop, ground-mount and carport solar. Here is an excerpt:

"Palm Springs-area residents and business people are interested in cleaner air and cleaner energy. They like the idea of not always having to rely on the dirty old energy sources of the past. That's one reason small businesses like ours are thriving by providing cleaner energy options to families, companies and institutions in the Coachella Valley. And as a solar energy company, we like the idea of, for example, more electric vehicles, powered by electricity generated by the sun.

Our neighboring region of Riverside County has some of the worst air quality in the nation, according to the American Lung Association's annual State of the Air report. Full and timely implementation of AB 32 translates into less air pollution and cleaner transportation options, which means lower medical bills, fewer lost days of work and school, and healthier people. We here in Palm Springs, and all Californians, deserve that. We hope the oil industry will come around to that way of thinking, too."

Read the full op-ed here.

Next 10 released five new studies this month touting the progress of the California clean tech economy:

Bay to Market: Bay Area Innovations Leading Clean Technology Development details how the San Francisco Bay region's culture of innovation and entrepreneurship is sparking a revolution in clean transportation and energy storage, with the area leading the nation in electric vehicles and cutting-edge energy storage technologies.

Power Town: California's Capital Region Mobilizing to Meet Growing Demand for Clean Technologies  highlights how the Sacramento region is embracing clean power, with new data showing that residential solar grew six-fold between 2007 and 2013, while incubating a vibrant group of clean tech companies, including a waste-to-energy company that developed the nation's first commercial-scale closed loop anaerobic digester project. The findings also indicate per capita non-residential buildings in the region are not only more energy efficient when compared to the state overall, they're also becoming ever more efficient at a faster rate.

Driving the Spotlight: Los Angeles and Orange Counties' Large Producer and Consumer Base Driving Advanced Transportation Growth reports how in both Los Angeles County and Orange County, traditional anchor industries and a large population, as well as regional collaborations, are driving the clean tech sector.

Living Lab: San Diego and Imperial Counties Fostering Smart Grid and Biorenewable Development reports about how San Diego's robust research and development community, coupled with Imperial County's abundance of industrial land, reliable energy, and large labor pool, are helping to grow the regional economy.

Clean Valley: San Joaquin Valley Leveraging Natural Resources to Grow the Clean Economy reports that the San Joaquin Valley is leveraging its agriculture and traditional energy expertise to develop a regional clean tech sector in a heavily agriculture-focused area.

Renewable Energy Markets (REM) is an annual event focused on the states, businesses, organizations, and households that choose clean, renewable electricity every day. Since 1996, REM has been the leading forum for the clean energy marketplace, and is attended by leaders from federal and state governments, large corporate purchasers, the nation's leading utilities and electricity generators, and marketers from around the world.

This year's conference - December 2-4, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento - will feature dozens of sessions covering the essentials of the clean energy market, with current facts and trends that will inform your environmental strategy. The program will include all aspects of how renewable energy is generated, traded, tracked, sold, and retired, as well as important predictions for the coming year and unparalleled opportunities for networking with industry leaders. 

Check out the agenda for up-to-the-minute updates on panels, presentations, and plenary sessions-new speakers are added every day. REM is organized by the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions and the U.S. EPA. Know a student in the industry? Spread the word about their fellowship program. 

To learn more and register, click here.

The VerdeXchange gives attendees the opportunity to join over 600 delegates to assess "what's in-market," "what's about to be in-market," and "what's needed" in the global, trillion-dollar verde economy. Speakers include global, national, and regional clean tech leaders, green-build designs and developers, and producers of solar, wind, energy efficiency, infrastructure engineering, alternative-fuel vehicles, project financiers, water, connected-home entrepreneurs and environmental stewards.

To learn more and register, click here.

With the goal of establishing community-based, mixed-tech and mixed-use sustainable incubators throughout the US and internationally, Green2Gold effectively leverages local communities to work together to build a vibrant, green economy resulting in a brighter future. 

Green2Gold specializes in a spectrum of educational and mentorship services designed to effectively commercialize innovative, new green products and services, alternative energies, and environmental technologies, through services such as mentorship, product development, financing resources, prototyping, market research, intellectual property protection and licensing, cooperative marketing, business development, community expansion.