Sacramento State has partnered with the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance to host the third annual Clean Technology Showcase on Friday.

The event will showcase more than 100 local environmentally conscious businesses and their products.

“The showcase is an amazing opportunity for students to learn what the clean technology companies in the Sacramento area are doing and it’s an extraordinary opportunity for them to meet people in the clean technology business,” said J.D. Stack, chief executive officer of SARTA.

This is the second year the event is being held at Sac State. The showcase will take place throughout the University Union from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The cost to attend the Clean Tech Showcase is $80 for general admission and $40 for full-time college students. Lunch will be provided from noon to 2 p.m. and free, private, 15-minute sessions with clean energy professionals will be available.

Special arrangements were made to have the general admission costs lowered 50 percent for students. SARTA wanted to make it convenient for the students to come and learn about the trends and the future of clean technology, Stack said.

There will be an open exhibit hall displaying clean energy products and equipment, panel discussions, question and answers and a mixer for networking.

The event was coincidentally scheduled on a campus-wide furlough day, so it provides a great opportunity for students and faculty to attend, said Emir Macari, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences.

Students will be able to meet potential employers and see firsthand all of the latest developments and career opportunities in clean technology field that Sacramento has to offer.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Daniel Sperling. Sperling is a professor of civil engineering at UC Davis and founding director of the university’s Institute of Transportation Studies, serves on the California Air Resources Board and is an internationally renowned expert on transportation, energy and sustainability issues.

He has authored 10 books and more than 200 technical papers and reports on transportation and energy. Sperling co-authored the book “Two Billion Cars,” a book in which he predicts that within 20 years the current number of 1 billion cars on the planet will double, primarily due to growth in India and China.

From 10 to 11:50 a.m. and from 2 to 4:50 p.m. there will be four tracks, or panels, located in different rooms throughout the Union. The tracks will hold discussions and presentations on various clean technology topics.

The four panels are Clean Technology Workforce, Clean Technology Public/Private Policies, Clean Technologies and Clean Tech Startups.

In the Clean Tech Startups track, the panelists will give the audience details of how to get training and information to create your own clean technology business.

Students and entrepreneurs can get inside information on the right path to take to open a successful business in the clean technology field.

The presenters on the panel are people from emerging companies currently producing clean technology products and servicing the Sacramento region.

During the Clean Technology Workforce track, the panelists will discuss opportunities and training for the growing clean technology job market in the region. This panel might be especially interesting to graduating seniors or those interested in a career in clean technology.

The topics for the Clean Technologies track, moderated by Macari, will focus on the latest technologies such as the Smart Grid Technology being demonstrated in the Smart Grid Center on campus.

The Clean Technology Public/Private Policies track will discuss the cooperation between public and private sectors to give clean technology a jump-start in the region.

SARTA, a non-profit organization founded to promote entrepreneurial growth & attract investment funds to the greater Sacramento region, has recognized the development of projects in the engineering department such as the Smart Grid Center.

“Sac State has become a regional leader in clean technology education and research. Our professors and students work with our region’s clean technology industry to help them develop their proposed technologies and help launch them into the market,” Macari said.

A group of four senior mechanical engineering students from Sac State will be displaying their senior project at the showcase. They are in the process of transforming a classic 1967 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia into a completely battery operated, electric vehicle.

All the gasoline-consuming components in the car have been removed and replaced with electric components. The car will contain nearly 800 pounds of batteries and 600 volts of battery power.

“This is a very expensive project. It cost more than the average mechanical engineering senior project. We’ve worked really hard to get companies to donate and so far we’ve received $7,000 worth of components for our project and $4,000 in cash,” said Johnathen McCasland, senior mechanical engineering major.

Tesla Motors, Silicon Valley-based company that engineers and manufactures electric cars will also have two vehicles on display. The Roadster, a high-performance electric sports car that goes from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, will be available for showcase attendees to ride, Stack said.

The first Clean Tech Showcase was held at UC Davis in 2007. Last year it was held at Sac State and coordinators decided to bring it back again this year because the facility worked out well for the event, Stack said.

“They really rolled out the red carpet for us last year and I am delighted to partner with Sac State again,” Stack said.

To register for the showcase or learn more about the event and see a partial list of exhibitors log on to www.cleanstart.org.

Gina Cruz can be reached at [email protected]