For those of you that are interested in alternative energy, I suggest you attend the next SWITCH open meeting at the L&A County Courthouse (97 Thomas Street East) in Napanee on February 10th beginning at 8 am.  It's a great opportunity to learn about this industry sector and how it relates to Eastern Ontario and Lennox & Addington County.  There is no cost to attend the meeting, and it provides an excellent overview of how our region is making a difference globally.

SWITCH is dedicated to improving the environmental and economic sustainability of Eastern Ontario through promoting development and commercialization of energy efficient and alternative energy technologies, products, processes, and services. SWITCH aims to create a local concentration of industrial, commercial, investment, applied research, and educational activities in the alternative energy sector by providing networking, technical advisory, project facilitation, and informational services to local private and public sector organizations, research and educational institutions, community groups, and individuals.

SWITCH provides a number of services for its contributing members, including:

• Facilitation of communication between the private sector, all levels of government, research & educational institutions, interested individuals, and community groups.
• Monthly Roundtable Meetings of the region's sustainable energy community, including circulation of minutes and action items to members.
• Brokering of partnerships in support of member initiatives that reduce the impact of energy use on our environment.
• Representation of the sustainable energy community's interests to local, provincial, and federal governments.
• Expert review of business and technical proposals.
• Staging of educational events and symposia.
• Collection and monitoring of sustainable energy news and events, delivering information to members through a email distribution, online calendar etc.
• Promotion of the region's growing sustainable energy community locally, nationally, and internationally.
• Acting as the "first call" resource for those interested in Sustainable Energy in Eastern Ontario.

For more information about SWITCH and to become a member of this organization visit www.switchkingston.ca.