Countywide : Energy Panel Head Wins Group’s Prize

An international corps of scientists and engineers has honored Ventura resident Charles R. Imbrecht as a leading advocate of the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

As chairman of the state Energy Commission since 1983, Imbrecht has been instrumental in guiding California toward developing alternative energy sources for electricity production, said Herman Scheer, a spokesman for the Commission of the European Community.

The commission unanimously named Imbrecht as this year’s winner of the International Augustine Mouchot Prize for his efforts. The award was presented at a recent solar-energy conference attended by 1,200 scientists, engineers and renewable-energy leaders in Switzerland.

Imbrecht, 43, is the fourth recipient of the award and the first American to be honored, officials said.

During Imbrecht’s tenure as the state’s energy commission chairman, California has cut its use of petroleum-generated electricity from more than 50% to less than 1%, officials said. Today, much of the state’s electricity is provided by generators powered by the sun, wind, steam and biodegradable waste products, such as wood chips.

Imbrecht advocated programs and policies that helped bring the change, from creating research and development programs to offering financial incentives to businesses that use alternative energy sources, officials said.

Reached at his Sacramento office, Imbrecht said he is honored by the award, but believes that it “reflects the international leadership of California” as a whole. The state leads the nation in renewable energy programs and is in competition with Germany and Japan for the alternative energy market because of its progressive policies, he said.

Imbrecht was born and raised in Ventura, and served as the area’s state Assemblyman from 1976 to 1982. A Republican, he was appointed to the energy post by former Gov. George Deukmejian in 1983 and was reappointed by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1992.

As the state’s energy chief, he oversees a staff of 450 in the largest state energy agency in the nation.

The Mouchot award is named after the 19th-Century inventor Augustine Mouchot, who is credited with creating the first solar collector and other devices used in the advent of solar energy technology, officials said.