elements of earth

and energy

About us

Elements of Earth and Energy is a Net Zero Developer, helping our communites create their own Food, Power, and Water.  We help customers improve a building's health and safety, indoor air quality, comfort, durability and energy efficiency; and then we add solar, wind and energy storage systems (a micro-grid) to create a resilient, self sustaining property that can provide renewable energy in the event of power outages, emergencies and natural disasters.

Elements of Earth and Energy has been licensed with the CSLB since 2012, with an active General Building, Electrical and Solar Contractor License (B, C-10, C-46).  We have designed, installed and troubleshot the most complex PV and Battery systems in the market place today – residential, commercial and light industrial.  Hired by SCE, SoCal Gas CO and Energy Upgrade CA from 2012-2016, we mentored and trained hundreds of contractors in Advanced Building Performance, Energy Efficiency, Water Conservation and Renewable Energy teaching and revising the Building Performance Institute Standards to meet the California requirements of energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy in an effort to fight our climate crisis.

We are also well versed in indoor and greenhouse cultivation in optimizing the growing environment to provide our communities with fresh, healthy, nutritionally dense fruits, vegetable, herbs, fish and medicine. 

We help people, plants and biology thrive in optimized environments indoors and in greenhouses, and outside under natural sunlight. We are conscious about our environment and continue to help improve the social and ecological health of our community (including soil ecology, water shed, and air quality), while protecting our ecosystems and earth’s natural resources.

 

Partial Customer List:

  • Pacific Gas and Elelectric 
  • Southern California Edison
  • SoCal Gas Company
  • Energy Upgrade California
  • 3rd Street Santa Monica Mall
  • West Los Angeles Veterans Hospital
  • Lithographix
  • Ventura County Community College District
  • Anaheim City Movie Theater
  • UCLA Apartments
  • Residential homes
  • 100's of other happy clients from Northern to Southern California

Vision

We envision a development healthy planet with thriving, equitable, resilient, regenerative communities powered by renewable energy and producing fresh, local food. 

Mission

We are committed to help make our communities socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative; facilitate research and development, educate our communities, create green jobs, stimulate local economies and become a change agent for sustainable food production and distribution; support our local agriculture industry to produce fresh, healthy, vitamin and mineral rich natural food and medicine; foster trust, help build value based communities, bring people closer to the land and the farm, and reduce carbon emission pollutants inherent in the transportation used for imports; foster electric vehicle usage; and support our local construction industry by building new, and upgrading our existing, homes and buildings with solar PV, wind and energy storage systems, while reducing energy consumption, improving energy efficiency and conserving water. 

Purpose

We are conscious about our environment, continue to address climate change and help improve the social and ecological health of our community (including soil ecology, water shed, and air quality), while protecting our ecosystems and earth’s natural resources through work that supports renewable energy, climate-resilience, equity and justice.  We help people, plants and biology thrive outside under natural sunlight and in optimized environments indoors and in greenhouses.

Our work includes:

  • Education and Training – we actively support learning that provides practical, hands-on experience for current and future practitioners and leaders.

  • Technology deployment – we design, integrate, build, test, and operate innovative, renewable, and resilient energy systems that are responsive to social and environmental needs

  • Collaboration – we work with public and private partners including Tribal Nations, communities, agencies, academic institutions, foundations, and industry to exchange knowledge and implement innovative solutions locally and internationally.

  • Research and development – we do applied research focused on energy, biological and environmental issues.

Focus

We are focused on protecting biodiversity, oceans and wild lands conservation, and earth’s natural resources, while sharing renewable energy technologies to protect and save our planet. 

Values

  • Kindness: Treating people and the planet with care and respect through acts of inclusion, helpfulness, generosity, and encouragement.
  • Integrity: Approaching one another (in the field, classroom and research) with curiosity, open-mindedness, transparency, and humility.
  • Equity, diversity, and inclusion: Providing a nourishing and rewarding environment for employees, students, vendors, partners and guests.  Respecting the differences of our colleagues and actively seeking to identify and remove barriers to ensure opportunities to thrive.
  • Justice: Working to advance racial justice, gender equality and women’s empowerment, LGBTQIA+ rights, economic equality, and environmental justice.
  • Teamwork and collaboration: Supporting internal and external community building and engagement to create inclusive and innovative solutions.  Sharing knowledge with and learning from our colleagues, collaborators, community partners, and the public to advance understanding.

  • Effectiveness: Using our technical, scientific, policy, and in-the-field expertise to do good work that makes a difference.

Jeff Trirogoff

Jeff Trirogoff:  President of Elements of Earth and Energy

He currently works for the largest Affordable Housing Developer in California and in the nation, as the Energy Project Manager.  He has spent the last decade working for Affordable Housing Developers ensuring the projects become certified as: Zero Net Energy by the U.S. Department of Energy; Water Sense, Energy Star and Indoor airPLUS by the Environmental Protection Agency; LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council; and Building Energy Efficiency Standards Title 24 compliant per the California Energy Commission.

He specializes in energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable energy and advanced building performance.  He is President of Elements of Earth and Energy, a California licensed General Building (B), Electrical (C-10), and Solar (C-46) contractor; Certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) as a Photovoltaic (PV) System Inspector and PV Installation Professional, Cert. No.: 073020-007479 and 110112-152, respectively; a Registered NABCEP PV Associate Instructor, having taught an SCE grant funded, pilot solar PV program for the Ventura County Community College District in 2019; and a former mentor and trainer in energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable energy and advance building performance for Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas Company and the Energy Upgrade California program (EUC) in Southern California from 2012-2016.  EUC is supported by an alliance of the CPUC, the CEC, utilities, regional energy networks, local governments, businesses, and nonprofits to help communities meet state and local energy and climate action goals. 

Former Community Advisory Committee (CAC) Member (2022-2024) for the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA), a local government Joint Powers Agency whose members include the County of Humboldt; the Cities of Arcata, Blue Lake, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna, Rio Dell, and Trinidad; and the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District.  He sat on the Offshore Wind Outreach Subcommittee, created to help develop 150 MW of floating wind turbines about 25 miles west of Eureka (Phase 1) and 5 GW by 2045 (Phase 2).  The purpose of RCEA is to develop and implement sustainable energy initiatives that reduce energy demand, increase energy efficiency, and advance the use of clean, efficient and renewable resources available in the region for the benefit of the Member agencies and their constituents.  The CAC supports RCEA public engagement efforts and to provide decision-making support and input to the RCEA board.

As a member representing Northern California, he is the Chair of the Regional Job Training Organization Task Force for the Solar On Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) Program.  SOMAH is the vehicle to implement AB 693, which provides financial incentives ($100 M per year until 2030) for installing PV energy systems on multifamily affordable housing serving utility and community choice aggregator customers in the territories of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Liberty Utilities Company, PacificCorp, and Tribal Communities.  The SOMAH Program is overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission.

He is focused on protecting biodiversity, oceans and wild lands conservation, and earth’s natural resources, while sharing renewable energy technologies to protect and save our planet.  

He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Economics at UCLA in 1994.  He resides in McKinleyville, CA with his wife and family, and he is happy to be a grandfather.

He is a/an:

  • North American Board Certified Energy Practitioner - North America

    • Solar PV System Inspector, Cert.# 073020-004749
    • Solar PV Installation Professional, Cert. 110112-152
    • Former Registered Solar PV Associate Instructor, 2019-2020
  • Solar On Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) - California 
    • Chair, Workforce Development Task Force, 2022-2024
  • Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) - Humboldt County, California
    • Former Member, Community Advisory Committee, 2022-2024

    • Former Member, Offshore Wind Energy Subcommittee, 2022-2024

      • Phase 1 - 150 MW (10 floating wind turbines) by 2030, 25 miles off coast of Eureka

      • Phase 2 -  1.5 GW  by 2045, 25 miles off coast of Eureka

  • Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program

Tim Spicka

Tim Spicka:  Master Builder

Tim entered into the construction industry 47 years ago, as a carpenter and rough framer, receiving his general contractor’s license in 1980.  He built a small tract of custom homes in the Las Posas Estates in Camarillo for 3 years.  He then worked as a general contractor for Ted R. Cooper Company and performed tenant improvement work in the commercial/industrial markets in Los Angeles for years.  He was then afforded an opportunity to become a grip in the movie industry in 1995.  He worked as a grip until 2009, learning the electrical trade from the best in the industry.  He suffering a back injury and took time off.  While recovering, he went to school to learn solar PV and Energy Efficiency, passing the NABCEP solar PV entrance exam - that is where he met Jeff.  He continued on and became certified in advanced home and commercial building performance from the Building Performance Institute and National Comfort Institute, respectively.  For the last 13 years he has been providing energy efficiency services (and problem solving on the most complex development issues) to both residential and commercial markets, including envelope diagnostics, air distribution, thermal diagnostics, structural support issues, hazards, electrical retrofits, VOC issues, health issues, safety issues, and environmentally friendly product installations including insulation, weatherization, LED’s, hybrid water heater, solar PV, electrical panel upgrades, etc.  He has a deep and vast understanding of buildings as systems – residential, commercial and industrial, including, but not limited to plumbing, electrical, framing, finished carpentry, dry wall, foundations, cement work, roofing, building science, energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy.  His problem solving abilities affords us the ability to adapt and seamlessly integrate our products into the construction industry, from residential and commercial to industrial. And, on top of it all, he does it with passion and a smile.