Bernie Zahren

Bernie believes in the adage: “If you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk”. Simply put, you can say you believe in the fight to save our planet, but you must also do your very best to mitigate your own carbon footprint and the sustainable practices of your local and state communities. (Practice what you preach!)

Bernie Zahren does just that. He had his personal residence recently renovated to achieve (award winning) “Net Zero Energy” consumption through multiple deployments including: a 15 kilowatt wind turbine, geothermal heating and air conditioning, and a solar thermal hot water system. 

Mr. Zahren is a member of the Board of Directors of the Talcott Mountain Science Center in Avon and also serves as the Chairman of the Avon Clean Energy Commission. Both of these organizations are actively involved in implementing and promoting a variety of programs that can help ensure success in the fight to reduce local carbon footprint, as well as to supply future generations with the tools and vision needed for the energy challenges they’ll face.

He has spent over 40 years in a variety of entrepreneurial and management roles founding his own company Zahren Alternative Power Corp. (ZAPCO) which he built through acquisition and development into a portfolio of more than 25 landfill gas and co-generation projects. 

Today he is CEO of Zahren Financial Co., LLC and is a respected and active consultant in implementing business focused sustainability initiatives. He has testified before Congressional committees on alternative energy issues and has “chaired” a special committee that worked for an extension of Internal Revenue Code Section 29, providing an income tax credit for production of alternative fuels.  

Bernie has his BA from The University of Notre Dame and an MBA in Finance from The University of Pittsburgh. He is active in charitable activities and has served on the Board of Directors of the Community Health Charities of CT and the Special Olympics, CT. 

He has 3 married daughters and 7 grandchildren who share his passion for this earth and the efforts required to meet its energy challenges.