It’s In the Bag! Teenager Wins Science Fair, Solves Massive Environmental Problem

We’ve all heard the plastic bag horror stories—the billions of bags discarded every year that wind up polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Researchers have been wracking their brains for years to figure out a solution. But leave it to a Canadian high school student to leave them all in the dust. Daniel Burd, an 11th grader at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, has discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade in as little as three months—a finding that won him first prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, a $20,000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.

Burd’s strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms. If those microorganisms, as well as the optimal conditions for their growth, could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.

With this goal in mind, he ground plastic bags into a powder and concocted a solution of household chemicals, yeast and tap water to encourage microbe growth. Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for three months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control.

Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17 percent lighter than the control after six weeks. Once Burd examined the most effective strains of bacteria, he was able to isolate two types—Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas—as the plastic munchers. At 37 degrees and optimal bacterial concentration, the microbes had consumed 43 percent of a plastic sample within six weeks.

Next up, maybe it’s time to put him to work on this whole carbon emissions thing.

Solar-Vacation Campaign Promising To Homeowners Looking For Solar Electric Solution

There is something about knowing you’re getting a really great deal isn’t there?! Potero recognizes this, and has struck a relationship with several travel destination sites to package a Solar-Vacation just for new Solar Electric customers.

From design to installation, Potero has enabled more than 600 homeowners to feel empowered to predict their energy bills by utilizing the sun ~ and believe they can make hundreds more energy independent one home at a time. This Month, Potero launches an integrated marketing campaign Solar-Vacation.com to celebrate this connection between homeowners looking to purchase Solar Electric Systems, and providing families and retired couples the opportunity to do so at the lowest price possible while “claiming” their solar vacation. The campaign will span two months, and focuses on people; and how each of us has a story. It chose three different families, and successfully expressed each one’s unique ‘electric pain’ while infusing personality and style. Each element of the campaign, from partnerships and promotions to web and print, will underscore this personal theme.

“The ultimate goal of the Solar-Vacation campaign is to empower California residents to predict and control their energy costs by embracing solar electric power systems,” said Leslie McDonald, director of Potero marketing. “The relationship between this campaign and our customers is real, so we’re thrilled to bring this special offer to life for our customers.”

For more information, or to find out how to participate in the Potero Solar-Vacation program, please visit their website @ www.Solar-Vacation.com, or call toll free 800.593.7720.

ABOUT POTERO SOLAR
Uniquely positioned as both a solutions provider and general contractor for the renewable energy market, Potero understands the distinctive characteristics and challenges residential and commercial solar electric projects can face. Combining technology advancements with industry expertise, Potero offers customers maximum ROI, while enjoying the benefits of social responsibility. More information can be found on Potero @ www.PoteroSolar.com.

President Obama Awards $2.3 Billion for New Clean-Tech Manufacturing Jobs

The White House recently announced an award of $2.3 billion in Recovery Act Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for clean energy manufacturing projects across the United States.

183 projects in 43 states will create tens of thousands of high-quality clean energy jobs and the domestic manufacturing of advanced clean energy technologies including solar, wind, and efficiency and energy management technologies.

The Departments of Treasury and Energy worked together to develop, launch, and award the funds for this program. The Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit authorized the Treasury Department to provide developers with a tax credit for facilities that manufacture particular types of energy equipment. Qualifying manufacturers will produce solar, wind, and geothermal energy equipment; fuel cells, microturbines, and batteries; electric cars; electric grids to support the transmission of renewable energy; energy conservation technologies; and equipment that captures and sequesters carbon dioxide or reduces greenhouse gas emissions. While projects selected for this tax credit generally must be placed in service by 2014, approximately 30% of them will be completed in 2010.

"Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future," said President Obama. "The Recovery Act awards I am announcing will help close the clean energy gap that has grown between America and other nations while creating good jobs, reducing our carbon emissions, and increasing our energy security."

"There is no greater priority for this Administration than getting Americans back to work," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. "The awards announced today, together with the more than $5 billion in private sector capital spurred by our investment, will drive significant growth in the renewable energy and clean technology manufacturing sectors, good jobs, an energized private sector marketplace, and a leadership role for the U.S. in these crucial high-growth markets."

The investment tax credits, worth up to 30% of each planned project, will leverage private capital for a total investment of nearly $7.7 billion in high-tech manufacturing. Not only will they help the U.S. meet the President's goal of doubling the amount of renewable energy the country uses in the next three years, but also they will ensure more wind turbines and solar panels are produced in the U.S.

The projects announced yesterday address the broad spectrum of manufacturing capabilities needed to support a robust clean energy economy. The projects were competitively selected and the companies chosen say they will create more than 17,000 jobs in some of the fastest growing parts of our economy.

The President's announcement includes tax credits for numerous clean energy technologies and companies, including:

Smart Grid - Itron, Inc.'s (Nasdaq:ITRI) OpenWay CENTRON meter is one of the first smart meters for the residential market providing built-in, two-way communications and a remote on/off switch which will give customers more choice and enable utilities to provide higher reliability at lower cost. The expansion of manufacturing capacity in their facility in South Carolina will allow an annual production of four million meters. Itron estimates that one year's production of the meters will be able to reduce electricity use by approximately 1.7 million MWh per year.

Building Efficiency and Energy Management - W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. is producing an advanced membrane for high efficiency fuel cells for buildings and vehicles. The company's products can help enable lower-cost fuel cells for use in electric vehicles or to power homes and businesses. They are also manufacturing an advanced turbine filter to improve the performance of gas turbines to produce greater outputs at lower cost and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Solar Energy - PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) will produce a double anti-reflective coating for glass to make solar cells more efficient. At their Louisiana facility, PPG will produce a special tire tread component that reduces rolling resistance and improves fuel economy. Before the solar industry had begun, PPG pioneered the first low-iron glass that has been used in solar cells and on countless solar installations over the past two decades. Today, this credit will help to expand the manufacture of one of the critical components of glass solar cells, the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coatings of the glass, without which the cells cannot function.

Wind Energy - TPI Composites, Inc. is building a new manufacturing facility in Nebraska to produce next generation wind turbine blades. TPI says the facility will create over 200 new jobs and will have a capacity equivalent to supplying 265 turbines rated at 2.5 MW for a total electrical output of 663 MW. TPI will also be expanding their existing manufacturing facility in Iowa to meet the anticipated increased demand for composite wind turbine blades. The composite materials manufactured at both facilities are used to make lighter and stronger wind turbine blades and lighter and stronger (and more fuel efficient) vehicles.