But a company called Verdezyne, which just opened a pilot plant in Carlsbad, California, has developed a fermentation process to make adipic acid from renewable sources like non-food based vegetable oils. The plant is the first-ever to produce bio-based adipic acid at scale from a non-petroleum source. And according to the company CEO, they can do so cheaper and with fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional methods of production.

"When we look at a lifecycle analysis," Verdezyne president and CEO Dr. E. William Radany said in a recent phone call, "we will save approximately 2 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of adipic acid over incumbent process."

Current petrochemical processes for the production of adipic acid generate as much as 4 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions per ton of adipic acid produced.

But Verdezyne's platform allows the microorganism to utilize sugar, plant-based oils or alkanes from a variety of feedstocks, free from shocks to production costs from future energy volatility.

"Customers want a nylon that is not petroleum-based," Radany said.

Verdezyne hopes to meet demand in smaller market sectors and capture opportunities with carpet, apparel and engineered plastics.

With financial backing provided by venture partners including BP Alternative Energy, the company continues to work on developing strategic partnerships for its bio-based adipic acid

For now, Verdezyne expects to produce about 5 to 15 kilograms of the bio-adipic acid per week, just a tiny sliver of the nearly 5 million gallons of adipic acid produced every week using petrochemicals.

"Our scale up is working as planned and we are in discussions with a number of companies to form partnerships for commercialization," Radany says, underscoring that technical challenges are first and foremost.

"The main challenge is getting the organism to do something it has never done before and conceptualize a metabolic pathway to do something valuable."

The company hopes to move into commercial production of its bio-based adipic acid in 18 months.

Photo credit: Superplus at de.wikipedia

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I have memories of brushing my teeth while visiting my grandparents when I was a kid and using a small device that clipped onto the end of the toothpaste tube that was used to spin and tighten the tube, thereby getting as much toothpaste as possible out of the tube over its lifespan. And although I haven't seen one of those things since those visits years ago, I know they worked and I'm pretty sure they still exist. But designers Sang Min Yu and Wong Sang Lee think they have come up with something  better and have developed a prototype toothpaste package they are calling SavePaste. SavePaste not only reinvents the toothpaste tube, it eliminates it altogether.

Rather than an unwieldy metal tube, SavePaste instead features a small TetraPaper package that can help you get those last pesky squeezes of toothpaste out of the container more easily while reducing packaging waste and material inputs.

SavePaste is still just a concept but if these packages are ever going to gain a substantial foothold in the seemingly unchangeable toothpaste package world, which it seems like they could, they will need to make a play for consumers who not only want a greener alternative, but who want the chance to get at more of what they paid for — without resorting to those old pasty tube-twirling doohickeys.

Hat tip: Yanko Design

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In the 1980s, at the apex of the 'Save the Whales' movement, the ubiquitous plastic six-pack holders were fast becoming symbols of a new type of environmentalism — consumer environmentalism. New attention was being given to waste, recycling and the lifecycle of the many consumer products and product packages entering the market and/or waste stream. I'm not even where I first heard it, but all of a sudden those flimsy white-gray plastic six-pack holders were getting a bad rap because birds were reportedly getting caught in them or snagged by them. I'm not even sure I remember the story, but it emerged as such a widely held belief that it soon became fairly common to see someone pull apart those plastic rings before throwing plastic bird-tangler-killers away. You might still do it. But the other day I came across an even better option.

Yes, the six-pack holders pictured above from Avery Brewing in Colorado have even more plastic than their flimsy predecessors but they are also 100% recyclable. And since they are HDPE #2 plastic, they can be recycled most anywhere, along with the cans they carry, obviously. Making more things out of plastic isn't on its face a good thing. But if these catch on, and recycling rates remain nearly as high for the plastic as they are for the cans,  less paper and cardboard will be needed in packaging and less plastic six-pack holders (broken down and not) will end up in landfills.

The word on the street is that other small breweries are also using the new beefier recyclable six-pack holders but this is the first and only beer I've seen using the new system.

What do you think about the new packaging? Have you seen any of your favorite local brews using them? If so, please tell us about it in the comments.

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Masdar's current responsibility as a testing ground for improved photovoltaics is a continuation of efforts to strengthen the relationship between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.  Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, recently spoke on Masdar's role:

Acting as a test-bed for the United States to evaluate new technologies affirms Masdar's global leadership as a hub for collaboration in renewable energy and clean technology development.  It is a testament to Masdar's commitment to work in parallel with global partners to advance the adoption of clean energy worldwide and foster human and scientific development.

Solar energy is moving into the mainstream with a quickness.  It's annual growth rate is over 40%, according to solarnation, making it the fastest growing energy source in the world.  Increasing the reliability and efficiency of PV technology is integral to solar industry growth and bodes well for the "advancement of clean energy worldwide."

The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory has been researching and developing a more effective solar PV coating that eliminates issues of moisture and dry dust adhesion, among other things.  Silicone has been the casing of choice since the 1970s because of its easy adhesion, high optical transparency and flexibility, but its vulnerability to moisture has proven to be a great weakness [PV Permeability PDF].  Once exposed to water, oxygen and dust particles, components begin to degrade and the module starts to lose efficiency.  Essentially panels start to break down soon after they are installed.  Designing a more durable coating can help prevent this corrosion and will ensure higher energy output and a longer life.

Greater potential returns from solar panels in the future is good news for the value-seeking sun worshippers of the world and means that DIYers can spend less time spreading epoxy mixtures.

Look forward to more collaborative projects to be announced from the United States and the United Arab Emirates after the second Clean Energy Ministerial, which will be held in Abu Dhabi on April 6-7, 2011.

Reach Allison Leahy on twitter and through email.

Image Credit: Tim Hurst

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Solar installation costs are projected to fall even further in 2010, study finds.

A complex mix of market forces and policy incentives contributed to a historic low for the average cost of installing solar panels in the U.S. in 2009, according to a new study by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Perhaps the most important finding of the study, however, is that decreases in the cost of producing solar modules, which traditionally lag behind a few years before they are passed on to the consumer, are contributing to a "significant decline in average installed costs" for 2010.

"This trend, along with the narrowing of cost distributions, suggests that PV deployment policies in the U.S. have achieved some success in fostering competition and spurring efficiencies in the delivery infrastructure," the report's authors at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory write."Tracking the Sun III: The Installed Cost of Photovoltaics in the U.S. from 1998-2009" (pdf) examined cost data for approximately 78,000 residential and non-residential PV systems installed in the U.S. through 2009 (70 percent of U.S. grid-connected PV capacity) and found that the average cost for a residential PV installation after incentives was $4.10 per watt, a figure 24 percent below the 2008 average.

For commercial PV systems, the cost remained relatively flat as compared to the year before, coming in a bit lower at $4.00 per watt.

Because of sharp differences in state-level incentives, net installation costs varied widely. In Texas, thanks to relatively generous incentives, lower installation and other non-module costs, average solar installations cost $2.40 per watt, the nation's lowest. On the other end of the spectrum was Minnesota where solar panels cost $5.50 per watt to install after incentives.

It should also be noted that while net installation figures include state and federal tax incentives, they do not include additional incentives available to some customers like state and utility cash rebates or the sale of renewable energy credits (RECs), both of which can lower final costs even more.

Most of the 2009 decreases in cost were a direct result of the lifting of the dollar cap on the federal investment tax credit for residential PV installations.

From 2008 to 2009, average pre-incentive installed costs remained flat at $7.50 per watt. And while comparing pre-incentive costs from year-to-year may be a better way to gauge the health of the industry and the effectiveness of policies aimed at lowering the cost of solar, important implications can be obscured by doing so. For example, the report suggests drops in wholesale solar module costs lag two to three years before they reach the consumer. The authors explain:

"Starting in 2008 and continuing into 2010, wholesale module prices began a steep downward trajectory, in response to expanded manufacturing capacity and the global financial crisis. These reductions in module prices, however, did not translate into a noticeable reduction in average installed costs for PV systems in 2009, perhaps reflecting a natural lag between the time that PV system installation contracts are signed and when systems are installed."

Overall, the report suggests the cost of installing solar PV in the U.S. has hardly bottomed out, especially if the solar industry can continue to scale up as it did in Germany and Japan, where installed costs are much lower. In Germany the average solar PV installation cost is $4.70 per watt and in Japan it is $5.90 per watt. But the major factor contributing to the scaling up of the German solar industry was a policy called a feed-in tariff which guarantees a premium rate for anyone putting renewable energy on the grid — a policy that hasn't really been embraced in the U.S. and possibly never will be.

Photo: pv411

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For the average consumer, recycling can sometimes be just another chore – not a process that’s given much thought. Recycle bins are filled each week with newspapers, pizza boxes, soda cans and whatever else we frequently use, and then hauled to the nearest materials recovery facility (MRF). But for many, this sentiment changes on November 15^th when communities nationwide come together to celebrate America Recycles Day in order to raise awareness of the benefits of recycling and buying products made with recycled materials. As this nationally recognized day nears, it’s an appropriate time to take a look at how recycling has evolved in the 21^st century.

While many communities and neighborhoods across the U.S. participate in curbside recycling programs, the EPA reported in 2008 that only 33 percent of paper and cardboard waste was recovered and processed. Equivalent to 83 million tons of material, recycling this much is no small feat, but with advances in recycling technology there is an opportunity for us to recycle much more. The most significant of these advances has been the advent of a process known as single-stream recycling.

Rather than requiring homeowners to separate paper, plastic, glass and cans into different containers, single-stream recycling allows all materials to be placed in a single collection bin. Using just one bin not only simplifies the recycling process, but also increases the efficiency and effectiveness of recycling. In turn, the convenience afforded by single-stream greatly increases participation, resulting on average in the recovery of up to 30 percent or more of recyclable materials. Single-stream also offers more efficient collections for haulers who normally have to run multiple routes to deliver your recyclables to the MRF. Instead of sending a separate recycling-only truck, everything can be collected in a regular waste collection truck. This lowers expenses for collection, decreases the number of vehicles on the road and further streamlines the recycling process. Once delivered to the MRF, the recyclables  separated and recovered using advanced recycling technology including magnets, screens and optical scanners to automate the sorting of recyclables.  You can learn more about how this process works by watching a short video from Waste Management and Discovery Channel.

Waste Management became the first major solid waste company to focus on the single-stream process.  Waste Management’s subsidiary, WM Recycle Services, opened the largest single-stream MRF located in Elkridge, Maryland in 2007.  This facility, along with the other 33 single-stream facilities operated by Waste Management has seen much success in the Elkridge community.  On average, single-stream facilities such as this increase a community’s recycling rate by 30 percent, but can reach levels of 40 percent or higher. This was the case in Murphy, Texas, a small community outside of Dallas, where the implementation of single-stream recycling increased collection by nearly 300 percent.

As America Recycles Day approaches, it is important to note that 40 percent of American households do not have access to residential recycling.   Single-stream recycling presents an opportunity not only to save money and time, but for communities to be more environmentally responsible than ever before. In addition, recycling materials in this manner protects valuable natural resources, conserves landfill space, saves energy and helps provide an overall cleaner environment that everyone can enjoy.

Photo: bjornmeansbear

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As the size of commercial wind turbines continues to grow, designers are being pushed to develop lighter turbine blades that allow the larger turbines to efficiently convert wind energy to usable electricity -- and to do so without breaking.  Seeing an opportunity in the turbine material sector, Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) recently announced it will begin selling a high-performance reinforcing fabric for use in the manufacture of wind turbine blades that will allow designers to reduce the weight of 2-megawatt wind turbine by one metric ton.

The fabric, called Ultrablade, will be finished with an epoxy resin to establish the strength and rigidity required in a wind turbine blade.

“Ultrablade fabric solutions give designers much more freedom in developing longer blades for today’s large turbines,” says Dr Chris Skinner, director of global technical marketing for OCV Technical Fabrics, a division of Owens Corning.

As compared to traditional E-glass blades, Ultrablade reduces spar weight by 18 percent, allows increase in blade length by 6 percent and improves blade stiffness by up to 20 percent.

According to Skinner, "designers can use a combination of several improved properties in different areas of a blade. They can choose to increase blade length for any given weight while keeping the thrust constant and assuring sufficient tower clearance."

Lighter blades also mean turbines will be able to spin and generate electricity with greater efficiency at lower wind speeds.

"At lower wind speeds, weight-saving Ultrablade fabric solutions can help increase a blade’s aerodynamic lift, torque and energy output. The end-result will be higher annual energy production from optimised blade designs using high-performance fabrics.”

The company is using distinctive pink stitching to market the product to buyers familiar with the “Pink Panther” Owens Corning fiberglass insulation. Ultrablade fabric will be commercially available beginning in January 2011.

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