Transcripts

Top 30 Innovations of the Last 30 Years-Bio-fuels

PAUL KANGAS: Bio-fuels were among the energy advances in our top 30. Large- scale wind turbines and photovoltaic solar cells also made the list. NBR's Stephanie Dhue looks at the development of these alternatives to fossil fuel and one man in whose life they're already playing a big role.

STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Scott Sklar lives energy innovation. Take for example, this mini wind turbine he installed to run his home office.

SCOTT SKLAR, PRESIDENT, THE STELLA GROUP: Wind turbines are getting smaller and quieter and so we have several companies that have developed turbines that are part of the building or right next to the building.

DHUE: Sklar also uses solar energy to help power his home and office. He says there's an easy peel- and-stick solar technology that can be added to metal roofing. And where do you see the innovation going there?

SKLAR: I think the innovation is going not only among flexible materials and nano technology kinds of films that are - go on the inside of the window, but even paints that will go on the rooftop and on the south side of the building that in the future, will be producing electricity for your home or office building.

DHUE: Sklar should know. He's a consultant and 30-year veteran of the alternative energy business. He advises companies and governments on how to integrate cost-effective, energy-saving technologies into their plans. Sklar says nano-technology advances are making solar panels more efficient, more flexible and cheaper.

SKLAR: These are light-sensitive dyes that produce electricity. You can do them on flexible materials and these materials will be on window shades and awnings so you will be able to use them in much more elegant ways.

DHUE: Energy innovation is also moving bio-fuels to the next generation. Soon, it will no longer be a question of growing food versus fuel as bio-fuel moves from using corn to using waste materials.

SKLAR: You can't go from Kitty Hawk to a 747 jet, so there's a lot of learning that has to be done. But we're making immense progress very quickly and we're starting to see these technologies in the marketplace.

DHUE: Getting those energy innovations into the marketplace will require government help, from local governments making it easier to get building permits to state regulators making it easier to connect to the grid.

SKLAR: There are lots of different rules and regulations that can be quite cumbersome, that we need to make it easier for people to do and less expensive.

DHUE: Sklar's ahead of his time when it comes to energy use, but he predicts the nation will catch up. He expects half the nation's energy demand to met by renewables by the year 2050. Stephanie Dhue, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Arlington, Virginia.