On the second Thursday of every month, the Colorado Green Tech Meetup offers green entrepreneurs and others an opportunity to network and learn about local green technologies.

The event is organized by Kris Wiesenfeld and was established in January 2007. Since then the event has grown to over 300 members and while they are in a new venue, the Law Auditorium in the Wolf Building at CU in Boulder, they will certainly outgrow this location in the coming months.

The reason this event is so popular is because it offers participants a chance to meet with local green tech companies and individuals with similar interests. However, the reason I attend each month (member since February 2009) is for the presentations. Every month I learn about new ideas and products that improve the lives of many using “alternative energy” (not all technology shared is using renewable energy). This month was just as intriguing as the last meet up held in March (April’s was canceled).

Tough Stuff was the first business to present and they focus on the needs of low income people in developing countries. Nick Sowden's lively presentation stated that Tough Stuff provides durable, low cost, thin film photo voltaic panels for people who do not have access to electricity. Sowden added that 1.4 billion people in the world do not have access to electricity and rely on kerosene and batteries to supply their power for light at night. Both kerosene and batteries have adverse effects on the health of the people living in these communities and the environment, so Tough Stuff offers a clean and less expensive alternative.

This is a socially responsible for profit company providing small solar panels, LED light fixtures, mobile phone and radio connectors, and solar powered backup batteries. Their company only makes what people need.

The payback on the panels is made in five years and they save community members lots of expenses in kerosene and batteries that they would normally use to light their homes. In addition, children can read and complete their homework without breathing fumes from kerosene and worrying about a potential fire hazard. Plus, Tough Stuff’s long term plan is to reduce green house emissions by 200,000 tons by 2012.

Tough Stuff was founded in June 2008 in Madagascar, which is where the business is taking off using the micro finance model. The model allows people living in the communities long term and good paying jobs to provide products to these communities.

You can learn more about Tough Stuff and subscribe to their newsletter at: http://www.toughstuffonline.com/.

The second presentation was by Homer Energy, LLC which develops software and services for communities with hybrid systems, mainly solar and wind, but they work with many other energy systems.

The service and software was developed at NREL in 1992 and has been working with the public since 1998. They have 31,000 users and are found in 91 countries. Their focus is on smaller grid projects found on remote islands, Alaska, and many other places.

If you’d like to learn more about this company go to: www.homerenergy.com. They also offer a free download of their software at www.nrel.gov/homer.

The next business was Radiant Glass Industries, LLC, which stated that their product, Power-e glass, can be the sole source to heat homes. Power-e glass, which functions like any window, also uses electricity to radiate heat throughout a home and has only a 15% heat loss. It has two panes of glass. The interior heats the home with a low voltage current, while the exterior insulates. The home they featured in the presentation found in Keystone will use only the Power-e glass to heat the home and a pellet stove as a backup.

According to Radiant Glass these special windows can be used in new construction, retrofits, and replacements. They also stated that forced air heat uses almost twice as much electricity as Power-e glass does.

One of the downsides of Power-e glass is that it costs three times as much as standard windows, but there is a five year payback on these windows through energy savings. Furthermore, this glass has a multi-purpose use (heating and providing light) unlike energy efficient windows. Learn more about Power-e glass at: http://www.rgiglass.com/page6.html.

Finally, we were introduced to BioChar Engineering located in Golden, Colorado which was quite impressive. Their company is placing charcoal into poor soils, rather than burning it to produce additional green house gases. The char improves soil quality, water retention, and reduces the amount nitrogen fertilizers currently used on crops, lawns, etc. Nitrogen produces another green house gas and by using char in this manner, instead of using nitrogen fertilizers, over 40% of the green house gases can be sequestered. Plants need carbon to grow and they remove a great deal of carbon from the soil and air. Unlike manure, BioChar can be placed directly on the soil with green plants and it won’t burn the plants.

Not only does BioChar sequester carbon but the biomass incinerated to produce the char creates heat, electricity, and liquid fuels in the process. Biomass can come from a number of sources (plant material, dead trees, paper, etc.). However it has to be dry, so livestock manure, which would require more energy to dry, isn’t used at BioChar. They are primarily working on transported dry biomass, including the trees killed by pine beetles here in Colorado. These are trees that will increase the likelihood of a forest fire. Instead of having a devastating forest fire, they use pine beetle mitigation to create BioChar for energy, and return the char back to the soil for a future forest or cropland. BioChar is also working on green roofs, since charcoal is lightweight it can be used in place of soil. The object is to plant more and reduce green house gases by using char to fertilize the plants, which will absorb carbon.

To learn more about BioChar Engineering go to: http://www.biocharengineering.com/

Want to give a presentation on your green tech company? Contact Kris Weisenfeld.

Upcoming Green Events: BCBR Green Summit in Boulder at the Millennium. Learn more at: http://www.bcbr.com/

The Green Tech Happy Hour will be held in Boulder on May 28th. Go to the Colorado Green Tech site to learn more.

Come out to support the Clean Energy Act of 2009 in Boulder on May 30th. Michele will keep you posted on the place and time.

Want to reduce your pet’s carbon footprint? Contact Ed@circleoflight.com.

If you enjoyed this article check out What it means to be green and Denver Green Festival review.

*****************************************************************

NEW!!!

What’s new with Michele Melio?

We’re back in our home! Yay! Thanks for all your well wishes and support.

Green business of the week: Garuda Woven Art. I had the opportunity to visit their studio and was so impressed I bought a rug handmade in Tibet and Nepal with all natural materials and dyes.

Green tip of the week: Plant a garden.

Michele has successfully completed the Wired solar training through the Adams County Workforce Center to train the under/unemployed in the renewable energy industry. She will be participating in the hands on Wired solar training all this week. A follow up story will be forthcoming.

Upcoming stories: Wired solar training, City of Golden green initiatives, Big Belly Solar, Solar PV array in Boulder, Synthetic diesel, and An off grid retreat right here in Colorado.