Apr. 22--This 40th Earth Day marks a surge of energy in the green economy.

In the Pittsburgh region, green technologies -- those that harvest solar and wind power and those that save energy -- are in the forefront of new technologies being generated.

Pittsburgh companies are designing windmills, increasing the efficiency of solar power cells and developing systems through which power companies can direct power where the usage is the highest.

They are right on track with the priorities of the Obama administration in Washington, D.C.

"We recognize now that the debate about whether you can do right by the environment and right by the economy is over," said Van Jones, the special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation for the president's Council on Environmental Quality.

Mr. Jones, speaking on the eve of Earth Day, noted that this first Earth Day during Barack Obama's presidency is "for laid-off workers who are going to be employed manufacturing wind turbines, smart batteries and solar panels."

In promoting "green jobs" he said, "there is really a wingspan on these jobs. It goes from the GEDs to the Ph.Ds."

He said the creation of green technologies would benefit everyone from those who design it to those who build it to everyday workers -- such as plumbers who are trained to work with solar hot water systems and electricians who wire solar panels into the electrical grid.

During the State of the Union Address, Mr. Obama mentioned Serious Materials reopening the former Kensington Windows plant that had closed in Vandergrift as an example of the benefits of investing in green technology. The company builds energy-efficient windows.

Innovation Works in the Pittsburgh Technology Center has taken a step to focus on new green technologies by hiring Tim Fogerty to be the new director of green energy programs.

"We hired Tim specifically to head up our programs that were going to be a major focus for us," Matt Harbaugh, chief investment officer at Innovation Works.

Mr. Harbaugh said the investment firm recently received word that it was getting $10 million from the state to continue to invest in green technologies.

BPL Global Ltd. is one of the companies that is being financed by Innovation Works. It has created what it calls smart grid technology that allows power companies to manage demand and deliver energy more efficiency and reliably.

Another of the companies on Innovation Works' roster is Plextronics, which is creating printed electronics and organic solar cells and organic light emitting diodes. The printed electronics use a polymer that uses very little energy.

Innovation Works also has helped Belle Vernon-based Solar Power Industries develop photovoltaic products, including customized solar power systems that can be installed on buildings and on poles.

One of the entrepreneurs whom Innovation Works has been encouraging is Terrence Sankar, a longtime Pittsburgh resident who is currently teaching at American University in Washington and Frostburg State University in Maryland. He has developed a new type of wind turbine that works on a vertical axis. Known as the Aeolun Harvester, it looks like three janitorial dustpans (on sticks), stacked sideways. In a journal paper explaining the idea, he said computations show the efficiency of the vertical turbine is the same as or higher than better known horizontal turbines.

Innovation Works' Mr. Fogerty said he was moving to Pittsburgh from Louisville, Ky., where he worked for MHI Energy Partners, because of the excitement the green movement is generating here and because the National Energy Technology Laboratory, with a research budget of more than $800 million, is located right in South Park.

"There's a lot of exciting stuff going on," Mr. Fogerty said.

-----

To see more of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.post-gazette.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.