Powered Green is an environmental startup founded by two former students of the University of Wisconsin – Madison. The company was created to provide people with a unique opportunity to support renewable energy sources along with the ability to show their support for a greener future. Through the sale of  products they have raise funds for six different wind farms across the country.

Although they  have expanded to additional products to allow more people to support renewable energy, our main efforts revolve around the Energy SealTM. The Energy Seal is a recycled aluminum sticker, and its purchase represents that renewable energy sources have produced the amount of energy one laptop uses throughout its lifetime, making it carbon neutral.

Since launching in September 2008 Powered Green has empowered a thriving community of over 1,200 individuals dedicated to spreading awareness for renewable energy.  Grassroots efforts thus far have stopped over 1,000 tons of CO2 from reaching the atmosphere, which is equivalent to driving your car 863.6 times across the US or removing 235 acres of forest. All of this is simply from the support of the Powered Green Community.

“There were a lot of students like us on campus that were looking for a way to get involved and make an impact on the environment,” says Brandon Gador, Co-Founder of Powered Green.  “So we set out to create a symbol for renewable energy that the individual can rally behind and show their support for a greener future. Much like what Livestrong did for cancer research, we want to do that for renewable energy.”

The city of San Francisco recently started GreenFinanceSF, a financing program that helps to pay for water savings, energy efficiency, and renewable energy projects that you might not have been able to afford.  The repayment obligation is attached to the property, rather than the individual, and is paid back through property taxes over the life of the financing.

Eligible projects include energy audits, upgrading heating systems, upgrading water heaters, installing solar hot water, installing solar electric panels, and conserving hot water. The program has an online application and application processing fee of $300.

Wall Street Journal had a good article quickly examining  various promising technology and realistically looking at when they could make an impact.

Nuclear, Carbon capture, Solar, Wind, Algae biofuels, Fusion and electric cars where examined.  It is pretty clear that nothing major is going to hit in the near term.  We really need to conserve energy, put solar panels on our roofs, drive more efficient cars, and push hard on clean technology.

Credit: PowerGen

The RollerGen Power System attaches to bicycles (Either stationary or standard) and turns Pedal Power into Electric Power for Electronics Devices.  It powers cell phones, MP3 players, GPS units, anything powered by USB, the standard for modern electronic devices. Power is stored in a pocket sized miniature battery that has the dual USB output plugs.

It charges up 30 watts in a short 4-5 miles of riding. The unit fits bikes like a standard rear rack and has a spinning flywheel that contacts your tires. The only downside is that it costs $495.  Hit $99 and they will sell a ton of units.

Low cost iPhone, Cell Phone, and portable electronics Solar Chargers with batteries are now available for under $40.  Leave it out in the Sun to charge, then use it when you are out of power. iPod, iPhones, BlackBerry’s, Kindles all eat batteries fast. Solar Panels charge and maintain 1400 mAh of battery power present in this unit.  Full Solar Charging takes from 5-7 hours. Most units have USB connectors to charge various devices like the Nintendo DS game console.

Be green and use the sun’s energy to power your gadgets.