Nanotechnology will mean big business for renewable energy.

• Author: Cole, Rebecca
• Position: [ENERGY] - Brief article

Al Gore has thrown down a challenge to the American public: Produce 100 percent of the country's electricity from clean, carbon-free sources within 10 years.

In July, Colorado hosted the first Nano Renewable Energy Summit, where scientists, energy industry experts, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs met to discuss how nanotechnology can help meet that goal. Although still in its infancy, nanotechnology is emerging as a significant force in making "clean and green" energy a reality.

"Nanotechnology is enabling technology; it has the opportunity to impact all industries across the U.S. and around the globe," said former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater.

Nanomaterials, the basis of nanotechnology, are incredibly small; a sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick; there are 25.4 million nanometers in an inch; and fingernails grow a nanometer a second. Researchers and scientists working at this level...