Two inventors will test the water in the renewable-energy market Friday by auctioning off their patented idea for installing small renewable power stations — wind, solar and geothermal — along public rights of way nationwide, including in Colorado.Inventors Gene Fein, of California, and Ed Merritt, of Massachusetts, envision a network of solar, wind and even geothermal units capable of generating electricity along roadways. The inventors say the power produced could be fed into the nation’s electrical grid, or be used to create service stations to power the next generation of electrical vehicles.“There’s a man-bites-dog twist to this — generating clean energy on highways that produce pollution,” said Dave Hyams of San Francisco-based Solem & Associates, a public-relations firm working to promote the auction.A financial partner with the inventors hopes to sell the intellectual rights to the idea, devices and materials, — dubbed the GreenRoadway Project — in a sealed-bid auction. Each state has been assigned a monetary value, based on the number of interstate miles and their potential to generate renewable energy. The inventors, for example, want $500,000 to develop their intellectual property in Colorado.Those who pay the inventors must still negotiate with individual states to lease the actual land along publicly owned rights of way.The results of the auction should be available Monday, Hyams said.

Vern and Dlores Dewitt watch as appraiser Ron Hovet examines a clock they brought to the Treasure Hunters Roadshow Tuesday, July 21, 2009, at the Clarion Hotel in Colorado Springs. Mark Reis, The Gazette Photo by