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Despite taking an economic hit due to the recession, the year-old Bethesda Green group is forging ahead with plans to create biodiesel from grease from Bethesda restaurants, pair with county departments for a small-business incubator, and expand its reach in the community.

Bethesda Green launched in January 2008 as a nonprofit geared toward energy efficiency, recycling and a communitywide environmental ethic. The group has taken some hits in the past year. Executive Director Dave Feldman estimated that donations and corporate funding could be down by as much as 50 percent. But Feldman still believe that "going green" is not only the right thing to do, it is something that must be done.

"There are certainly going to be setbacks, but these green companies are the entrepreneurs right now," he said. "I don't think the energy concerns we have will go away, so when the market is ready, green companies will be, too."

In the past year the group has installed 20 high-tech recycling bins throughout downtown Bethesda, collected 100,000 pounds of recycled electronics, and landed a new—and free—office space on Woodmont Avenue, donated by Chevy Chase Bank.

Over the next year, Feldman hopes to expand the group even more, bringing in more volunteers to turn Bethesda green.

A partnership to turn the part of the group's new office space into a county business incubator may be ready by April. It would serve as a place where small businesses could rent space in the office, learn about sustainable practices, and work with the county's Department of Economic Development to grow.

It would be the sixth county-sponsored business incubator in the county, following the opening of the Germantown Innovation Center in October.

Calls to the Department of Economic Development were not returned.

Bethesda Green also plans to use the space as an education facility, creating a "green solutions" showcase to highlight eco-friendly practices businesses and homeowners can initiate on their own.

"The county government sees [Bethesda Green] as a model for community-based sustainability efforts," said Ken Hartman, executive director of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center. "They're hoping that the Bethesda Green model can be replicated around the county."

Feldman has already enlisted the help of Bethesda's business owners to spread the message of sustainability, creating a taskforce with the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce to collect educational materials on environmentally-friendly business practices.

The group hopes to have the materials, which would be available online for chamber members and at the chamber's offices, ready by June.

"We've always had a need for educating our members about sustainability," said Ginanne Italiano, president if the chamber. "We sent a notice out to the members last week, and we've heard from a bunch of people who hope to be pretty active in this project."

Feldman also plans to couple with Bethesda's restaurants to collect used grease, which could be turned into biodiesel fuel to run the free Bethesda Circulator trolley and county vehicles.

And while Feldman said donations to the group are down, he said the group will continue to spread their message.

"For a lot of companies and organizations, this is a challenging time," he said. "But we're still getting volunteers, and people will still contribute."