Colorado ready to light the way

Article written by Dr. Bill Scoggins and Jay Hermann published in the Rocky Mountain News on May 5.2007.

Dr. Bill Scoggins is President of the Colorado School of Mines. Jay Herrmann is Vice President of Xcel Energy. Together, they co-chair the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation’s Colorado Energy Coalition, a consortium of leaders and stakeholders in Colorado’s diverse energy industry whose volunteer efforts support and promote the industry here and nationwide.

Colorado is poised to be a worldwide leader in the new energy economy.

Our state has the natural resources, the geography, the research capability and the public and private sector resolve to be the frontrunner in optimizing energy through the deployment of natural resources with the development of renewable technologies. We are actively building upon our abundant natural resource base with our leadership in emerging and renewable resources.

The Rocky Mountain region sits atop 25 years of identified natural gas reserves and nearly 1 trillion barrels of oil trapped in shale. Colorado’s position is enriched by our state’s wind, solar, biofuel and hydro potential, resources that will last for many years to come.

Xcel Energy is ranked the nation’s No. 1 wind power provider by the American Wind Energy Association. The company has made investments into developing clean energy technologies such as Wind-to-Hydrogen, and an is studying the feasibility of whether to develop an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle plant with carbon sequestration. And Vestas Wind Systems recently chose northern Colorado for its first U.S.-based wind turbine blade manufacturing facility.

Businesses are opting to go the renewable route.  Last year, for example, distributor ProLogis opened its global headquarters in Denver. The 89,000-square-foot facility, which has been LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, is partially solar powered, hosts a landscape irrigation system that runs on reclaimed water and has several docking stations for electric cars.

Metro Denver alone is home to more than 1,000 fossil-energy firms that employ about 11,000 people, ranking Colorado sixth in the nation’s employment concentration of fossil energy, according to the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. Colorado ranks seventh in employment concentration for the renewable-energy industry, with nearly all of those companies located in the metro area.

Colorado’s most important asset is its unmatched intellectual capital base paired with hundreds of energy-research firms. Our intellectual capital is driven by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden and our colleges and universities like the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado and Colorado State University.

These research institutions recently took another step forward by forming the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory Agreement. This effort will allow NREL, Mines, CU and CSU to focus on performing world class research to develop new energy technologies and to transfer advances to the private sector.

With all these assets and resources, Colorado sits in the eye of a perfect storm for energy leadership.

The tipping point will ultimately come from the support for a comprehensive, balanced agenda by political and business leaders.

The business community is actively forging this public-private partnership through the Colorado Energy Coalition, a consortium of leaders and stakeholders in our state’s diverse energy industry whose efforts will advance a balanced approach across Colorado. The coalition will work on public policy to grow the energy industry, develop partnerships to promote the state as the balanced energy capital of the West, encourage energy efficiency, and identify and leverage public and private opportunities.
 
Gov. Bill Ritter is actively working to enhance Colorado’s position as a renewable leader. The coalition supports several pieces of legislation that align with the governor’s efforts. This includes House Bill 1281, which will double the renewable energy standard, and Senate Bill 100, which will allow much needed upgrades to our power-transmission infrastructure.

Additionally, the business community is preparing for the energy industry’s need for a well-trained workforce. The Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation’s WIRED Initiative, funded by a $15 million U.S. Department of Labor grant, is developing the high-skilled employees needed for Colorado’s energy, aerospace, technology and bioscience industries.

These efforts are just the first steps. There is much more we can do to make Colorado a leader in energy production and research and development.

As we move forward, political leaders have to remember that balance is the key to our success. Base load for commercial and residential electricity is still carried by coal. And energy, along with health insurance, is the top unpredictable cost for businesses. Moreover, Colorado’s energy policies must reflect measures to promote conservation while deploying energy-efficiency best practices and technology to match market needs. 

The data are available to support this balanced approach. According to an energy-efficiency study released last year by the Metro Denver EDC, a $600 million investment in efficiency measures and energy-efficient design in new buildings by metro area businesses could net nearly $1.9 billion in energy savings by 2026. The study also noted that those savings could result in more than 12,000 new jobs and an increase in salaries by more than $300 million.

Ultimately, striking the right balance for our economy requires collaboration. We must continue to collaborate to ensure that Colorado has the right mix in its energy portfolio. Doing this together, Colorado will become the leader of the new energy economy and eventually the balanced energy capital of the West.