{"id":3768,"date":"2013-03-18T15:10:11","date_gmt":"2013-03-18T15:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=3768"},"modified":"2013-03-18T15:10:11","modified_gmt":"2013-03-18T15:10:11","slug":"colorado-a-case-study-in-clean-tech-planning-and-execution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/03\/18\/colorado-a-case-study-in-clean-tech-planning-and-execution\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado: A Case Study In Clean Tech Planning And Execution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In a recent posts, we revisited the recent\u00a0trio of reports<\/a> of the clean energy clusters in Ohio, Iowa and Colorado and shared some insights on lessons learned from Iowa<\/a> and Ohio<\/a>. \u00a0In this post, we’ll take a look at Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Colorado is the 12th windiest state in the U.S.<\/a> and\u00a0is currently 9th in installed wind capacity.\u00a0It’s one of only six states that have exceeded 10% of state generated electricity coming from wind. \u00a0For more than a decade, Colorado has been atop most lists for states vying for leadership in the clean energy economy. \u00a0It has research labs, a proactive state government, universities and active economic development efforts. \u00a0All of these have combined to help Colorado excel in the new energy landscape.<\/p>\n

Consider that Golden, CO is home to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory<\/a> (NREL), the only federal lab dedicated to research, development, commercialization and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technology. \u00a0For more than 30 years, NREL has been working on advancements in solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy sources. \u00a0NREL, Colorado universities and private companies have leveraged the hometown lab<\/a> to establish specialized research centers in several of these areas and contribute more than $700 million in the economic activity of Colorado each year.<\/p>\n

The Denver-metro area, where our report focuses, has become a particularly popular place for cleantech startups and more mature companies<\/a>. \u00a0In 2011, the region had about 1,500 companies and 18,000 employees in the cleantech industry, a 35% increase in direct employment growth from 2006. In terms of the entire Colorado workforce, cleantech employees account for 1%. \u00a0But that’s twice the national average and generates more than a billion dollars in annual wages.<\/p>\n

Similar to that of Ohio, Colorado’s success wasn’t accidental. \u00a0It was the first state to initiate a Renewable Portfolio Standard<\/a> by ballot initiative, or RPS, which requires utilities to produce a minimum percentage of its generation from renewable energy. \u00a0\u00a0A 10% RPS was enacted in 2004. \u00a0In 2007 it increased to 20% by 2020. \u00a0The state also passed rules on net metering and interconnections that incentivized individuals and businesses to install renewable, distributed generation. \u00a0All of these measures have helped spark demand.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>And the state’s early commitment to the sector has enabled the state to reap the benefits of that demand all the way down the supply chain.<\/p>\n

As Tom Clark of the Metro Denver EDC explains it, the goal was to build an economic ecosystem, not a niche specialty. \u00a0Denver wants\u00a0“to build a cluster of economic activity around cleantech – rather than chasing hot companies. \u00a0We focus on recruiting companies that build the region\u2019s supply chain. \u00a0That chain certainly includes R&D efforts, like those sparked by NREL. \u00a0But it also includes manufacturing jobs, installation jobs and service jobs.\u00a0 All are areas where Colorado has prospered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado certainly has a few traits in its favor: \u00a0a legacy of energy industry leadership, a talented workforce and a tech- and entrepreneur-friendly reputation. \u00a0But its success can most directly be tied to how it executed a plan based upon a common objective to build a robust, diverse clean technology economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recent posts, we revisited the recent\u00a0trio of reports of the clean energy clusters in Ohio, Iowa and Colorado and shared some insights on lessons learned from Iowa and Ohio. \u00a0In this post, we’ll take a look at Colorado. Colorado is the 12th windiest state in the U.S. and\u00a0is currently 9th in installed wind …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":495,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[40290,84855,40289,38438],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-3768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-renewable-energy","tag-cleantech","tag-colorado","tag-renewable-portfolio-standard","tag-rps"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nColorado: A Case Study In Clean Tech Planning And Execution - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/03\/18\/colorado-a-case-study-in-clean-tech-planning-and-execution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colorado: A Case Study In Clean Tech Planning And Execution - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a recent posts, we revisited the recent\u00a0trio of reports of the clean energy clusters in Ohio, Iowa and Colorado and shared some insights on lessons learned from Iowa and Ohio. \u00a0In this post, we’ll take a look at Colorado. 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