Governor: Clean tech offers best job opportunities in current climate

DENVER - Colorado's economy continues to get a boost from so-called "clean technology" companies at a time when other industries are dramatically sagging, according to leading state economic development officials.

The latest evidence was announced on Monday at the State Capitol in the form of a 6,000-acre wind farm to be built just outside Burlington. It will be housed on the state's eastern plains welcoming any drivers coming from Kansas along Interstate 70.

"It's an important area for us," said Don Elliman, Colorado's Economic Development director. "Clean tech today is the place where venture capital is looking and Colorado is a place where they're looking very hard. I don't want to paint it as being the savior to everything because it's not, but can it be a significant piece of our recovery? The answer is yes, it can."

The wind farm announced Monday by the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and Duke Energy will provide energy for roughly 14,000 households in eastern Colorado and will hire roughly 150 people to construct the facility, so it can be operating by the end of 2010.

This comes after two major solar energy companies (Abound and Ascent) announced expansion plans in Colorado earlier this year and the hiring of hundreds of workers.

Elliman says negotiations are ongoing with "five to six" other solar and wind companies for similar-style projects in Colorado in the future.

"We all know how tough an economy this is, but the brightest and most encouraging activity continues to come from the New Energy Economy," Gov. Bill Ritter (D-Colorado) said.

A spokesman for Ritter's energy office says it's hard to quantify exactly how many jobs have been created through renewable industries or how many people are employed in the field.
Studies range from 17,000 to 91,000 Coloradans employed in so-called "green jobs." Whatever the number, everyone agrees it's one of the few areas where there's been any kind of job growth. More jobs are expected in the industry in the future as hundreds of millions of dollars flow into the state through President Obama's economic stimulus package for things like weatherization of homes.

"I think anybody's who's interested in creating jobs, who's interested in diversifying our energy portfolio, has got to be interested in the New Energy Economy, in renewable energy," Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) said, who will represent some of the customers served by what will be called the Kit Carson Windpower Project after the county where it's located.

"When you're talking about the economy today, you're seeing job losses in sectors across the board, and we're seeing jobs being added in the New Energy Economy. To have those jobs added, especially on the Eastern Plains where crops can be a fickle thing, is terrific," he added.

Below is a list from the governor's energy office of some of the recent job growth in this industry in the last year and a half.

• Denmark-based Vestas Blades opened its first North American manufacturing plant in Windsor in March 2008. Construction is underway on two additional plants in Brighton (wind blades and nacelles) and a tower manufacturing facility in Pueblo. Vestas' total commitment to Colorado represents a $700 million capital investment and 2,500 new jobs.

• Connecticut-based Hexcel Corp, a producer of carbon fiber and other advanced composite materials and a Vestas supplier, broke ground in early 2009 on a manufacturing facility in Windsor.

• Renewable Energy Systems America Inc. relocated from Texas to Colorado in March 2008. The company designs, builds and operates wind farms.

• Texas-based Dragon Wind will open a plant in Lamar to build wind towers.
• Siemens Energy, the second largest global wind turbine developer, announced Colorado will house its North American Research and Development Center.

• Woodward Governor announced in March 2008 it will add up to 100 employees in Northern Colorado. The company manufactures wind turbine inverters.

• Ascent Solar opened a new world headquarters and manufacturing facility in March 2009 for its flexible thin-film solar module. The company plans to add up to 200 news jobs over the next couple of years.

• AVA Solar, now Abound Solar, opened its manufacturing plant in Longmont in April 2009.

• Abengoa Solar has located its headquarters in Lakewood.

• PrimeStar Solar of Golden received more than $3 million in public-private funding to develop thin-film solar technologies.

• SunEdison's new photovoltaic facility generates power for 1,500 homes in the San Luis Valley and in 2008 was the nation's most productive photovoltaic solar plant. SunEdison opened an operations center in Westminster in 2008, bringing new jobs to the metro area.

• Solar Technology Acceleration Center (SolarTAC) announced it will build the nation's largest public-private partnership for solar-energy development in Aurora.

• ConocoPhillips will open a global research center for alternative fuels in Louisville.

• Solix Biofuels, a Colorado State University spinoff company, will open the world's first commercial pilot facility outside of Durango to develop biofuel from algae.