Colorado has gotten a lot of attention in recent years for its Democratic gains: growing majorities in the state legislature and in our Congressional delegation, the takeover of one U.S. Senate seat and the increasingly bright prospects of another, and the resounding election of a dynamic new Democratic governor.

But in many ways, the most important color in Colorado is not red or blue. It’s green. That’s the color of a cleaner environment. And that’s the color of our new energy economy.

Colorado’s investments in wind, solar, biomass, and other renewable resources have created thousands of jobs and returned millions of dollars in new revenue. By diversifying our energy portfolio, we are saving money, reducing the demand for water, cutting carbon emissions, promoting public health, and protecting our national security.

The people of Colorado are leading the way. In 2004, the citizens passed an initiative requiring 10 percent of our energy to come from renewable sources by 2015. We’re on track to meet that goal seven years ahead of schedule. This year, we doubled the renewable energy standard, requiring 20 percent by 2020.

We enacted nearly 20 other measures to spur the new energy economy in Colorado. We freed renewable-energy equipment from sales and use taxes. We accelerated the construction of power-transmission lines. And we made it easier to install wind turbines and solar panels at home and at work. We also took steps to encourage energy efficiency and conservation, promote better building practices, and jump-start research and development of biofuels and other carbon-cutting technologies at institutes of higher education.

Our efforts are paying off. Vestas, the world’s top manufacturer of wind-power systems, announced plans in March to build a turbine factory in northern Colorado. More than 400 jobs are on the way. SunEdison will complete a solar plant in the San Luis Valley next year. It will produce enough clean energy to power nearly 1,500 homes.

Next year will bring more progress. We’re exploring new technologies, such as concentrating solar. We’re expanding the use of net metering, so that homeowners and businesses can generate their own clean power. And we’re enhancing energy efficiency in transportation, construction, and nearly every other sector of our economy.

Colorado is on track to lead the world in the research, development and use of renewable energy. America can too.

This entry was posted on 10.29.2007 at 5:23 pm and is filed under Uncategorized, Government Reform, Hybrid Economy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response.