Colo. raises renewable energy standard
By The Associated Press
Monday, March 22, 2010
DENVER — A bill requiring Colorado utilities to use more renewable energy, including smaller-scale solar projects, is now law.
Gov. Bill Ritter signed the bill today at a Denver-based solar installation company.
Utilities must now get 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020. The bill increases that to 30 percent over the same time, a standard just below California’s 33 percent requirement. Most other states with renewable energy standards are in the 20-percent range.
The bill requires that 3 percent of a utility’s power sales be spent on power from solar installations at homes and businesses. That’s aimed at creating more business for the estimated 230 small solar installers in Colorado.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Udall bill would boost local ‘solar farm’ efforts
Udall bill would boost local ‘solar farm’ efforts
By Dennis Webb
Thursday, March 18, 2010
New legislation being pushed by U.S. Sen. Mark Udall would benefit two western Colorado efforts to create community solar projects.
Udall, D-Colo., said in a media teleconference Wednesday the bill would provide residents with tax credits for buying an ownership in such projects, also referred to as “solar farms.”
The Grand Valley Power electric cooperative in Grand Junction hopes to break ground on such a project this year. Another co-op, Holy Cross Energy in Glenwood Springs, also is pursuing such a project, and had asked Udall to considering carrying the bill.
The idea is to give participants access to the same 30 percent tax credit that people receive when they install solar electric systems at their homes, Udall said.
Udall said the measure is the first in a series of job-creation bills he plans to introduce that relate to clean energy. He said experts believe the community approach could expand use of solar power by two-thirds over five years.
“In Colorado that’s a lot of jobs in the clean energy economy that we want to bring to the forefront,” he said.
Under a proposal being pursued by Holy Cross Energy and a Basalt business, Clean Energy Collective, homeowners and even renters could buy a fractional ownership in a community system for as little as $500. Derek Elder, energy services administrator for Grand Valley Power, said it is looking at selling ownership shares at less than $1,000.
The concept offers an alternative for people such as those who are unable to come up with $10,000 or more for their own systems, or have properties that are impractical for solar power because they are located in the shade or have north-facing roofs.
Participants would receive a credit on their electric bills based on their level of ownership.
Holy Cross and Clean Energy Collective are seeking approval from Garfield County and the Federal Aviation Administration to build a solar farm at the Garfield County Regional Airport near Rifle.
Grand Valley Power is planning to install a solar farm on its property at 29 Road and Interstate 70. It would be located next to a substation, and could be up to a 500-kilowatt facility, which would generate enough power to meet the needs of 125 homes, Elder said. However, fractional ownership would let many more residents participate in the project.
“The legislation that Udall is proposing would definitely be very beneficial to our customers in this,” Elder said.
Udall said if the tax credit becomes law, it would run through 2016. It initially is estimated to cost $117 million over five years.
By Dennis Webb
Thursday, March 18, 2010
New legislation being pushed by U.S. Sen. Mark Udall would benefit two western Colorado efforts to create community solar projects.
Udall, D-Colo., said in a media teleconference Wednesday the bill would provide residents with tax credits for buying an ownership in such projects, also referred to as “solar farms.”
The Grand Valley Power electric cooperative in Grand Junction hopes to break ground on such a project this year. Another co-op, Holy Cross Energy in Glenwood Springs, also is pursuing such a project, and had asked Udall to considering carrying the bill.
The idea is to give participants access to the same 30 percent tax credit that people receive when they install solar electric systems at their homes, Udall said.
Udall said the measure is the first in a series of job-creation bills he plans to introduce that relate to clean energy. He said experts believe the community approach could expand use of solar power by two-thirds over five years.
“In Colorado that’s a lot of jobs in the clean energy economy that we want to bring to the forefront,” he said.
Under a proposal being pursued by Holy Cross Energy and a Basalt business, Clean Energy Collective, homeowners and even renters could buy a fractional ownership in a community system for as little as $500. Derek Elder, energy services administrator for Grand Valley Power, said it is looking at selling ownership shares at less than $1,000.
The concept offers an alternative for people such as those who are unable to come up with $10,000 or more for their own systems, or have properties that are impractical for solar power because they are located in the shade or have north-facing roofs.
Participants would receive a credit on their electric bills based on their level of ownership.
Holy Cross and Clean Energy Collective are seeking approval from Garfield County and the Federal Aviation Administration to build a solar farm at the Garfield County Regional Airport near Rifle.
Grand Valley Power is planning to install a solar farm on its property at 29 Road and Interstate 70. It would be located next to a substation, and could be up to a 500-kilowatt facility, which would generate enough power to meet the needs of 125 homes, Elder said. However, fractional ownership would let many more residents participate in the project.
“The legislation that Udall is proposing would definitely be very beneficial to our customers in this,” Elder said.
Udall said if the tax credit becomes law, it would run through 2016. It initially is estimated to cost $117 million over five years.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Penry clings to past as renewable energy program advances
Penry clings to past as renewable energy program advances
By Bill Grant
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Leading his entire Republican caucus to vote against Governor Bill Ritter’s proposed renewable energy standard expansion, Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry seems at war with himself.
In one persona he is a forward-looking conservative visionary who takes the new energy future seriously. But when the opportunity comes to actually move forward, he clings to the past and resists progress.
Penry “has been an outspoken supporter of efforts to expand wind, solar, and other renewable energy supplies in Colorado,” the Senate Minority Leader’s Facebook page informs us.
Penry repeated that assertion last September. “I think that renewable energy is important, and I’ve supported a number of the governor’s renewable energy policies ... And he’s been right to push wind and solar,” he told the Colorado Statesman.
He even criticized Republicans for usually saying, “Renewable energy is important but ... And then they spend the next 10 minutes trashing renewable energy ... No. Renewable energy is important.”
But that aspect of Penry’s political persona was not evident last Friday. Penry led the Republican caucus to vote against legislation that enacts Ritter’s plan to expand Colorado’s renewable energy standard.
HB 1001 increases the current requirement that 20 percent of electricity be generated from renewable energy sources to 30 percent by 2020.
The new standard only applies to Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy. City utilities and rural cooperatives will still be required the meet a standard of 10 percent.
The bill requires that 3 percent of renewable power generation come from “distributed generation.” This requirement will stimulate installation of small and medium solar power plants on rooftops and commercial properties.
Senate Democrats have also promoted the legislation as essential to creating skilled, high-paying jobs.
“Jobs, jobs, jobs. That is our primary focus for this session and this bill,” Sen. Bruce Whitehead said. “The renewable energy standard will cement our position as the premier location for new-energy-economy companies to come and create new jobs.”
A press release from the governor’s office announcing the bill claimed it would “give Colorado the best clean-energy requirement in the Rocky Mountain West, create thousands of new jobs and lead to 100,000 solar rooftops over the next decade.”
These estimates are supported by a recent study released by conservation groups Environment Colorado and Vote Solar. Over the next decade, the report concludes, the higher mandate could generate as many as 23,000 new jobs in Colorado.
Penry also is committed to expanding jobs. But he is apparently not interested in the kind of jobs that would be created by passage of the expanded renewable energy standard.
He would like to see a miraculous return of the natural gas drilling boom. He appears to believe nullification of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission rules and new subsidies for the industry are all that are required to make that happen.
“Republicans need to get off the anti-renewable gig,” Penry said. But “Democrats are going to have to recognize that we have to aggressively produce conventional sources of energy.”
Penry also objects to the bill because he considers it friendly to labor.
One provision of HB 1001 would require that solar panels must be installed by, or under the supervision of, an “energy practitioner” certified by the American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners to qualify for subsidies.
Only a licensed master or journeyman electrician would qualify to do electrical work under the rebate program.
Led by Penry, who claimed to detect “the foul odor of special interests,” Republicans claimed these requirements were put in for the benefit of unions. “They are central planning that would make the old Soviets blush,” Penry said, according to The Durango Herald.
That overstates the case. It is possible for workers to qualify for certification by attending a community college or commercial trade school.
However, the bill has union support, and no doubt they expect their members to benefit from it.
Penry and his Republican cabal are so intent on resisting any legislation that benefits labor, that they overlook the obvious problem of not certifying installers. Allowing poorly trained or inexperienced low-wage workers to undertake the complex task of wiring thousands of homes and commercial buildings for solar generation is a prescription for disaster.
“My children, your children, our future relies on finding sources of energy other than what we already have,” Whitehead said. HB 1001 is the next step forward for Colorado.
Bill Grant lives in Grand Junction. He can be reached at wgrant@bgsu.edu.
By Bill Grant
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Leading his entire Republican caucus to vote against Governor Bill Ritter’s proposed renewable energy standard expansion, Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry seems at war with himself.
In one persona he is a forward-looking conservative visionary who takes the new energy future seriously. But when the opportunity comes to actually move forward, he clings to the past and resists progress.
Penry “has been an outspoken supporter of efforts to expand wind, solar, and other renewable energy supplies in Colorado,” the Senate Minority Leader’s Facebook page informs us.
Penry repeated that assertion last September. “I think that renewable energy is important, and I’ve supported a number of the governor’s renewable energy policies ... And he’s been right to push wind and solar,” he told the Colorado Statesman.
He even criticized Republicans for usually saying, “Renewable energy is important but ... And then they spend the next 10 minutes trashing renewable energy ... No. Renewable energy is important.”
But that aspect of Penry’s political persona was not evident last Friday. Penry led the Republican caucus to vote against legislation that enacts Ritter’s plan to expand Colorado’s renewable energy standard.
HB 1001 increases the current requirement that 20 percent of electricity be generated from renewable energy sources to 30 percent by 2020.
The new standard only applies to Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy. City utilities and rural cooperatives will still be required the meet a standard of 10 percent.
The bill requires that 3 percent of renewable power generation come from “distributed generation.” This requirement will stimulate installation of small and medium solar power plants on rooftops and commercial properties.
Senate Democrats have also promoted the legislation as essential to creating skilled, high-paying jobs.
“Jobs, jobs, jobs. That is our primary focus for this session and this bill,” Sen. Bruce Whitehead said. “The renewable energy standard will cement our position as the premier location for new-energy-economy companies to come and create new jobs.”
A press release from the governor’s office announcing the bill claimed it would “give Colorado the best clean-energy requirement in the Rocky Mountain West, create thousands of new jobs and lead to 100,000 solar rooftops over the next decade.”
These estimates are supported by a recent study released by conservation groups Environment Colorado and Vote Solar. Over the next decade, the report concludes, the higher mandate could generate as many as 23,000 new jobs in Colorado.
Penry also is committed to expanding jobs. But he is apparently not interested in the kind of jobs that would be created by passage of the expanded renewable energy standard.
He would like to see a miraculous return of the natural gas drilling boom. He appears to believe nullification of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission rules and new subsidies for the industry are all that are required to make that happen.
“Republicans need to get off the anti-renewable gig,” Penry said. But “Democrats are going to have to recognize that we have to aggressively produce conventional sources of energy.”
Penry also objects to the bill because he considers it friendly to labor.
One provision of HB 1001 would require that solar panels must be installed by, or under the supervision of, an “energy practitioner” certified by the American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners to qualify for subsidies.
Only a licensed master or journeyman electrician would qualify to do electrical work under the rebate program.
Led by Penry, who claimed to detect “the foul odor of special interests,” Republicans claimed these requirements were put in for the benefit of unions. “They are central planning that would make the old Soviets blush,” Penry said, according to The Durango Herald.
That overstates the case. It is possible for workers to qualify for certification by attending a community college or commercial trade school.
However, the bill has union support, and no doubt they expect their members to benefit from it.
Penry and his Republican cabal are so intent on resisting any legislation that benefits labor, that they overlook the obvious problem of not certifying installers. Allowing poorly trained or inexperienced low-wage workers to undertake the complex task of wiring thousands of homes and commercial buildings for solar generation is a prescription for disaster.
“My children, your children, our future relies on finding sources of energy other than what we already have,” Whitehead said. HB 1001 is the next step forward for Colorado.
Bill Grant lives in Grand Junction. He can be reached at wgrant@bgsu.edu.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Fruita Video Plus gets solar power, Lowers Expenses
Fruita Video Plus gets solar power, lowers expenses
FREE PRESS STAFF REPORT,
Dennis Stark is no newcomer to the DVD and game rental business.
He began his rental business in 1991 in Clifton. He then moved the business to Fruita in 1998. He called the business Video Plus because he rented games as well as movies. Dennis says that the favorite part of running his store is getting to know his customers. He says that there are lots of DVD rental stores out there, but few of them have someone who knows your name, what kind of films you like, or cares whether you return for more business.
Dennis likes to visit with people who come in his store. His strategy is to “beat the competitors on quality.” Dennis is very proud of his current crew at the store - he values his employees. Dennis invests in his business. That is why he had commercial solar power installed on his building. How did it happen?
It all started when Dennis got a energy audit and found out he could get cash rebates from Xcel Energy to reduce his monthly business operating expenses by using energy more efficiently. He decided that the next step was to produce his own clean and green power on-site with a commercial solar power system from Atlasta Solar.
Dennis got cash rebates from Xcel Energy, Tax Credits from the Federal Government, as well as accelerated depreciation for the business equipment capital investment. Dennis selected Atlasta Solar because Atlasta Solar is the longest operating solar company in western Colorado and has the most experience in their industry. Dennis says what he likes about the solar system is that it is “absolutely maintenance-free.”
Give Dennis a call at Video Plus 858-9643 and tell him your favorite movies!
And give Atlasta Solar Center a call to find out what commercial solar can save your business money every day!
Atlasta Solar
2923 North Ave.
Grand Junction, CO 81504-4977,
248-0057
www.atlastasolarstore.com
FREE PRESS STAFF REPORT,
Dennis Stark is no newcomer to the DVD and game rental business.
He began his rental business in 1991 in Clifton. He then moved the business to Fruita in 1998. He called the business Video Plus because he rented games as well as movies. Dennis says that the favorite part of running his store is getting to know his customers. He says that there are lots of DVD rental stores out there, but few of them have someone who knows your name, what kind of films you like, or cares whether you return for more business.
Dennis likes to visit with people who come in his store. His strategy is to “beat the competitors on quality.” Dennis is very proud of his current crew at the store - he values his employees. Dennis invests in his business. That is why he had commercial solar power installed on his building. How did it happen?
It all started when Dennis got a energy audit and found out he could get cash rebates from Xcel Energy to reduce his monthly business operating expenses by using energy more efficiently. He decided that the next step was to produce his own clean and green power on-site with a commercial solar power system from Atlasta Solar.
Dennis got cash rebates from Xcel Energy, Tax Credits from the Federal Government, as well as accelerated depreciation for the business equipment capital investment. Dennis selected Atlasta Solar because Atlasta Solar is the longest operating solar company in western Colorado and has the most experience in their industry. Dennis says what he likes about the solar system is that it is “absolutely maintenance-free.”
Give Dennis a call at Video Plus 858-9643 and tell him your favorite movies!
And give Atlasta Solar Center a call to find out what commercial solar can save your business money every day!
Atlasta Solar
2923 North Ave.
Grand Junction, CO 81504-4977,
248-0057
www.atlastasolarstore.com
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Colorado Senate advances higher renewable-energy standard
Colorado Senate advances higher renewable-energy standard
Denver Business Journal - by Ed Sealover
Friday, March 5, 2010, 2:57pm MST|Modified:Friday,March 5, 2010, 5:46pm
Colorado stands just two steps away from enacting the second-highest standard in the country for renewable-energy production requirements by utilities, and now Gov. Bill Ritter also wants to raise the national bar on cutting air pollution.
The Colorado Senate gave final approval to a bill Friday that would raise from 20 percent to 30 percent the amount of power that Xcel Energy and other investor-owned utilities serving state residents would have to produce from renewable sources. Democrats said the measure would bring jobs, while Republicans said it would drive utility costs through the roof.
The new standard would have to be met by 2020 and would put Colorado behind only California, which mandates that 33 percent of its energy come from renewable sources.
Shortly after that vote, Ritter, environmentalists and officials from Xcel Energy announced that they will introduce the Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act. The legislation, if passed, would require Xcel to cut pollutants greatly by retiring, retrofitting or repowering Front Range coal-fired power plants by the end of 2017 and replacing them with facilities fueled by natural gas and other lower- or non-emitting energy sources.
“Colorado’s New Energy Economy is already leading the country toward a cleaner and more secure energy future,” Ritter said in a statement. “This proposal will keep Colorado at the forefront of America’s energy revolution. It will protect consumers, clean our air and protect public health, and create new jobs by increasing demand for Colorado-produced natural gas.”
The new proposal, for which Ritter already has reached agreement with the utility giant, followed a sometimes caustic debate on the renewable-energy standards bill that spanned eight hours Thursday and nearly four more hours on Friday.
Sponsoring Sens. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, and Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, said the bill, House Bill 1001, would create new renewable-energy jobs. And Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, said the move to American-made sources of energy will help all businesses by no longer making their fuel costs subject to the price fluctuations that come with buying foreign fuel.
“One of the benefits of this bill, among many, is that it’s going to commit to the growth of an industry that is not just short-term job creation but long term,” said Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver.
But Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry disputed the job-growth argument, saying that studies have shown that there were 17,000 clean-energy jobs in Colorado in 2007 — less than the 17,200 that existed here in 2001.
And Penry and Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, complained vociferously about a clause in the bill that allows only electricians with certain training and a certain number of apprentices to install new alternative-energy devices like solar panels. Mitchell called it “goodies for labor.”
“There are more words, paragraphs and pages directed toward protecting union jobs than there are to promoting renewable energy,” Penry said.
The bill passed on a 21-13 party-line vote, with Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, not voting because he works for a rural electrical association. The measure now goes back to the House to concur with minor changes made in the Senate and, if approved there, would head to Ritter, who is expected to sign it.
esealover@bizjournals.com | 303-831-0230
All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
Denver Business Journal - by Ed Sealover
Friday, March 5, 2010, 2:57pm MST|Modified:Friday,March 5, 2010, 5:46pm
Colorado stands just two steps away from enacting the second-highest standard in the country for renewable-energy production requirements by utilities, and now Gov. Bill Ritter also wants to raise the national bar on cutting air pollution.
The Colorado Senate gave final approval to a bill Friday that would raise from 20 percent to 30 percent the amount of power that Xcel Energy and other investor-owned utilities serving state residents would have to produce from renewable sources. Democrats said the measure would bring jobs, while Republicans said it would drive utility costs through the roof.
The new standard would have to be met by 2020 and would put Colorado behind only California, which mandates that 33 percent of its energy come from renewable sources.
Shortly after that vote, Ritter, environmentalists and officials from Xcel Energy announced that they will introduce the Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act. The legislation, if passed, would require Xcel to cut pollutants greatly by retiring, retrofitting or repowering Front Range coal-fired power plants by the end of 2017 and replacing them with facilities fueled by natural gas and other lower- or non-emitting energy sources.
“Colorado’s New Energy Economy is already leading the country toward a cleaner and more secure energy future,” Ritter said in a statement. “This proposal will keep Colorado at the forefront of America’s energy revolution. It will protect consumers, clean our air and protect public health, and create new jobs by increasing demand for Colorado-produced natural gas.”
The new proposal, for which Ritter already has reached agreement with the utility giant, followed a sometimes caustic debate on the renewable-energy standards bill that spanned eight hours Thursday and nearly four more hours on Friday.
Sponsoring Sens. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, and Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, said the bill, House Bill 1001, would create new renewable-energy jobs. And Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, said the move to American-made sources of energy will help all businesses by no longer making their fuel costs subject to the price fluctuations that come with buying foreign fuel.
“One of the benefits of this bill, among many, is that it’s going to commit to the growth of an industry that is not just short-term job creation but long term,” said Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver.
But Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry disputed the job-growth argument, saying that studies have shown that there were 17,000 clean-energy jobs in Colorado in 2007 — less than the 17,200 that existed here in 2001.
And Penry and Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, complained vociferously about a clause in the bill that allows only electricians with certain training and a certain number of apprentices to install new alternative-energy devices like solar panels. Mitchell called it “goodies for labor.”
“There are more words, paragraphs and pages directed toward protecting union jobs than there are to promoting renewable energy,” Penry said.
The bill passed on a 21-13 party-line vote, with Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, not voting because he works for a rural electrical association. The measure now goes back to the House to concur with minor changes made in the Senate and, if approved there, would head to Ritter, who is expected to sign it.
esealover@bizjournals.com | 303-831-0230
All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Energy Bill Worries Businesses
Energy Bill Worries Businesses
Posted: Mar 06, 2010 6:39 PM MST
Updated: Mar 06, 2010 6:42 PM MST
TAMI BREHSE
TBREHSE@KJCT8.COM
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - A bill that would raise renewable energy standards for utility companies is sparking some heated debate. House bill 1001 would require certain utility companies to produce 30 percent of their energy from renewable sources.
Some say it could create as many as 20,000 jobs. But others say it could cost them theirs.
"I'm already hurting on utility costs," says B2 Orchards owner Brad Brophy.
He's worried the bill will end up increasing energy costs, in turn upping his electric bill.
"It will increase utility bills in the future," Brophy says, "which are already outrageous."
Opponents of the bill say renewable energy is too expensive to survive in the market on its own, so the government is supporting it through mandates like this one.
"The costs have to be absorbed somewhere," says opponent Kelly Sloan. "They either have to be absorbed by the company, or more generally passed on to the consumer in terms of higher prices."
But supporters of the bill say the mandates are necessary if we ever want to see green energy succeed.
"Solar and wind and renewable sources do need to have a leg up and be put on a level playing field," says Lou Villaire of Atlasta Solar.
He says the bill would bring much-needed job opportunities.
While the new requirements might bring jobs to the solar industry, opponents of the bill worry it'll take jobs away from oil and gas.
"At best it's worthless, at worst it's damaging," Sloan says.
But others say the end result will be worth it.
"When we look at the true costs of fossil fuels versus the cost of renewable energy," Villaire says, "the renewables come out on top."
Posted: Mar 06, 2010 6:39 PM MST
Updated: Mar 06, 2010 6:42 PM MST
TAMI BREHSE
TBREHSE@KJCT8.COM
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - A bill that would raise renewable energy standards for utility companies is sparking some heated debate. House bill 1001 would require certain utility companies to produce 30 percent of their energy from renewable sources.
Some say it could create as many as 20,000 jobs. But others say it could cost them theirs.
"I'm already hurting on utility costs," says B2 Orchards owner Brad Brophy.
He's worried the bill will end up increasing energy costs, in turn upping his electric bill.
"It will increase utility bills in the future," Brophy says, "which are already outrageous."
Opponents of the bill say renewable energy is too expensive to survive in the market on its own, so the government is supporting it through mandates like this one.
"The costs have to be absorbed somewhere," says opponent Kelly Sloan. "They either have to be absorbed by the company, or more generally passed on to the consumer in terms of higher prices."
But supporters of the bill say the mandates are necessary if we ever want to see green energy succeed.
"Solar and wind and renewable sources do need to have a leg up and be put on a level playing field," says Lou Villaire of Atlasta Solar.
He says the bill would bring much-needed job opportunities.
While the new requirements might bring jobs to the solar industry, opponents of the bill worry it'll take jobs away from oil and gas.
"At best it's worthless, at worst it's damaging," Sloan says.
But others say the end result will be worth it.
"When we look at the true costs of fossil fuels versus the cost of renewable energy," Villaire says, "the renewables come out on top."
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Solar Rally at Denver Capitol
Legislative Update
A rally for solar as Federal Center announces it will triple energy-producing panels
By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post
Posted: 02/18/2010 01:00:00 AM MST
Hundreds of solar-power supporters make their way to the west steps of the Capitol during a rally Wednesday afternoon. The crowd, representing the Colorado solar industry, gathered at 16th and Lawrence streets and walked up the 16th Street Mall to the Capitol. ( Andy Cross, The Denver Post )
As the government launched a project Wednesday to install solar panels on 35 acres at the Denver Federal Center, 250 solar-industry workers marched through downtown to rally political support.
"This is the future of our economy. Even though we're nicknamed 'green collar,' we're the blue collar of the future," said R.J. Harrington, director of Boulder-based Simple Solar, one of more than 200 solar companies that employ about 1,500 workers statewide.
The action reflected growing enthusiasm for a greener economy that proponents say could propel Colorado out of doldrums.
"I want a long-term career. That's why I'm here," panel installer Wade Andrews, 33, said, marching amid "Solar Roofs = Local Jobs" signs. A Colorado State University graduate in philosophy, Andrews said his $38,000 salary, plus health benefits, gives a solid start.
Solar-industry leaders are lobbying for legislation to enable widespread installation of panels on residential and small-business roofs.
Lawmakers have introduced bills that would:
• Make it easier for homeowners to arrange financing for the upfront cost of solar panels.
• Require Colorado to generate 30 percent of energy used by consumers from renewable sources by 2020, up from a current requirement of 20 percent.
Supporting solar energy "is a win for banks," Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver, said. Solar-company assets are growing, homeowners borrowing to buy panels fit profiles of those likely to repay loans, and a 30 percent target would stimulate further growth, Miklosi said. "This is about creating jobs."
At the Federal Center, Government Services Administration officials said installation of about 30,000 roof and ground-mounted solar panels would help meet a goal of generating 14 percent of energy used at the center from a renewable source.
About 6,000 federal employees work in 55 buildings at the 623-acre center in Lakewood — the largest federal center outside Washington, D.C.
"The addition of 35 acres of photovoltaic panels at the Denver Federal Center will encourage growth and create jobs in the domestic construction and green technology industries," GSA Administrator Martha Johnson said.
The new solar arrays would triple the acreage covered by solar panels. The project is being paid for with $5.5 billion in Recovery Act tax funds given to GSA to make federal offices more efficient.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14422682#ixzz0gIMtlDr0
A rally for solar as Federal Center announces it will triple energy-producing panels
By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post
Posted: 02/18/2010 01:00:00 AM MST
Hundreds of solar-power supporters make their way to the west steps of the Capitol during a rally Wednesday afternoon. The crowd, representing the Colorado solar industry, gathered at 16th and Lawrence streets and walked up the 16th Street Mall to the Capitol. ( Andy Cross, The Denver Post )
As the government launched a project Wednesday to install solar panels on 35 acres at the Denver Federal Center, 250 solar-industry workers marched through downtown to rally political support.
"This is the future of our economy. Even though we're nicknamed 'green collar,' we're the blue collar of the future," said R.J. Harrington, director of Boulder-based Simple Solar, one of more than 200 solar companies that employ about 1,500 workers statewide.
The action reflected growing enthusiasm for a greener economy that proponents say could propel Colorado out of doldrums.
"I want a long-term career. That's why I'm here," panel installer Wade Andrews, 33, said, marching amid "Solar Roofs = Local Jobs" signs. A Colorado State University graduate in philosophy, Andrews said his $38,000 salary, plus health benefits, gives a solid start.
Solar-industry leaders are lobbying for legislation to enable widespread installation of panels on residential and small-business roofs.
Lawmakers have introduced bills that would:
• Make it easier for homeowners to arrange financing for the upfront cost of solar panels.
• Require Colorado to generate 30 percent of energy used by consumers from renewable sources by 2020, up from a current requirement of 20 percent.
Supporting solar energy "is a win for banks," Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver, said. Solar-company assets are growing, homeowners borrowing to buy panels fit profiles of those likely to repay loans, and a 30 percent target would stimulate further growth, Miklosi said. "This is about creating jobs."
At the Federal Center, Government Services Administration officials said installation of about 30,000 roof and ground-mounted solar panels would help meet a goal of generating 14 percent of energy used at the center from a renewable source.
About 6,000 federal employees work in 55 buildings at the 623-acre center in Lakewood — the largest federal center outside Washington, D.C.
"The addition of 35 acres of photovoltaic panels at the Denver Federal Center will encourage growth and create jobs in the domestic construction and green technology industries," GSA Administrator Martha Johnson said.
The new solar arrays would triple the acreage covered by solar panels. The project is being paid for with $5.5 billion in Recovery Act tax funds given to GSA to make federal offices more efficient.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14422682#ixzz0gIMtlDr0
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