Colorado gets massive return on investment from energy research 'collaboratory,' report finds

The Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory — which includes three of the state’s universities and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden — has drawn $96.6 million in outside investment over the last eight years and had an economic impact of $194 million, according to a new report. The Collaboratory includes Colorado State University, Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado Boulder and NREL, part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratory system. Researchers have focused on making fuels from cellulosic biomass; fuels from algae; the development of renewable carbon fiber materials; high-efficiency solar power panels; and reducing of methane emissions from natural gas and other sources. The consortium was started when former Gov. Bill Owens signed into law a measure to fund the Collaboratory, up to $2 million a year for three years, beginning in fiscal 2007. The Collaboratory received almost $8 million. It focuses on clean energy research partnership and the leveraging science and engineering capabilities of each institution in the organization. Together with public agencies, private enterprises and nonprofit organizations, members of the group work toward renewable energy solutions and technologies; support economic growth for renewable industries; and train and educate the next generation of energy researchers and workers. According to the analysis conducted by Brian Lewandowski, an economist at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, the initial state investment of $7.96 million led to another $96.6 million from industry, the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Science Foundation and other sources in support of Collaboratory research between 2008-2015. The total impact constitutes a return of 24:1 on the state’s original $7.96 million investment. The report concluded that the state’s investment in setting up the Collaboratory has been “extraordinarily productive: economically, scientifically and technologically.”