Solar Power Colorado 2017 to Explore Innovation in a Fast-Changing Marketplace

DENVER, Jan. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Solar Power Colorado 2017 is shaping up as an invaluable exploration of the growing role of solar energy in a changing political landscape. While solar energy continues its record-breaking growth nationally and in Colorado, the sector faces major uncertainties as the new political order takes shape in Washington D.C., and the conference will be one of the first major professional gatherings of the year to examine what lies ahead. With the theme: Innovation: Making Solar Mainstream, the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA) - the conference host - is expecting about 500 professionals from March 13 to 15 at the Omni Resort in Broomfield, CO. Launching the discussions with a keynote address the morning of March 14 will be Martin Keller, PhD., the new director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. As leader of the premier laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for energy efficiency and renewable energy, Keller will be positioned to describe the important work of the lab in advancing solar technologies. His address will be followed by a panel discussion among top solar industry leaders about trends in the industry. and what the changing national political scene means for solar energy development. Bill Ritter, director of the Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE), will provide a keynote Wednesday describing developments in states around the nation on building a new energy economy. Colorado's former governor, Ritter will be well positioned to describe the increasing role of states in developing solar policy as national leadership recedes. His talk will be followed by a panel discussion including utility leaders and observers exploring the solar/utility relationship as issues such as energy storage, grid modernization and distributed energy grow more prominent. At a March 15th luncheon in a keynote speech, Dr. Donna Lynne will discuss the importance of solar energy in Colorado's economy. Colorado's Lieutenant Governor previously served as the executive vice president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and as group president responsible for its Colorado, Pacific Northwest and Hawaii regions. Solar Power Colorado will also feature 10 panel discussions with prominent experts in different aspects of solar energy from around the nation. Additionally, nearly a dozen training sessions will be held, providing continuing education credits for solar professionals. Wednesday afternoon, a Career Fair and Networking event called "Solar Ready Colorado" will allow those interested in exploring solar careers an opportunity to talk with top employers including Namasté Solar, Sunrun, EcoMark Solar, Clean Energy Collective, Sunsense and more. Hosted by Solar Energy International, Grid Alternatives Colorado and COSEIA, the event will be the first event of its kind for Solar Power Colorado. Registration is now open for Solar Power Colorado 2017. Please visit http://www.coseia.org/conference. Working media may request media passes. About COSEIA Established in 1989, Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA) is the award-winning nonprofit association leading Colorado's solar industry. Our mission is to expand solar markets and to generate jobs and prosperity for the people of Colorado. We work to advance solar policy, remove market barriers, highlight emerging trends, and promote solar outreach and education. COSEIA represents a wide range of solar-related businesses including solar installers, manufacturers, distributors, dealers, integrators, financiers, developers, utilities, entrepreneurs and educators. There are approximately 5,000 people working in the Colorado solar industries. Colorado has more than 800 MW of installed solar, ranking the state ninth nationally in installed solar capacity. To learn more please visit http://www.coseia.org.

Colorado 2017: 62,000 jobs in clean energy industry

The state supports more than 62,000 jobs in the clean energy industry, most of which are in the 10 largest counties in the state, including Mesa, according to a report released Friday. The report, written by Environmental Entrepreneurs, also says that the industry is robust, predicting at least 2 percent growth over the next year. That organization, which has offices in Massachusetts and California, calls itself a nonprof-it, bipartisan group of business leaders and investors who push for smart government policies designed to create jobs without harming the environment. Its report shows that the bulk of those Colorado jobs — 65 percent — are in energy efficiency, such as high-efficiency lighting, Energy Star appliance manufacturing and more efficient heating, ventilating and cooling systems in buildings. From 2009 to 2014, the state saw a nearly tenfold jump in solar power generation and a 16 percent increase in wind power, creating about 14,000 jobs in the process, the report says. The report also showed that about three-fourths of the new businesses that have been created in recent years employ fewer than 25 people. “Colorado has been a great place to launch and grow my energy efficiency business, in no small part due to the state’s leadership in clean energy policies,” said RJ Mastic, chief executive officer of Ecosystems Group Inc., a Denver-based energy efficiency business. “We’re hiring at a brisk pace, a new employee almost every other month. But to keep companies like mine growing, and to attract the next generation of entrepreneurs Colorado needs to shore up its clean energy policies now.” While most of those jobs are located on the Front Range, about 5,500 of them are located on the Western Slope, with about one-fifth of that — 1,094 — in Mesa County. Another 467 are in Garfield County, 311 in Montrose County and 166 in Delta County. Other key findings of the report show that 60 percent of vendors who supply the state’s clean energy industry are from outside the state, and 72 percent of Colorado employers in the industry say it is difficult to find workers who are trained enough to do the jobs they need.

Gov. John Hickenlooper fills Colorado Public Utilities Commission vacancies Appointments of Jeff Ackermann and Wendy Moser will be effective on Jan. 9

Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday announced replacements to fill two vacancies on the three-member Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Jeff Ackermann, executive director of the Colorado Energy Office since March 2013, will take one of two open slots created by the departures of commissioners Joshua Epel and Glenn Vaad. Wendy Moser will fill the other. Prior to taking over at the Colorado Energy Office, which focuses on energy conservation, Ackermann was the chief researcher at the PUC, which is tasked with regulating investor-owned energy utilities, telecommunications firms and ground transportation providers. “Jeff has proven to be a skilled leader during his work as director of the Colorado Energy Office,” Hickenlooper said in a statement. “We are confident he will bring that same level of integrity and ingenuity to the PUC.” Moser is a senior manager at Charter Communications, where she handled governmental, regulatory and public affairs across several western states. “I’m grateful to be selected for the PUC and will do my best to uphold the laws and regulatory framework for the benefit of Coloradans,” Moser said in a statement. Epel, the PUC chairman, announced last month he would resign halfway through his second four-year term. Vaad, whose term was up, announced his retirement effective Jan. 9. Moser and Ackermann will join commissioner Frances Koncilja, who was appointed to the PUC a year ago. The three will be tasked with some big issues, including a proposed $500 million modernization of Xcel Energy’s grid. Both appointments will be effective on Jan. 9, the day Vaad is stepping down. The Colorado Energy Office is also on the hunt for an executive director to replace Ackermann.