State Republicans acknowledge growth of renewable energy but scoff at study’s definition of green jobs

By David A. Hill

This week the American Solar Energy Society rolled out a study which claims the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries provided more than 91,000 jobs in Colorado in 2007. From technical engineers to janitors, “green” industries, generated $10.3 billion in sales and accounted for more than 4 percent of the gross state product in 2007, accordin to the report.

The ASES study, commissioned by Xcel Energy, Red Rocks Community College and several Colorado and Denver agencies including the Governor’s Energy Office, was meant with a dose of skepticism along with a few chuckles from some Senate Republicans today.

The GOP lawmakers say the study stretches anyone’s definition of “green jobs” by including, as the Rocky Mountain News noted, the likes of “…a furnace repairman or an auto-dealer who sells fuel-efficient vehicles…”

Even the Senate GOP’s self-described “eco-freak,” Assistant Republican leader Greg Brophy–a corn and melon farmer from Wray who drives a hybrid car and logs 6,000 miles a year as a competitve bicyclist–waved off the state-funded study as an apparent attempt by the administration to oversell its own efforts at promoting renewable energy.

“It doesn’t pass the laugh test,” Brophy said. “Still, I guess the Ritter administration got what it paid for.”

The Governor has relentlessly pushed his campaign to make Colorado a national leader in the development of solar, wind and other renewable energy sources. The administration has argued often that the industries that support renewables–such as manufacturers of wind turbines or installers of solar energy systems–are a major source of job creation.

“I’m really happy that the green energy industry is growing in Colorado,” said Brophy, who noted the industry is still in its infancy as a job creator. “I just think we ought to tell the truth about the size of it.”

Whether the ASES report is yet another example of a study designed to generate specific results for its sponsors or one with plenty of bonafides, there is no denying the Ritter Administration has been successful in attracting a significant amount of new energy economy style companies and jobs.

Still, even if the figures from the study are accurate, they certainly don’t compare to what the oil and gas industry generates for the state. For the record, the Colorado Energy Research Institute in 2007 estimated that oil and gas activity in the state employed about 71,000 people, and that the industry’s economic contribution in was $22.9 billion (2005), not including expenditures for developments such as pipelines.

Sen. Brophy’s point about the size of the renewables market is accurate - it is still a nascent industry compared to traditional energy sectors, but as the saying goes - everything is relative. Slamming the accuracy of the ASES study seems to us to miss the point. Even taken with a little grain of salt. the results are impressive, and despite the current gloomy economy, the industry should only accelerate over the next several years with a renewables-friendly Obama Adminstration working in conjunction with Ritter’s team.

A big plus for the state, the report says, are the public- and private-sector initiatives and the presence of facilities like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory which position Colorado well to take advantage of growing interest in green technologies. Adding to the groundswell, of course, is the state law requiring large utilities to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020.

The ASES report also noted companies that have announced plans recently to add jobs here and which we have covered in Colorado Energy News:

• Wind-turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems is developing plants in Windsor and Brighton with plans to employ a total of more than 2,000 people.
• AVA Solar Inc., a spinoff from Colorado State University, plans to build a solar panel manufacturing plant projected to employ 500 people.
• Cellulosic biofuel developer, ZeaChem, is also looking at Colorado for the site of its first full-fledged manufacturing facility after receiving $34 million in funding earlier this month.