Report: Clean fuel good for economy

By HANK LACEY THE GAZETTE

DENVER - Colorado is in line for an economic boom if renewable energy use is increased, according to a report touted by Gov. Bill Ritter on Thursday.

The report, issued by Denver-based advocacy group Environment Colorado, says increasing the amount of energy generated from renewable sources such as the sun and the wind will increase the state’s gross domestic product by $1.9 billion by 2020.

“We’ve only just begun to tap the potential of a new energy economy,” Ritter said at a news conference. “Continued investment in clean energy helps our state ensure economic prosperity.”

The report also says that a law

requiring more energy to be generated from renewable sources will raise total wages paid in the state by $570 million, increase rural property owners lease revenues by $50 million, and generate an additional $400 million in property taxes for rural areas.

“Increasing our use of wind and solar power will help continue to unlock the economic potential of rural Colorado,” Lee Swenson, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, said.

Some legislators are skeptical that increased renewable energy production will generate the numbers included in the report.

“It won’t come without some costs as well,” Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument, said. “I’m a move forward kind of person, but I say move forward cautiously.”

Sen. Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, said he thinks the state must examine those costs closely before increasing the standards imposed by Amendment 37, approved by voters in 2004.

“There’s been no cost-benefit analysis done,” McElhany said. “I hate to see the state rush headlong into this much of a financial commitment, particularly for our citizens who will ultimately have to pay the cost in the form of higher electric bills.”

But advocates of HB1281, which includes the increased renewable energy standards, say the costs and benefits of such production mandates have been studied.

“Saying there’s been no costbenefit analyses is just plain wrong,” Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, said. “There have been and that’s why companies are moving in this direction.”

Pommer also argued that, whether those studies are accurate or not, companies that invest in renewable energy generation will reward their investors. He points out that utilities don’t have to pay for the sun and the wind and that wind energy may already be less expensive than natural gas.

“Wall Street is saying that a company that sets itself up to knock off a cost of production is going to be financially set in the future,” Pommer said.

Nevertheless, McElhany said, the state had better be careful before imposing a mandate on utilities and their consumers. “I would like to hear further discussion about why we are doubling” the renewable energy standard, he said.

The full report is at www. environmentcolorado.org.

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