Colorado Continues to Rank as Cleantech Leader

Two recent publications ranked Colorado in the top of cleantech business development as the state’s economy continues to gain momentum.

Cleantech is a growing part of Colorado’s state economy and has created more than 5,000 jobs since 2007. The cleantech industries in Colorado grew at more than twice the annualized rate than the Colorado economy as a whole between 1999 and 2009. The Colorado Cleantech Industry Association continues to work at growing cleantech industries in Colorado to create new jobs.

Forbes Magazine

This week Forbes magazine named two Colorado cities in the top 10 for The Best Places For Business, with Fort Collins in fourth place and Denver taking ninth place. The CCIA has been hard at work, fostering economic growth, especially for cleantech companies, and it is great to see this hard work is paying off.

Clean energy was one of the major industries the Forbes list highlighted for Fort Collins. The strong presence of Colorado State University is seen as aiding in these industries success by providing resources and research facilities.

Although clean energy was not a major industry for Denver, because of Denver’s central location, the energy industry is seen as another stable of Denver’s economy. Denver is seen as a natural distribution hub to the west, making it a great place set up shop.

Brooking Institute

A new report in Brookings Institute, Sizing the Clean Economy, named Colorado as fifteenth overall as a “green” job leader. The report also took into consideration organic farming and other non-technical related fields to assess the rankings. Oil and gas extraction was also considered in the report.

Once cleantech and education were only taken into consideration, Colorado cam out in sixth place, behind Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas and California. Obviously, educational opportunities weighed heavily on the results.

Denver’s largest segment of clean jobs existed in conservation, with 6,999 jobs in 2010. Cleantech companies are not only providing jobs for the economy but offer better pay than the standard U.S. wage.

We are proud to continue our work with our key partners the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the University of Colorado-Boulder, Colorado State University, Colorado School of Mines, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Governor’s Energy Office and all of you in order to continue our efforts to promote economic growth with cleantech industries.