Thirteen Colorado companies took up Gov. Bill Ritter’s challenge to reduce their energy consumption and received recognition today from the governor on the west steps of the Capitol.
Ritter was joined at the news conference by representatives from the companies and Jamie Evans, a representative of the U.S. Department of Energy.
The voluntary program—the Colorado Industrial Energy Challenge, sponsored by the Governor’s Energy Office–is funded through a federal grant awarded to Colorado by the U.S. Department of Energy. To qualify for the program, companies must have more than $200,000 in annual energy bills and agree to a five-year goal of reducing energy use, report total energy consumption for the base year, and report on their progress every year. In exchange for joining the program, companies receive recognition from the energy office and can receive free technical assistance in reaching energy-reduction goals.
In a prepared statement, Ritter said that the program dovetails with his signature policy agenda—“Colorado’s New Energy Economy.”
“These companies are strong partners in our work to make Colorado a world leader in energy efficiency and clean-tech innovations,” Ritter said. “Reducing energy consumption isn’t just good for the environment, it also will help these companies stay competitive, create jobs, increase America’s energy security and strengthen Colorado’s New Energy Economy.”
At least one statehouse critic, however, said the effort was much ado about precious little. The GOP’s Rep. Frank McNulty, of Highlands Ranch, said the program does not create an incentive that companies don’t already recognize.
“If companies can save on their energy costs, then they’re going to do that anyway and transfer those savings into investments and hiring new people, but they don’t need a certificate from the government to validate what they’re doing,” McNulty said.
Furthermore, says McNulty, Ritter’s unwavering focus on energy policy and the “new energy economy” has supplanted more urgent concerns.
“It does not surprise me that the governor is riding his new energy economy into the sunset,” McNulty said of Ritter, who is not seeking re-election in November. “It seems to me that energy conservation is important, and we need to learn how to do a better job of conserving energy, but, what elected leaders need to be focused on now is restoring confidence in the economy and creating a tax structure that is fair and reasonable.”
However, Ritter, in his remarks to program participants at today’s Capitol-steps event, emphasized the role that energy policy in Colorado can play in the economy both locally and nationally.
“We’ve seen just with the recovery act a fair number of jobs that have been created or saved because of the things that we’re able to do with significant money around weatherization in low-income homes,” said Ritter. “Colorado can lay down a template to move forward into a clean energy future … but we will not do it without the private sector being on board.”
The 13 companies that have joined the program are: Amgen, Aspen Skiing Company, Avago Technologies, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Encana, Frito-Lay, MillerCoors, New Belgium Brewing Co., Roche Colorado Corp., Rocky Mountain Bottle Company, Rocky Mountain Metal Container, and, Sandoz and Woodward.