Colorado to Take Bold Steps in Renewable Energy

[jpak]

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=47179

Following in the footsteps of re-elected Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, newly elected Democratic Governor Bill Ritter from Colorado pledged to establish "....Colorado as a national leader in renewable energy" in his first State of the State address on January 11th.

As part of his proposal, Ritter, a former District Attorney for the City of Denver, has laid out infrastructure plans including assisting in the building of high voltage transmission lines to take advantage of wind power across Colorado's Great Plains, converting the State's fleet vehicles to a hybrid of flex-fuel and mandating energy efficiency compliance with new and renovated State Buildings.

In terms of technology, Ritter is planning to create a Clean Energy Fund to "...help with the technology transfer of research to the marketplace" as well as increase the use and development of bio fuels in Colorado.

The governor also asked the state legislature to double the mandated renewable portfolio standard to 20%. Amendment 37, passed by voters in 2004, requires the state's top utility companies to provide a percentage of retail electricity sales from renewable resources beginning with three percent in 2007, six percent by 2011 and 10 percent by 2015.

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