Both of Colorado’s United States senators sent out press releases this week expressing their support for a measure furnishing additional funding for wind energy research, and that is not just posturing. They did the right thing and credit is due.
It also says something about how adults govern – disagree when necessary, but work together when there is something beneficial to be done.
Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Denver, and Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, voted for an amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill that adds $15.4 million to $80 million that was already in the bill. Some $30 million of that total is targeted for the National Wind Technology Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden.
That money and the research it will fund help support an important and growing segment of America’s energy sector. Wind energy is a crucial part of this country’s move toward renewable energy.
What is more, wind energy has become a significant economic force in Colorado, both in manufacturing and in generation of electricity. Colorado is home to 20 wind turbine manufacturing concerns. And when installed, those turbines need to be serviced and maintained – jobs that cannot be outsourced.
Data from the American Wind Energy Association say that in 2015, wind energy supported as many as 7,000 Colorado jobs, and its 23 wind projects now online produced more than 14 percent of the state’s production of electricity – equivalent to powering 681,000 homes.
Plus, the economic effects can work doubly. Not only are well-paying turbine maintenance jobs typically in rural areas, where jobs are often scarce and incomes low, but other AWEA data show that “consumers in the 10 states with the most renewable energy pay less on their electricity bill than the 10 states with the least renewable energy.”
As Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has said, “An investment in the wind power industry and in wind projects generates new jobs, economic development in rural counties, and clean air benefits to all Coloradans.”
The governor is right. And Sens. Bennet and Gardner did well to recognize that and support a good, clean and growing industry.
