State on leading edge in both fossil, renewable development
Colorado is uniquely positioned as a leader in the balanced energy economy, with abundant fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) and renewable energy resources (solar, wind
and biofuels).
Across the state, several key assets support the energy and natural resources industry. The Niobrara shale formation, located in northeast Colorado’s rich Denver-Julesburg Basin, extends into several western states and contains large reserves of oil and natural gas. The Piceance basin in northwestern Colorado is a shale field with estimated reserves of 1.5 trillion barrels of oil and significant natural gas reserves. The state’s reserves of super-compliant coal and rich supplies of oil and gas provide substantial economic benefits across the state. The state also has excellent solar resources in south-central Colorado and abundant wind resources along the state’s eastern plains. Colorado is a world-class hub for energy research and technology innovation, with support from research universities and leading federal laboratories.
Mines in Colorado provide a variety of minerals important to the U.S. economy, including gold, silver, molybdenum, and gypsum. The Henderson Mine in Empire is the world’s largest primary producer of molybdenum. The state is the nation’s fourth-largest gold producer and the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mining Company operates Colorado’s largest gold mine, producing more than 200,000 ounces of gold annually. In total, the energy and natural resources industry in Colorado supports more than 128,000 workers in over 6,000 companies.
These energy and natural resources workers create high-paying jobs across Colorado. The 2014 average annual salary of energy and natural resources workers in the state was $81,600, compared with the average of $51,600 for all workers in Colorado. Total payroll in Colorado’s energy and natural resources industry was nearly $10.5 billion in 2014.
Colorado’s progressive policy reforms have facilitated the expansion of the energy and natural resources industry. Legislation in 2010 created the nation’s second-highest Renewable Energy Standard that mandated a minimum of 30 percent of Colorado’s investor-owned utilities’ electricity come from renewable sources by 2020. As a result, significant renewable energy projects have come online in the last several years. As of 2014, Colorado is the location of 27 wind projects, one of the world’s largest concentrating photovoltaic projects in the San Luis Valley, nearly 60 small hydroelectric facilities and four ethanol plants.
The state has one of the highest per-capita concentrations of federal research facilities in the nation. Colorado’s 30 federal laboratories generate over $2.3 billion in annual economic impact to the state and foster innovation and stimulate technology transfer between companies and local educational facilities. Among the state’s federally funded research laboratories, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a Golden-based federally funded research laboratory, is a vital asset to the state’s energy and natural resources industry.
A variety of organizations support the state’s diverse energy and natural resources industry base. The Colorado Energy Coalition is a consortium of leaders and stakeholders dedicated to supporting all sectors of the energy industry with the mission to brand Colorado as the Balanced Energy Capital of the West. The Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory integrates cutting-edge research with the industry expertise to accelerate the transfer of energy technologies into the marketplace through its four research centers. An industry association dedicated entirely to cleantech, the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association, provides advocacy, capacity building, and education and training to the renewable energy sector.
SOURCES: American Wind Energy Association. Colorado Wind Energy. https://awea.files.cms-plus.com/FileDownloads/pdfs/Colorado.pdf • Colorado Mining Association, www.coloradomining.org • Development Research Partners, www.developmentresearch.net • Economic Modeling Specialists International, 2015 • Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. Resource Rich Colorado, Sixth Edition, December 2014. www.metrodenver.org/media/377637/RRC6.pdf • Renewable Fuels Association. Ethanol Facilities Capacity by State and Plant, August 2014. www.ethanolrfa.org/bio-refinery-locations • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. www.bls.gov • U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration. Colorado State Energy Profile. www.eia.gov/state/print.cfm?sid=CO • University of Colorado Boulder, Business Research Division. CO-LABS Economic Impact Study: Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Federally Funded Research Facilities in Colorado, FY2011-FY2013. https://co-labs.org/common/var/upload/files/CO-LABS%20Economic%20Impact%20Study%202013%20Final%20Report%281%29.pdf
