This Colorado Springs Business Journal editorial notes the business benefits of pursuing clean energy, referencing AEE's figures on jobs growth in the state. Read excerpts below and the entire CSBJ piece here.

Jobs in clean energy — wind, solar, electric cars — are on the rise across Colorado, a result of both a policy push for 100 percent renewable energy and the realities of the energy industry. More companies and public utilities are embracing clean energy as a means to grow the economy, improve health and wellness, and reduce the greenhouse gases that are choking our planet. Those who choose to cling to outdated, dirty coal complain that new technology is taking jobs and ruining energy companies. Those people are missing the big economic picture.

According to the Advanced Energy Economy group, the number of Colorado-based workers in “advanced energy jobs” grew by 4 percent in 2018, compared to overall job growth of 2.4 percent. Consider the benefits of Vestas in Pueblo. The wind energy company bolstered the city’s manufacturing base through job creation. While it’s weathered its share of ups and downs — which any new industry faces — it’s still a benefit to the people in the Steel City.

Disruptions happen in all industries — and they can be toughest for those whose livelihoods are immediately affected, but there are others who are just unable to see opportunity in the challenge. Consider horse-and-buggy companies when people starting buying cars; typewriter sales against mass-produced computers; Kodak when phones started including cameras; retail stores competing against internet sales. The list is as endless as commerce itself.

Smart companies pivot, retrain staff and maintain jobs; smart communities embrace smart technology, clean energy and growth. Those who stubbornly fight to maintain the status quo — clinging to outdated mentalities in the face of disruptive technologies — only fail in the long run. As clean energy takes over, there will be more jobs, not fewer; more opportunities to create small businesses, to learn new skills, to move in sync with a new economic reality. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace. We need to stay nimble, and not just keep up with that change, but lead it...

Read the entire CSBJ piece here.