Advanced Energy United News

Colorado Sun (Opinion): The Technology, and Workforce, For Clean Energy Already are in Place. Now it’s Time to Invest

Written by Emilie Olson | Sep 20, 2021

Colorado Sun published AEE Emilie Olson's op-ed on the state's clean energy workforce. Read snippets below and the full article here.

The payback would be 6-to-1, and would save Coloradans billions in energy costs.

The gears of Washington are beginning to turn and Congress finally is poised to address some of our country’s most pressing challenges: stimulating the economy, rebuilding our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, and investing in clean technology to help address climate change. There’s one industry that can help the country do all three: advanced energy.

Advanced energy technologies are the tools our state needs to transition to a cleaner, more reliable and more affordable energy system. Advanced energy workers can, for example, be found installing solar panels on rooftops of small businesses, schools, homes or managing the construction of renewable energy at a recovered brownfield or co-located with a farm...

In Colorado alone, more than 62,000 workers were employed in the advanced energy industry at the end of 2020. That’s more than the number of Coloradans working in hospitals and more than double those in coal, oil, and natural gas combined. These energy projects are being integrated into the local economy in sometimes surprising ways...

The bipartisan infrastructure deal struck in the Senate is a good start, and Congress should use subsequent bills, like the upcoming budget reconciliation, to go all-in on investments that pay off for Coloradans and the American people. Let’s build Colorado and America back better together through the advanced energy sector. 

Read the full article here.