Clean Energy Cluster gains attention, new members

If Larimer and Weld counties become the Silicon Valley of clean energy, the region will have the Northern Colorado Clean Energy Cluster to thank.

A year into its formation the cluster is already making strides toward that goal. Since the start of the year, Northern Colorado has been the focus of two national stories on clean energy, the cluster has formed a board of directors and it is partnering with other groups to take an inventory of the industry’s current strengths and needs.

The cluster was officially launched in May 2006. Earlier this year, the International Economic Development Council highlighted Northern Colorado as one of three regions in the nation – along with Cleveland and the Pacific Northwest – developing clean-energy business clusters.

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The January report focused on the efforts of the cluster, which includes businesses involved in smart grid technologies, renewable energy and energy efficiency, and cleaner and more efficient engines. Colorado State University and its Engines and Energy Conversion Lab, which is providing resources for a number of industry startups, were featured.

In addition, a reporter for Monocle magazine has visited the Fort Collins and Boulder areas researching a yet-to-be published article focusing on the clean-energy industry. Monocle is an international publication based in London with readers in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Emerging player

The attention is not only flattering but also proof that Northern Colorado is emerging as a top runner in the clean-energy industry.

“It corroborated for us that we are kind of the lead horse out of the gate,´ said Judy Dorsey, president of engineering consulting firm The Brendle Group and leader of the cluster.

As the cluster is garnering outside attention it is also moving into a new stage internally. In February, the cluster pulled together a board of directors headed by Chad Preiss, vice president of industrial controls for Woodward Governor Co. Dorsey explained that the board is almost a reincarnation of the organizing committee, with a few new additions.

Upstate Colorado, Weld County’s economic development agency, has officially joined the cluster, and now holds a seat on the board. Dorsey said that it was never truly a case that the organization was not a part of the cluster, just that the board seat makes Upstate’s participation formal.

Larry Burkhardt, president and CEO of Upstate, was out of town and not available for comment for this story. Last fall, Burkhardt indicated that Upstate was conducting a feasibility study on the clean- and alternative-energy industries to determine what role Upstate might have in advancing that area.

Now, Upstate joins Woodward Governor, the city of Fort Collins, Larimer County, CSU, the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. and Spirae Inc. with a stake in Northern Colorado’s clean-energy future.

Advancement priorities

One of the first priorities for the board is to create a true legal entity – most likely a nonprofit – for the cluster. Dorsey said that the board is also taking on myriad other tasks through a variety of committees including an outreach and integration committee; an economic development, competitiveness and innovation committee; and a fiscal/fund-raising committee.

Work to advance the cluster is also being taken on by other groups that do not hold a stake in the board. The Northern Colorado Network, or NoCoNet, volunteered time to conduct company surveys in the clean-energy industry.

NoCoNet formed as a support group for laid-off technology workers in Northern Colorado. Its original goal was to help re-employ the talented masses affected by technology bust, but it soon grew beyond just technology workers. Pete Way, owner of consulting firm VentiMar LLC and a longtime board member of NoCoNet, said that an interest in learning more about the needs of the clean-energy industry by a number of members spurred the partnership with NCEDC and the cluster.

Using a survey designed in part by the cluster and NCEDC, 20 NoCoNet members volunteered their time to visit with clean energy companies. some gathered more than information, according to Way.

“Some of them have gone on to work in clean-energy companies,” he said.

An April 17 report based on the survey includes results from 56 clean-energy and related businesses.

The report showed that the region has more than 3,400 workers at companies working, at least in part, on clean-energy technologies. In those 56 businesses, there are currently 63 available positions and the companies plan to hire around 230 in the next year. The data did not include information from Vestas Wind Systems, which will employ around 400 at its planned Windsor wind turbine manufacturing facility.

Way said there are additional companies becoming involved on a daily basis.

“You find amazing companies in this area that you never knew existed,” Way said of the survey.

The next step will be to integrate the data collected by NoCoNet into the NCEDC Web site.

Soon to appear online

The NCEDC Web site has an interactive geographic information systems map that soon will offer a “clean energy companies” filter to show where local companies are located and synopses of what they do. NCEDC Vice President Jacob Castillo said the hope is to integrate additional data with the map to give an overall view of the region’s clean-energy industry.

Another “indirect initiative” aimed at improving the business climate for the region’s clean energy companies is anticipating the development needs of the industry.

The Brendle Group created a mock application for a wind-energy development to go through the Larimer County planning process.

“We tried to get ahead of the curve a little bit,´ said Geniphyr Ponce-Pore, a project manager for Larimer County who used to be in the planning department but now heads the county’s economic development efforts.

The process brought together about 25 individuals from different public and private entities to discuss the needs of the local wind farms and wind-energy companies. The group put together recommendations for regulations and standards with a first draft out for review now. Ponce-Pore said that the suggestions could be up for adoption by the board of county commissioners this fall.