Solar mirrors could array near DIA

Company evaluating sites for energy facility

Gargi Chakrabarty

Originally published 12:05 a.m., February 28, 2008
Updated 11:15 a.m., February 28, 2008

Ken Papaleo / The Rocky

Will Medlin pours liquid nitrogen at the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels on Tuesday at the University of Colorado.

Vast swaths of brown, barren land near Denver International Airport could soon become decorated with a dizzying array of mirrors reflecting sunlight.

SolarTAC is evaluating sites around the airport to establish a major solar energy research center. A spinoff of the newly established Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, SolarTAC will be launched in the coming months.

Colorado's major academic and research institutions spawned the Collaboratory last year to bolster the state's prowess in new energy technologies and transfer those advances to the free market.

It is backed by the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, the Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

David Hiller, executive director of the Collaboratory, attributed its fast start to three factors: "the unbelievable research talent and leadership at the four institutions; the strong support of Gov. Ritter, Colorado's legislators and our congressional delegation; and a unique structure that allows our private sponsors to work with four world-class institutions through a single administrative point of contact."

Hiller, a former energy adviser to Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., declined to reveal details about the sites near DIA that are being evaluated, including their locations or sizes, citing competitive reasons.

The Collaboratory is a bipartisan effort supported by Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., and Salazar.

Salazar said if President Bush signs the federal farm bill by March 15, the Collaboratory could receive $5 million. That'd be on top of the $2 million in matching funds it receives from the state each year.

"Three years ago, we had conversations about becoming the renewable-energy capital of the world," Salazar said. "We are well on our way on doing that."

Apart from SolarTAC, the Collaboratory also plans to spin off four new research centers this year focusing on advanced solar, wind, biomass and energy-efficiency technologies.

The Collaboratory's first research center, C2B2, or the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels, opened July 1.

Today, C2B2 has 27 private partners, including large companies such as Archer Daniels Midland Co., Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical, DuPont, General Motors, Shell and refiner Suncor Energy.

Its annual budget is about $1.5 million, supported mostly by corporate membership fees and some state funds.

"The thrust of our research is biorefining and making biofuels from nonfermentable biomass such as algae, switchgrass, corn stover, spent grains from breweries or genetically engineered biomass that can grow on marginal lands," said Alan Weimer, professor of chemical engineering at CU and director of C2B2.

Arthur Nozik, a senior research fellow at NREL and director of the Center for Revolutionary Solar Photoconversion, said the center would focus on new science for solar photovoltaics and for direct conversion of solar radiation into clean energy through photo-electrochemical and photo-biological processes.

CRSP has Lockheed Martin as a member, and once its private partners come on board, its annual budget will exceed $1.5 million.

"The CRSP center will be creating new materials and processes to lay the foundation for tomorrow's solar-energy technologies," Nozik said.

Colorado's push toward new energy technologies has many supporters but also critics, who argue that it will be virtually impossible to switch to a renewable-energy economy overnight.

Marc Smith, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, said renewable resources such as solar, wind or biomass today account for about 7 percent of the nation's total energy needs.

"I am optimistic about what we might be able to achieve through conservation, efficiency and emerging renewable technologies," Smith said. "However, visionary thinking needs to be grounded in reality and accompanied by sound planning. Unfortunately, renewable energy is not expected to provide even 10 percent of our energy needs by the year 2030."

chakrabartyg@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2976

Research centers

The Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory was born Feb. 21, 2007, after the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, the Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory joined resources to advance research into clean energy technologies. The Collaboratory will launch nearly a half-dozen research centers this year, each with a unique nickname:

* C2B2: Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels. Opened in July, it researches fuel made from algae, switchgrass or agricultural waste. Private partners include Archer Daniels Midland, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical, DuPont, General Motors, Shell and Suncor Energy.

* CRSP: Center for Revolutionary Solar Photoconversion. To be announced in the coming weeks, it will focus on advanced technologies for converting solar radiation into clean energy sources. Lockheed Martin is a member.

* SolarTAC: Solar Technology Acceleration Center. To be launched this spring, it will test solar energy technologies ready for the market.

* CREW: Center for Research and Education in Wind. To be launched this year, it will model, design and test turbine blades and towers, and develop electrical and control systems.

* Two additional research centers, a carbon management center focusing on carbon-capture technologies and an energy efficiency center, have yet to be formally named.

More info

* To learn more about the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, go to coloradocollaboratory.org/.