ConocoPhillips hub seen as boon for state's energy research
Catherine Tsai, Associated Press
Published February 29, 2008 at 1:40 p.m.
Updated February 29, 2008 at 1:40 p.m.
Score one more for the "New Energy Economy."
ConocoPhillips' announcement last week that it would open a renewable-energy research hub and corporate learning center in Louisville was hailed by state officials as another example of Gov. Bill Ritter's work to make Colorado a leader on alternatives to fossil fuels and create what he calls the New Energy Economy.
Economic development officials and researchers said ConocoPhillips' announcement will go a long way to attracting more like-minded companies.
"Having a well-established company in this industry with the wherewithal to do what they say they're going to do will certainly lend to our ability to attract other companies to Colorado's New Energy Economy," said Matt Cheroutes, spokesman for the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
"We will have a global center for research and development in our back yard," he said.
Cheroutes said he was unaware of any conversations about grants ConocoPhillips could receive, but said it was still early.
"As long as there's no government subsidy or corporate welfare, I think it's fantastic," said Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, a conservative think tank. "Unfortunately, renewable energy is one of the largest recipients of corporate welfare. What government does for one industry it needs to do for all."
ConocoPhillips has long worked with research institutions in Colorado, including the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, on renewable energy. More recently, it was one of the early sponsors of the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels, known as C2B2. That center allows companies to share in biofuels research by NREL, Colorado State University, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Colorado School of Mines.
The Governor's Energy Office said ConocoPhillips' decision validates the institutions' work.
"We're looking forward to seeing Colorado being recognized as an international leader in renewable energy," said Megan Castle, a spokeswoman for the office.
ConocoPhillips has not said how many jobs would be based at the campus, which is scheduled to open in 2012.
However, Ritter said thousands of employees each year were expected to visit the corporate learning center, which would serve as the company's worldwide training center. The company's Global Technology Center, meanwhile, would be a hub for company research on renewable energy and high-tech carbon fuels recovery, Ritter said.
University of Colorado chemical and biological engineering professor Alan Weimer said the big winners would be university students researching renewable energy.
Since Ritter's election in 2006, the Legislature has created a $7 million clean energy fund. Ritter recommended that half be dedicated for economic development purposes, such as luring renewable energy businesses.
A year ago, he signed an agreement forming the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, setting up a research relationship among the NREL, CSU, CU-Boulder and the Colorado School of Mines.
Five months later, the state launched C2B2. Its budget is about $1.5 million to $2 million a year but is expected to reach $3 million to $5 million within a few years with a combination of fees from member companies and state matching funds, said Weimer, executive director for C2B2.
Weimer expected ConocoPhillips' support for C2B2 would continue even as it adds its own research facility.
The culture also is changing. Even as the oil and gas industry booms in Colorado, the state has passed laws requiring state fleet vehicles to use biofuels and investor-owned utilities to get 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020.
Weimer said the ConocoPhillips center could be a catalyst for other energy companies to house research in the Denver area, much like high-tech companies flocked to northern California.
"That's how Silicon Valley got started. That may very well happen for the Denver, Colorado, area, that it ends up being the same thing for energy research," Weimer said.
Post your comment
Registration is required. Click here to create your free user account, or login below.
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.
Featured
-
2008 Voter’s Guide
Use our Ballot Builder tool to compare your viewpoints to the candidates.
-
A Dozen on Denver
Sandra Dallas wrote 'Lennie's tavern' for our ongoing fiction series. Check it out!
-
Rocky Multimedia
The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on today's events.
-
Bronco Dean's rant
Listen to Bronco Dean's totally biased pregame rant about the Broncos-Jaguars game.
-
Presidential Elections
See how Colorado counties have voted through the years.
-
County election profiles
A look at how residents in each Colorado county may vote.
-
A dream fulfilled
A Rocky Mountain News and MediaStorm production
-
Latest from Dove Valley
Click for more broncos videos.
-
Sam Adams' Open Mic
No. 44 means a lot to Floyd Little
February 29, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Suggest removal
Denver2050 writes:
I can understand your skepticism SASQUATCH, but your comment fails to appreciate the power of market forces.
You're correct in assuming that petroleum companies wouldn't pursue alternative energy for selfish reasons. However, there is ZERO DOUBT that they're paying attention to the current market forces promoting alternative energy. Even the most conservative members of the US Congress (the ones who deny Global warming) understand that economic forces are pushing the world towards alternative energy. Do you think that petroleum companies don't understand market forces, basic economics, and the $$$$ involved?
In the United States, capitalism and market forces are king! You can bet that petroleum companies want to find the breakthrough energy technologies themselves, patent them, and control them. Doing so solidifies their strategic position regardless of how market forces change petroleum. You can also bet that they'll devote more resources towards research once market forces transform alternative energy into a profitable business (its only a matter of time).
This ConocoPhillips deal is a big step in the right direction. Establishing an alternative energy research hub here is one of the smartest long-term investments we could make. Even if research meccas, such as northern California, take the lead (which is highly likely), we will still be positioned to get research money for ourselves.
I believe that governor Ritter is on the right track with this project. Keep up the good work.
February 29, 2008
10:53 p.m.
Suggest removal
Retread writes:
ConocoPhillips is and has been into biofuels for quite a while, it has also patented Zsorb which is a sulfer reduction tech for fuels. It has signed a deal with Tyson foods for their animal fats, and given several million to schools for biofuels research. 2050 has it right, and CP will deliver many high paying jobs to the area.
March 1, 2008
4:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
Retread writes:
You will have to prove that sasquatch, I have worked for CP and know for a fact that oil stocks and growth stood stagnant for twenty years, profit on hold. Just in the last seven years they have seen major profits, they are reinvesting in aging infrastructure, pipelines, refinerys, terminals, and the future, which includes biofuels. The largest reasons for your higher prices are regulations and taxes placed at the pump. Quit whining and look at Europe, we have been lucky, it is running out...
Since when is profit a dirty word, you subsidize the railroad, you have bailed out the airlines, now we have a area making profit, and people whine.....Invest, now! Bound to go skyhigh...
March 3, 2008
7:35 a.m.
Suggest removal
greenleaf writes:
SASQUATCH,
One glaring flaw in your argument is the way you always make it sound as though gasoline has been at $100.00 for 30 years. Except for one brief spike during the oil embargo, it has been far below that, making it hard for alternatives to compete. It's always hard for any new concept to make headway against an older entrenched system. The oil infrastructure has been in place for nearly a century.
It takes venture capital to jump start any new product. It tends to flow to a product whose time has come. Alternative energy has been in competition with new technology developments for years. Now with the likelihood that high and even higher oil prices are here to stay, that venture capital will increasingly flow to alternative energy development. The age of polluting and politically dangerous oil is coming gradually to an end. I would recommend SASQUATCH that you reinvest in alternative energy stocks as they are the wave of the future. Oil is the way of the past and present, but it will be too expensive in every way to satisfy our future energy needs.
So SASQUATCH, rather than being one of the finest minds of the last century, why not join the rest of us as we meet the challenges of this century!