With northern Colorado alternative-energy ventures as a backdrop, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce called Tuesday for a sweeping set of initiatives on national energy policy.
The business-advocacy group said all forms of energy — from nuclear and petroleum to wind and solar power — need accelerated development to meet U.S. demand.
The chamber’s “blueprint” of 75 policy recommendations calls for more than $25 billion in federal spending and tax credits to stimulate research and development across the energy spectrum.
“For too many decades, the government has taken every option off the table instead of putting more options on the table,” said James Jones, president and chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy.
The initiatives were unveiled in a Fort Collins presentation to Colorado business and academic leaders.
Jones said Fort Collins was chosen for the event because the region’s renewable- energy ventures offer a template for successful public-sector and private-sector cooperation.
“The blueprint is not just a Washington- based, government solution,” he said. “It builds on the principles at work here in Colorado. The unconventional partnerships in the public and private sectors are the key to finding solutions.”
Jones and other speakers cited Fort Collins-based ventures such as Solix Biofuels, a firm working to commercialize fuel production from algae; engine and power-systems developer Woodward Governor; nonprofit energy-technology firm Envirofit; and Colorado State University’s Engines & Energy Conversion Laboratory.
The chamber blueprint calls for $10 billion in federal money over 10 years for clean-coal technology development, extension of $15 billion in annual renewable-energy tax credits for another eight years, and lifting of restrictions on oil and gas production on federal lands and in coastal waters.
Chamber officials said they have not targeted specific funding mechanisms to cover the costs but said that converting federal and academic research achievements into private-sector commercialization will stimulate the economy and create jobs.
The plan is “a little bit victimized” by the credit crisis, Jones said, “but it doesn’t take away from the (energy) problems at hand and our need to find solutions.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
Chamber energy plan
Some of the 75 recommendations from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for energy policy are:
• $25 billion in federal spending and tax credits for research and development.
• $10 billion in federal money over 10 years for clean-coal technology development.
• Extension of $15 billion in annual renewable-energy tax credits for another eight years.
• Lifting of restrictions on oil and gas production on federal lands and in coastal waters.
