Vice President Joe Biden stressed the Obama administration’s commitment to science and renewable energy during a speech at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden today.
“Imagine the first country to make solar power as cheap as fossil fuels,” said Biden, who was accompanied at the laboratory by Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet , Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, and Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden. “We must lead in those efforts, because someone, somewhere, some country will do this.”
The vice president highlighted that under the U.S. Department of Energy’s new “America’s Next Top Energy Innovator” challenge the Colorado based e-Chromic LLC will use electro chromic technology developed by NREL to create window material that reflects sunlight on demand, making windows more energy efficient.
In addition, Biden lauded Boulder-based Tendril, a company that specializes in smart-grid and home-energy technology, for its investments in helping Americans and citizens worldwide consume less energy.
“The smart grid has taken center stage at the federal level, and that’s giving us a chance to build a business focused on high-quality consumer experiences,” Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck said in a statement.
“The administration has made it a priority to lead the modernization of the electric grid and that’s creating real opportunities for Tendril as our head count has quadrupled in the last year and a half,” Tuck said.
Before his address to the auditorium filled with staffers from NREL and the U.S. Department of Energy, Biden visited the facility’s Process Development and Integration Lab where he briefly met with scientists who demonstrated a method of printing metal contacts on silicon solar cells using a spray technique similar to ink jet printing.
Biden’s visit to Golden followed a Democratic National Committee fundraising breakfast downtown at the Denver Athletic Club. Attendees paid a minimum $1,200 a ticket.
The Denver fundraiser was the vice president’s third in two days; yesterday he attended similar events in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
Last month President Obama kicked off fundraising efforts for his 2012 reelection bid when he announced he would seek a second term.
Kurtis Lee: 303-954-1655 or klee@denverpost.com
