GOLDEN — Vice President Joe Biden stressed the Obama administration’s commitment to science and renewable energy during a speech Friday at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden.
“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, and Reps. Diana DeGette of Denver and Ed Perlmutter of Golden.
“We (the U.S.) must lead in those efforts, because someone, somewhere, some country will do this.”
Biden said that Secretary of Energy Steven Chu encouraged him to visit the federal laboratory here in Colorado that focuses on research and development for renewable energy.
“The secretary, myself and the president are very passionate,” said Biden, speaking in regard to out-innovating and out-building global competition. “We’re either going to lead or we’re going to follow. And whoever leads will have dominance in the 21st century.”
The vice president highlighted that under the Department of Energy’s new “America’s Next Top Energy Innovator” challenge, the Boulder- based startup US e-Chromic LLC will use technology developed by NREL to create window material that reflects sunlight on demand to make windows more energy efficient.
“We now have a license to create a unique technology that lets us retrofit windows,” said Loren Burnett, who owns and operates the company, which was recently launched.
“We’re a brand-new startup that is based upon commercializing technology that’s efficient, and that’s why we fit well into the challenge.”
Burnett said the company recently received $50,000 in venture capital investments.
Biden also lauded Boulder- based Tendril, a company that specializes in smart-grid and home-energy technology, for its investments in helping people around the world 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 chief executive 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,” he said.
Before his address to the auditorium filled with staffers from NREL and the Department of Energy, Biden visited the facility’s Process Development and Integration Lab. There 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 of $1,500 a ticket.
The Denver fundraiser was the vice president’s third in two days. He attended similar events in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati on Thursday.
Last month, President Barack Obama kicked off fundraising efforts for his 2012 reelection bid.
Kurtis Lee: 303-954-1655 or klee@denverpost.com
