New Colorado Cleantech Action Plan Identifies Combination of Innovation in Wind, Solar, Smart Grid & Bio-derived Sectors and Progressive State Policies as Leading Drivers of Industry Growth in the State

DENVER, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The Colorado Cleantech Action Plan, released today at a State Capitol news conference, identifies Colorado's cleantech assets and provides detailed, implementable actions that must be taken in order to maintain growth in Colorado's cleantech industry. The announcement is made by Christine Shapard, Executive Director of the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association (CCIA), who says, "Such efforts will continue to make Colorado the location of choice for top cleantech companies and drive cleantech-related job growth in the future." The CCIA commissioned Navigant Consulting earlier this year to conduct the study after raising funds from eight sponsoring agencies.

"The new data confirms Colorado's innovative clean-tech sector is a key driver of our economy – and will be for years to come," Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, Jr., said. "In this difficult economic climate, cleantech will be a bright light that leads Colorado and the nation to a strong and sustainable economic future."

Says Lisa Frantzis, managing director at Navigant,  "Few states have the innovation and robust market attributes that Colorado has."

The plan also addresses the state's historical ranking among leading states in conventional energy production (fifth in number of fossil fuel industry workers).  With the conventional energy sector being the largest consumer of energy in the state, Colorado has a unique opportunity to drive further collaboration between the cleantech and conventional energy sectors.

"Colorado's natural gas industry is proud to participate in a proactive and thoughtful approach to creating a robust education and business climate that fosters the growth of cleantech in our state," Tisha Schuller, State Plan steering committee member and Executive Director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, commented.

Sponsoring agencies of the CCIA commissioned plan include: the Colorado Economic Development Commission, Colorado Governor's Energy Office, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, Colorado Workforce Development Council, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, University of Colorado, and the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

For a pdf of the plan: http://www.ColoradoCleantech.com.

For information about Navigant Consulting (NYSE: NCI): http://www.navigantconsulting.com.

For information about the CCIA: http://www.coloradocleantech.com.

SOURCE Colorado Cleantech Industry Association