Performing world-class research on renewable energy is one thing. Transferring that research to the private sector in a timely manner is another. The Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory is doing both.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) helped create the Collaboratory in February 2007 in association with the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU), the Colorado School of Mines, and Colorado State University (CSU). Hailed by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter as an economic boon, the Collaboratory has also been recognized by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation for its outstanding efforts in economic development.
"The Collaboratory deserves this honor. In a relatively short time, [it] has mobilized our new energy expertise housed at our excellent institutions and is delivering results." - Colorado Governor Bill Ritter
Working with public, private, and nonprofit entities, the Collaboratory aims to:
- Increase the production and use of energy from renewable resources
- Support economic growth in Colorado and the nation with renewable energy industries
- Build a renewable energy economy in rural Colorado and rural America
- Establish Colorado as America's leading center of energy research and production
- Educate the nation's energy researchers, technicians, and workforce.
In 2006, the Colorado legislature approved $2 million per year for three years for the Collaboratory to use as matching funds to qualify for federal and private research projects. The funding must be repaid to the state by income earned from the technologies developed and transferred to private industry.
So far, the Collaboratory has created three research centers.
- The Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels (C2B2) will conduct research on new biofuels and biorefining technologies, and quickly transfer the results to the marketplace. Companies participate in C2B2 by paying a membership fee. These fees will fund shared research, and sponsors may participate in the discoveries and patents generated by that research.
- The Center for Revolutionary Solar Photoconversion (CRSP) will perform research on converting the sun's energy to low-cost electricity and fuels. The Collaboratory's four institutions will conduct the research, with participation from 12 founding companies—Applied Materials, Ascent Solar Technologies, DuPont, Evident Technologies, Konarka, Lockheed Martin, Motech Industries, QuantumSphere, Sharp, Solasta, Sub-One Technology, and SunEdison—and other companies that have joined since the center was established.
- The Center for Research and Education in Wind (CREW) was established by the four core Collaboratory institutions and two federal research institutions: the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Led by CU, CREW's research will focus on wind turbines,forecasting, and control systems.
Several more centers are being planned, the first of which is the Solar Technology Acceleration Center. This demonstration, test, and research center will be directed toward near-term technologies and improvements in photovoltaics and solar power.
In June 2008, the Collaboratory received the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation's Chair Award for Outstanding Efforts in Economic Development.
More info: Theresa von Kuegelgen, theresa_von_kuegelgen@nrel.gov
