Washington, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet this week joined his Senate colleagues in passing the Energy and Water Appropriations bill that includes $95.4 million for wind energy research and development. Bennet supported an amendment that added $15.4 million to the $80 million originally included in the bill to bring it on par with the funds appropriated in recent years. Thirty million dollars of that total is slated for the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) in Boulder. The NWTC is a part of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden.
“The National Wind Technology Center is developing innovative and more efficient ways to deploy wind energy in Colorado and around the country,” Bennet said. “Wind energy is an important piece of our state’s diverse energy portfolio. This funding will boost research that will help strengthen our economy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and decrease our carbon footprint.”
According to the American Wind Energy Association, Colorado ranks tenth in the nation for installed wind capacity and the industry employs roughly 7,000 people in the state up and down the supply chain.