U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry recently made his first official visit to Colorado and saw firsthand the critical role this state is playing in advancing U.S. energy policy. While Colorado remains a leader in traditional energy production, what is striking is the leadership role the state plays in emerging advanced energy solutions.

Colorado has emerged as a state leader in energy efficiency, wind, solar, biofuel and other advanced energy development. These industries have strengthened the economy, creating 62,800 new Colorado jobs driving economic development across the state. In just eastern Colorado, wind and solar energy have become key economic drivers, producing $140 million in direct and indirect economic benefits to these rural economies.

Colorado’s position as an advanced energy leader is without question driven by strong, innovative companies that have tapped into the state’s remarkable workforce. But the fountain and foundation of this success in emerging energy markets can be traced to one important place: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

NREL, located in Golden, Colorado, employs 4,100 Coloradans and contributes more than $700 million to the economy. Since 1974, NREL has led or supported countless breakthroughs in energy research and development. Its research has gone far beyond just renewable power to include hybrid energy systems, nuclear deterrence, technologies that can capture carbon emissions from fossil fuel production, airport security and lead-free solder used in welding.

Sen. Cory Gardner, who oversees advanced power efforts in the influential energy subcommittee he chairs, toured NREL with Secretary Perry on August 14th. He emphasized purely from an economic standpoint just how important the lab has become, explaining that every $1 of taxpayer funds invested into the lab results in $5 of private investment. All told, NREL provides an impressive $870 million in annual economic benefits nationwide. But as Senator Gardner also noted at a hearing in his subcommittee last fall, while the U.S. has been the leader in energy innovation research and development for many years, “China is close at our heels.”

Along with the other 16 national labs across the U.S., NREL is critical to helping America maintain its position as an international leader in energy production. Congress has correctly recognized that the energy research and development being performed at NREL has such a high return on investment that future funding is a prudent investment in U.S. national security interests, economic development and job growth. For this reason, the House and Senate have approved spending bills for next year that would increase funds to continue these advancements.

NREL has driven $870 million in annual U.S. economic benefits based on the fact that it has been under strong leadership and it has pursued bold projects. America needs leaders like Senator Gardner and Secretary Perry to continue pushing NREL to produce the most efficient U.S. energy production models. We also need NREL to continue its R&D in bold projects to ensure the United States maintains leadership in an increasingly competitive international energy market. To accomplish this NREL must stay two steps ahead. While we are absorbing the incredible energy advancements in wind and solar over the prior decade, NREL should be studying next generation technologies, like emission-free nuclear technologies, grid-scale energy storage, and energy production programs that you and I cannot even imagine right now.

It was this exact type of “moonshot” R&D programming that led to advancements in technologies which created efficient hydraulic fracturing as well as pioneering wind and solar technologies. NREL is a shining example of a successful U.S. public-private partnership, driving economic growth, creating new jobs, and creating technologies that benefit consumers and the environment.

NREL has provided an enormous return on investment to the U.S. economy and is positioned to lead America’s next generation of domestic clean energy dominance. Gardner and Secretary Perry are spending the time to get this one right and position America to keep pace with China and others in the rapidly accelerating global energy race.

Jon Anderson is director of The Western Way, a non-profit organization focused on conservative solutions to U.S. environmental challenges. Rich Powell is executive director of the ClearPath Foundation, which advocates for conservative clean energy policy.

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