OpenEI: A Tremendous Resource on Renewable Energy

I wanted to do a short post about OpenEI, a tremendous new resource on the renewable energy economy sponsored by the US Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The site, still in beta mode, uses Wiki collaboration to document, catalogue and analyses the renewable energy sector in the U.S. and globally.



A couple of interesting tidbits from the site:

• Colorado has the second largest number of "Registered Organizations" after California
  
  
• The Rockies are considered a "Clean Energy Hot Spot."

The Qwest Loss: A Quick Reaction

There is no way to spin the Qwest acquisition by CenturyTel as a positive development for the Denver Region. This is depressingly bad news for the local economy. The loss of Denver's largest corporate HQ will have painful and far reaching implications.

This development once again raises the issue of why Metro Denver with its educated work force, excellent infrastructure, high quality of living, outstanding recreational and cultural amenities, tradition of good government, healthy regional cooperation and decision-making, and strong clusters of industries seems to always struggle in maintaining and attracting high profile corporate HQs. Is it the region's spatial isolation from other major business centers, relatively small population, bad luck, lack of regional dominance over any single sector, relative scarcity of certain professional and financial services (advertising agencies, accounting, investment banking, consulting), other reasons not yet identified or some combination of the above?

Whatever the cause, this is a bitter pill to swallow.

Daniel Gross On The Recovery: An Example from Colorado

Financial and economic writer Daniel Gross has an insightful piece in Slate on why the U.S. economic recovery will be stronger and faster than many experts predict. Gross cites the emerging wind energy cluster in the Colorado's "Renewable Range" as an example of an emerging ecosystem which has the potential to create a huge amount of new economic activity.

"Skepticism about the potential for millions of "green jobs" to materialize
overnight is warranted. But in some areas, a process similar to the iTunes
experience is developing. The Danish wind-turbine maker Vestas in recent years
has announced investments of nearly $1 billion in wind-turbine-manufacturing
plants in Colorado, which, when completed, will directly employ about 2,500
people. But Vestas has also attracted a dozen-odd suppliers, including
components producers like Aluwind, PMC Technology, Bach Composite, and Hexcel.
And it's not just about the hardware. Renewable Energy Systems Americas, the
largest manager of wind farms, moved its corporate headquarters to Broomfield,
Colo., in 2008. Last month Colorado mandated that 30 percent of the state's
energy be produced from renewable sources by 2020. "

This is Gross' second mention of the wind energy story in Colorado, that I am aware of, so he must be tracking developments in Denver closely.

Financial Services and Technology Customer Service Jobs: A Trend in Metro Denver?

One positive economic development trend which seems to be emerging is financial and technology companies like, Charles Schwab, IBM, and Intuit, locating and expanding upper end customer service call centers in the Denver region. The region's highly technically skilled labor pool, business friendly climate, relatively low cost of living (compared to places like California) and Mountain Time Zone all seem to be positive factors helping to attract these jobs. These inroads are good news for the region's economy. What would be even better for Colorado, is if the region could attract and incubate more global corporate headquarters in addition to these regional, back office operations.

Westword on DIA's Future

Westword publishes an occasional excellent long form feature article on the Denver Region's future. These discussions are packed with detailed information not available in other news outlets. The latest by Alan Prendergast, "DIA Dreams," is about the future plans for the Denver Region's main airport. For a link to the Westword take on the Union Station redevelopment see my previous blog entry on Joel Warner's outstanding 2008 story.

Boulder: The New (Green and Crunchy) Peoria

My beloved hometown, the eco-fabulous, natural foods and outdoor recreation mecca of Boulder, Colorado has seen its global profile raised by a couple of recent corporate announcements by international consumer brands the Mars Candy Company and Wenger, the swiss army knife maker. Boulder, it seems, has become a highly desirable test market for global brands seeking to increase their presence in the healthy living, outdoor recreation, and natural foods sectors - kind of like a green and crunchy version of that old middle American stalwart test market - Peoria, Illinois. I guess the theory is if it plays in Boulder, it will play in similar upscale demographic enclaves around the nation.

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Press Release: Mars Chocolate North America Introduces goodnessKnows™ Luscious Snacksquares Brand to Boulder, Colo. Market

“HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. --- Mars Chocolate North America announced today the
premiere of goodnessKnows™ luscious snacksquares in Boulder, Colo.

'This area is world-famous for its emphasis on and appreciation of −
healthy living,' said Suzanne Stites, cocoa flavanol platform leader, Mars
Chocolate, North America. 'If we can get a stamp of approval from Colorado’s
discerning, health-conscious consumers, then consumers everywhere should embrace this new snack!' "

Press Release: Wenger Announces Plans For Retail Store in Boulder, CO

"February 24, 2010 — Wenger, Maker of the Genuine Swiss Army Knife, and
Established Brands International today announced plans to open its first United
States retail store, to be located on iconic Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado.
The 3,000-square foot retail shop, scheduled to open in April, 2010 will be
situated in the heart of Boulder’s historic downtown district.

The new retail store... will be designed in a vintage, natural environment,
to reflect one of the most highly recognized outdoor brands in the world in one
of the most outdoor-centric locations within the United States. The Pearl Street
site will be the first retail outlet in the U.S. to house Wenger’s entire global
family of products and will serve as a key facility to launch new product
lines...

'Boulder provides a sense of authenticity for all things and activities
pertaining to the outdoors,' said Ron Page, CEO Established Brands
International. 'It’s a perfect fit for us.' "

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Although the tone in the first part of this blog post was a bit bemused, this is serious business for Boulder which is uniquely positioned as an innovator in the natural and organic food and outdoor recreation industries. Boulder's long-term economic vitality depends in part on growing these segments of the local economy.

Louisville and ConocoPhillips Working Together on Campus Planning

The Daily Camera reported that the Louisville Planning Commission and ConocoPhillips seem to be having a productive working relationship in planning the company's proposed research and training campus at the former StorageTek site off U.S. 36.

This project is one of the most important economic development efforts underway in the Denver Region and is critical to the growth of the region's sustainable energy cluster.

For more information about this project see the ConocoPhillips web site and these previous blog entries.

Image above from ConocoPhillips web site.

IBM's "Quiet" Layoffs in Boulder

The Denver Post recently published an article about IBM layoffs in Boulder. The company has been very quiet about this "resource action" which reportedly impacted 2,800 workers across the country and all the Post deduced was that it was not a large layoff because it did not trigger Colorado state labor laws that require public disclosure about the size of the impact. IBM currently has 2,800 employees in Boulder and it is the largest private employer there.

I am wondering how this will impact the company's plans to hire 500 new customer service workers in Boulder.

Qwest Leasing Plans Not Great News for Downtown

The Post reports Qwest's commitment to downtown Denver may be waning. This is not good news for economic vitality, office occupancy, rental rates, and future office tower development in downtown.










Photo from Kevin Moloney/Getty Images via www.minnestoapublicradio.org

SF Chronicle: Colorado Sends Love to Califonria Firms

Colorado economic development officials are continuing efforts to woo California companies to the Centennial State according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

"It being Valentines Day, the State of Colorado is once gain sending California hearts and tlowers, this year accompanied by an official declaration from Gov. Bill Ritter that "Colorado Loves California." Tokens of affection include "Valentines Day cards and chocolates from Colorado to 500 California executives," and "20 Colorado Cupids, with bow and arrows in tow, passing out chocolates, information on Colorado and perhaps a few hugs to Californians," in downtown L.A."

Civic Choices: Post Card from Birmingham

I just spent a weekend in Birmingham, the largest city in Alabama. According to locals I met, Birmingham has been hampered in its economic development by the horrible legacy of Jim Crow and also by a lack of vision and poor decision making among civic leaders. Birmingham lost out on the southern Delta Airlines hub to Atlanta due to a lack of support from local business and government officials. This helped Hartsfield Airport and metro Atlanta become regional powerhouses sucking corporate headquarters, economic activity and regional prosperity away from Birmingham. Birmingham also lost out on the SEC football championship game, which it hosted for the first two years, to Atlanta.

In contrast, the City of Denver and its citizens have made a string of public investments and good decisions. However, with a reckoning day approaching for the FasTracks project, the question is, will the region's voters and taxpayers step up to save the comprehensive region-wide network, or will the project collapse due to financial pressure and regional political squabbles and be limited to a few discrete lines? If Denver falters in its drive to improve its infrastructure and bolster its economic competitiveness, other cities are waiting in the wings, to take over Denver's role as the primary economic hub in the Intermountain West. That other Delta Airlines hub city, Salt Lake City is a serious threat.

Metro Denver must keep its forward looking vision and track record of public investment and find a way to fund the full FasTracks system and avoid the mistakes of Birmingham.

Denver Post: Colorado Companies' Get Green Job Tax Credits

The Denver Post reported that six Colorado companies got green federal tax credits totaling $75.2 million: Abound Solar, Advanced Energy Industries, Coolerado Corp., ReflecTech, Hexcel Corp., Vestas Blades America Inc., and Vestas Towers America Inc.

Colorado State Spending on Higher Education: When Frugality Becomes Parsimoniousness

Colorado taxpayers and voters have a well deserved reputation for frugality and keeping taxes relatively low which can be a positive factor when companies make site selection decisions. However, frugality can turn into parsimoniousness. Two recent publications I noticed have led me to think this is occurring with regard to state funding of higher education in Colorado.

1) A Denver Post article talking about CU Denver's Medical School accreditation being imperiled by the dearth of state sponsorship.

2) Colorado's ranking is 47th among the 50 states on per pupil state spending on higher education according to the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation's Annual Report, Toward a More Competitive Colorado.

Despite the economic pressures of the current recession, public officials and voters would be well-advised to keep the long-term future in mind and raise more public funds to invest in higher education and other key infrastructure in Colorado.

PMC Technology Wind Energy Company Coming to Golden

This blog entry from John Rebchook's Inside Real Estate News is a month old but its worth reading. Denmark-based wind energy component manufacturer PMC Technology is locating its North American HQ and first operations facility in Golden, near the NREL, the Colorado School of Mines and not far from Vestas, a big customer, in Brighton. The cluster grows.

See Margret Jackson's article from The Denver Post here.

500 IBM Jobs for Boulder

In what is most certainly very happy holiday news for the regional Denver economy, IBM announced it is bringing 500 new customer-service-related jobs by 2014 to its Boulder campus. Given the prevalence of layoffs, outsourcing and overall downsizing in corporate America this is very good news and is a signal of IBM's ongoing commitment to its Boulder site location. IBM will receive a token contribution of $35,000 in tax rebates from the city of Boulder.