I have the honor and pleasure of welcoming everyone to this exciting and important event.

Welcome to the future site of the Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Complex, which we call SEEC. We look forward to it opening in 2015.

Here, cross-disciplinary researchers will work in partnership with our federal labs to solve the world’s most perplexing challenges in energy, sustainability, the environment and climate.

The research and education groups that will be housed here are now spread across 17 buildings. Therefore SEEC will not only be a new building; it will be a new approach to academic research.

So it’s certainly fitting that we gather at this location today for the Governor to sign into law a $2 million appropriation to help fund the Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory.

I would like to acknowledge my fellow board of directors of the collaboratory.

  • Dan Arvizu, director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
  • Tony Frank, President, Colorado State University
  • andBill Scoggins, President, Colorado School of Mines Tony and Bill could not be here today, but send their best wishes.

I would also like to acknowledge the executive director, David Hiller.

I want to thank the sponsors of this important bill: Sen. Rollie Heath and Rep. Dickey Lee Hullinghorst.

The Colorado Energy Research Authority

I think I speak for all of us here in thanking the Governor and the state legislature for their foresight and vision in the need for energy research and how that could positively impact the economic development of our state.

The Collaboratory is an energy research consortium of CU-Boulder, Colorado State University, the Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

We work with industry, government, and other universities to develop and transfer new energy technologies, management systems and products to the marketplace.

The Collaboratory supports economic growth by partnering with energy industries, and educating the next generation of energy researchers and technicians.

It supports four primary research centers – one each for biorefining and biofuels, solar photoconversion, wind, and carbon management.

Founded in 2006, it has generated over $50 million in federal and industry research funds. It also has funded and facilitated more than 100 research projects.

Introduction of Gov. Hickenlooper

Now I would like to bring up our Governor. Governor John Hickenlooper describes himself as a recovering geologist, now on loan to public service.

He was elected Colorado governor in 2010. He also served nearly eight years as Denver mayor.

He is making Colorado the model for energy policy by promoting an all-the-above energy policy that develops Colorado’s traditional and renewable resources in a balanced way.

Colorado’s renewable energy standards are models that have attracted international attention. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our governor, John Hickenlooper.