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AURORA — Promoting Colorado's renewable energy industry is key to generating jobs and easing dependence on foreign oil — but the U.S. is lagging behind China in its investment in renewables, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Friday.
"America has the opportunity to lead the world in a new industrial revolution," Chu said at an energy jobs summit in Aurora. But he warned that China's investment of $9 billion per month to diversify energy sources away from coal far exceeds America's spending.
Chu tried to rally support for the Obama administration's energy plan, which promotes renewable energy, clean coal technologies and nuclear power.
He announced Friday that $8 million in federal stimulus money will go to help 43 communities across the country make emergency plans to restore power systems in the event of natural or other disasters.
The cities include six in Colorado — Aspen, Aurora, Denver, Durango, Lakewood and Wheat Ridge.
While promoting wind, solar, biofuels and other clean energy production, the administration announced last week more than $8 billion in federal loan guarantees to build two nuclear reactors in Georgia, kicking off a plan to build 100 new reactors in the U.S. over the next 20 years.
Obama calls nuclear power a key part of comprehensive energy legislation that assigns a cost to the carbon pollution of fossil fuels, giving utility companies more incentives to turn to cleaner nuclear fuel. Orders for nuclear reactors have been halted since the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979.
Chu noted Friday nuclear energy can be generated on demand, unlike wind and solar power, which are dependent upon weather changes.
Obama also announced a new task force to study coal's role in U.S. energy needs.
U.S. Sen. Mark Udall told the forum he would welcome construction of a nuclear reactor in Colorado if it were built "in a safe manner."
"If we are serious about creating a clean energy economy and strengthening our national security, realistically we need to take advantage of all sources of clean energy," Udall said.
The Colorado senator said 20,000 jobs have been created in the state because it is requiring large utility companies to produce one-third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. A bill pending in Congress would extend similar rules to utility companies across the country.
