9/24/2018

By Peter High. Published on Forbes

Bill Ritter was the 41st Governor of Colorado, serving in office from 2007 until 2011. One of the areas that he emphasized in office was progressive energy policy. Since leaving office, he has continued to work in energy. The first way in which he has done so has been through the Center for the New Energy Economy, which he started in 2011 at Colorado State University. The mission of the organization is to advise state governments on energy transition, particularly away from coal.

Second, Ritter joined Blackhorn Ventures as a strategy partner. His three areas of emphasis there are on the built environment, the energy sector, and the transportation sector.

In this interview, Ritter discusses his time in office, his work since leaving office, and the path ahead, as he sees it.

(To listen to a podcast version of this interview, please visit this link. To read future interviews like this one, please follow me on Twitter @PeterAHigh.)

Peter High: You were the 41st Governor of Colorado, serving from 2007 to 2011. One of the areas of passion throughout your life and as your time as Governor has been the new energy economy. Could you talk about this and how you see it developing?

Bill Ritter: As Governor, my team and I focused on our ability to utilize Colorado’s energy resources in a more environmentally favorable fashion than we had in the past. It was critical that while we worked towards this goal, we did so in a way that developed Colorado’s economy equitably, and we did not want to harm the utility customers. To make this transition, we focused on the four E’s: energy, environment, economy, and equity for customers. To achieve our goal, I signed 57 bills into law that transformed what had been a traditional fossil fuel economy into one that was focused on growing renewables, transitioning from coal to natural gas, and energy efficiency, which targeted energy conservation.

To read the full interview, please visit Forbes.