Research universities with a global energy focus

Colorado Renewable Energy CollaboratoryColorado’s research universities play a vital role in Colorado’s global emergence in cleantech development. They take renewables and energy efficiency so seriously, that they make their educational facilites just as high-tech. Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dubbed Colorado as the second-highest-ranking state in the nation with Energy Star schools.

The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) in Golden, one the few universities in the world to offer education from baccalaureate through doctorate levels in all key fields related to energy, is regarded internationally for its Colorado Energy Research Institute (CERI) which develops energy and environmental research programs for government and industry.

Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins works to set the standard as a sustainable and environmentally responsible institution of higher education and the nation’s green leader. CSU’s commitment to be the “Green University” focuses on green campus operations, educating tomorrow’s green workforce, and deploying research to promote environmental sustainability worldwide through the work of its Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory.

The University of Colorado’s (CU-Boulder) commitment to environmental education and research has helped it become one of the nation’s top environmental research universities. CU’s Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI), an interdisciplinary R&D with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), provides students and faculty a platform to pursue multidisciplinary energy research projects by working closely with NREL scientists.

The Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory is a research partnership among the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Colorado's premier research universities—CSU, CU-Boulder, and CSM. The Collaboratory works with public agencies, industry partners, and other universities and colleges to develop cleantech technologies and products for rapid transfer to the marketplace. In addition, it works to support economic growth in cleantech industries, and to educate the finest energy researchers, technicians, and workforce through its research centers: