A Hard Working Senator

Dear Editor:

I would like to acknowledge and thank Sen. Gail Schwartz on her recently bipartisan supported legislation she introduced, Bill HB10-1001 Renewable Energy Standard. The bill increases Colorado's Renewable Energy Standard from 20 percent to 30 percent for investor owned utilities, and adds a minimum requirement for distributed generation of 3 percent of total retail electric sales and all this will be accomplished by 2020.

The new standards will create jobs for rural Colorado, promote a new energy economy, and help businesses continue to grow by an estimated 2,000 new construction jobs per year, create over $2.5 billion in economic output, and power an additional 100,000 homes through renewable energy. Sen. Schwartz also introduced two additional bills (SB10-100 S10-019), which expand upon the previous legislation to created tax incentives for hydro, solar and wind powered plants and seeks to continue encouraging renewable energy companies to invest in Colorado.

In addition, Sen. Schwartz sponsored Resolution 10-012, “Concerning the Honoring of Colorado's Olympic Athletes,” honoring an impressive 21 Colorado athletes representing our state and our nation in the 2010 Olympic Games.

Sen. Schwartz is working hard for a stronger Colorado while tackling the huge challenge of climate change. And amazingly, Sen. Schwartz still manages to find the time to honor her constituents. Thank you, Sen. Gail Schwartz.

Ruthie Brown

Aspen

Aspen Times