Gov. Bill Ritter, D-Colo., plans to visit Denmark and Finland this week to promote Colorado cleantech companies, seek new investments in the state and visit the world headquarters of Vestas Wind Systems.
‘In this tough economy, with countries around the globe continuing to struggle, Colorado's new energy economy remains a powerful engine that is helping to drive our state forward,’ says Ritter. ‘Through this Nordic visit, we hope to raise the profile of Colorado's new energy economy on the world stage, encourage investment in the state and support Colorado's cleantech exporters.’
Joined by Tom Clark, executive vice president of Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., Ritter will be meeting with European and Nordic companies interested in investing and expanding in the U.S. while also promoting and building relationships for existing Colorado cleantech companies. Ritter will be in Denmark and Finland until Oct. 4.
Denmark-based Vestas has made Colorado its North American production hub. The governor will tour Vestas and thank executives for investing $1 billion in Colorado's economy. The company is building four production plants and a research and development center in Colorado with a combined workforce of 2,500 employees.
Several Colorado companies and organizations also will be in Denmark and Finland at the same time as the governor, including Tendril, Spirae, Schneider Electric, Smart Synch, Power Tagging Technologies, Colorado Clean Energy Cluster, Colorado State University, the City of Fort Collins and Hogan Lovells.
Ritter plans to sign a memorandum of understanding between the state of Colorado and Schneider Electric regarding electric vehicles and energy performance contracting.
In addition, Ritter will meet with U.S. Ambassador to Finland Bruce Oreck, executives of cleantech companies, and high-level European Union officials, including the EU commissioner for climate action.
SOURCE: Office of Gov. Bill Ritter
