• Cluster launch and press conference
• Retreat - Vision and Strategic Plan

• Vestas builds blade manufacturing plant in Windsor, Colorado
• Launch of monthly Innovation After Hours

• CSU Clean Energy Supercluster launched
• FortZED jumpstart zone "RDSI" grant awarded by DOE
• Workforce study completed
• CCEC incorporates at a 501c(3) nonprofit

In 2005, economic leaders across northern Colorado came together to take stock of the region’s assets and discuss what it would take to advance the region’s clean energy sector. Their discovery? It had all the makings of a strong clean energy cluster, from a progressive municipal utility to world-class academic research programs and a community ready to embrace leading-edge clean energy technologies.

With input from participants across the region, in 2006 the Northern Colorado Clean Energy Cluster officially launched along with the unveiling of the Cluster’s first initiative- funding for the Integrid Lab at Colorado State University’s Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory, now globally recognized for its smart grid research. With the help of the Cluster, northern Colorado was officially on its way to becoming the “go to” place for smart grid technologies, renewable energy and energy efficiency, and cleaner engines.

An expanding member base and a newly formed Board of Directors helped the Cluster continue to grow, acting as a magnet for research labs and companies focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart grid technologies, and green building. From 2006 to 2009, employment in area clean energy companies grew 31 percent, while nationally, the same jobs decreased by nearly 9 percent.

In 2008, the CCEC not only officially incorporated as a 501c (3) nonprofit, it secured significant federal, state, and local resources – over $14 million total – to begin implementing its largest initiative, FortZED.

In 2010, due to growing interest statewide as well as its performance internationally, the Cluster’s Board of Directors voted to change its name and mission to cover all of Colorado, expanding its triple helix-based economic development model and actionable, market-changing initiatives to benefit all of Colorado.