Indeed, the city of Boulder has struggled to create action directly from the public sector. But, it should be noted that Boulder’s progressive actions, along with help from the Governor's Energy Office and legislation voted in by statewide citizens has created a successful new energy economy. Hundreds of private companies have sprouted up in the community in the past few years creating jobs and a more resilient economy in a dramatic recession. These companies have been working hard to develop a strong infrastructure and reputable industry standards to continue the path of exponential growth, as the local and national economy improves.

In particular, one innovative company has spawned from a solar photovoltaic company into a turn-key energy solutions provider. Energy Efficiency Manager, Eric Van Orden, states that “each year from 2007 to 2010 the company has more than tripled in growth of revenue and staff size. Standard Renewable Energy (SRE) has a successful track record of encouraging energy saving action through an affordable Review, Reduce, Renew process.” Starting with an energy audit, this process helps people to review the home and identifies the most cost effective energy saving solutions. Then the energy efficiency consultants help each homeowner to utilize the numerous rebates and tax credits available to reduce energy usage without sacrificing lifestyle and often improving comfort. The company also helps to install on-site renewable energy resources like the popular Solar Photovoltaic panels, which make use of of Colorado’s 300 plus days of sunshine and Xcel's Energy's rebates that sometimes total more than $25,000. Mr. Van Orden noted that this process has successful helps hundreds of home and business owners to save more than $921,759 on their energy bills and reduce carbon emissions by more than 12,628,100 pounds of CO2 emissions each year. The company regularly monitors this information for goal setting and updates these numbers on their website at: www.sre3.com