Jim Welch

Darcy Varney for Bella Energy

Bella Energy installer Kim Derhammer installs a 5-kilowatt solar system at the Antonito Elementary School in Colorado’s san Luis Valley.

Jim Welch, president of the Louisville-based solar energy company Bella Energy, took a bit of a long road to become the new president of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (CoSEIA).

Bella and Welch made the CoSEIA announcement late last week, and Welch told the Daily Tuesday that he is very pleased to head up an organization that represents the state’s solar industry professionals and users.

“We’re on the cusp of becoming a major player in the energy industry in this state, so it’s an honor to be chosen to represent an industry that’s really at the forefront of change in the state,” said Welch.

Solar is, pardon the pun, “hot” right now. The latest Bella release said Colorado had less than one megawatt (MW) of solar energy installed in 2004, but by 2007 it had roughly 24 MW. It also said the number of state renewable energy businesses has tripled in just more than three years.

But Welch was out in front of the modern solar bandwagon, since he said he has been a solar advocate for about 30 years.

“Back then, it was more part of a back-to-the-land movement, and it was truly alternative energy and an alternative lifestyle,” said Welch. “Today, we would consider it as being mainstream.”

Welch and the industry also have ties to higher education and CU. Welch’s father, the late William Welch, was a professor of political science at CU, and Jim Welch was a 1974 CU grad, although he earned his master’s in environmental planning and solar design from Arizona State University.

Today, Welch said recent grads are increasingly turning to solar or other forms of alternative energy for employment opportunities.

“They’re coming to this industry because they know it’s the future,” said Welch. “They know that they can apply their talents, whether it’s in engineering or business or sales, to a great industry.”

He said, for example, that Bella has hired about 15 recent college grads in the last year. Several employees have CU degrees, including but not limited to Bella project managers and Leeds School of Business grads Dana Miller and Aaron Schmoke, along with Bella office manager LeAnne Hines.

And as a business, Welch said Bella is looking to install new solar projects in all parts of Boulder as well as other parts of the state and the world – including Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Dushanbe is one of the City of Boulder’s sister cities, and the city gave the ornate Boulder-Dushanbe Teahouse on the Pearl Street Mall to Boulder as a gift. In exchange, Boulder agreed to provide a “cyber café” to the city of Dushanbe, and Bella is contributing and supplying solar hardware and labor to the project.

Welch said the nonprofit Boulder-Dushanbe Sister Cities organization helped greatly with fundraising, and said the solar hardware is currently in the Ukraine, awaiting shipment to the cyber café. A Bella release said power is very unreliable in Tajikistan, and the solar array – plus a battery backup system and careful use of electricity – can allow the café to operate during periods of power outages.

Now, back to the United States. Welch said he, CoSEIA and the national Solar Energy Industries Association are currently involved in Congressional energy policy debates about whether to eliminate certain federal subsidies to the oil and gas industries and apply the subsidies to renewable energy pursuits.

Also, a federal solar energy tax credit is scheduled to expire at the end of 2008, and Welch said extending the credits beyond 2008 would be favorable for the solar industry and solar users.

“The tax credits make it cost-effective, so a homeowner can install solar water heating or solar electric equipment,” said Welch. “So, it’s very important that they get extended.”

The CoSEIA also weighs in on State of Colorado energy legislation, and Welch said the solar industry is a major part of Gov. Bill Ritter’s “New Energy Economy,” both as a source of employment and as a source of energy production.

He added that research and industry focus has led to improvements in solar panel efficiency, although a challenge exists in bringing down the cost per watt.

“That’s what we’re always looking for in the marketplace – a cheaper product so we can make it more affordable,” said Welch. “And as an association, we’re interested in any solar application that makes energy available and efficient.”

Contact Richard Valenty about this story at (303) 443-6272 ext. 126, or valenty@coloradodaily.com.