Colorado ranked third in top states for LEED-certified buildings in 2012. The state certified 99 projects, or 10.6 million square feet of water-conserving, energy-saving, trash-reducing buildings that year. It's one of several reasons the state has maintained its fifth-place ranking on Clean Edge's list for the fourth year in a row.
Investor-owned electric utilities must provide 30 percent of their generation from renewable energy resources by 2020, in accordance with the state's Renewable Energy Standard. Three percent must come from distributed generation, making it a good place to be if you want in on the ground floor of developing smart grids.
Colorado is also home to the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a major clean-tech incubator.
