Energy City of Highlands Ranch Update
ThunderRidge Seniors Meet With Local Leaders to Discuss Energy Empowerment
On Friday, January 2, 2009, ThunderRidge high school seniors, Ahbi Rahman and Miranda Carey met with Senator Ted Harvey (R) and Legislator Frank McNulty, District 43 (R) to discuss how Highlands Ranch can explore various avenues to take Highlands Ranch off the grid by the year 2020.
This is the third year that ThunderRidge seniors are exploring creative and innovative strategies and tactics to empower Highlands Ranch to nurture and grow a local energy economy and create an energy city that owns and manages a clean technology wet lab incubator. The clean technology incubator would become the spring board for new energy start-ups to come to Highlands Ranch and mature their clean tech business. Once the business leaves the Highlands Ranch energy incubator, the energy city receives an annuity on energy revenues and patent royalties earned by the energy start-up company.
Miranda Carey states, “Highlands Ranch has the opportunity to develop a one-of-a-kind clean technology business and social environment to attract and retain energy business start-ups.” Carey further stated, “What makes this unique and innovative is that Highlands Ranch could become the first community in the world to develop its sole charter that focuses on one service - energy. What kind of message does that say to new energy businesses looking to relocate to an area that will help their enterprise grow and thrive.”
Ahbi Rahman, who is also a senior at ThunderRidge remarked, “We are excited for the opportunity to meet with our local political representatives to discuss new ideas and solutions on how to solve our energy empowerment problems.” Rahman further mentioned, “The meeting we had with Mr. McNulty and Mr. Harvey was the first step in the direction of discussing how Highlands Ranch can empower the entire community to become less reliant on 3rd party energy sources.”
