The Colorado Cleantech Industry Association (CCIA) was formally launched by Governor Bill Ritter on Thursday.

Ritter, who testified before a Senate panel crafting a climate change and energy bill earlier this week, touted the 20,000 jobs connected to the cleantech companies in his state. He was grilled by Republican senators who suggested the Waxman-Markey bill passed by the House earlier this summer would hurt Colorado’s nascent oil shale industry.

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