• Algae fuel is a form of alternative energy derived from algae.multicolored algae image by Nikolai Sorokin from Fotolia.com
  
  In 2010, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law the Re-Energize Colorado Program, an incentive to develop renewable energy projects in state parks. With alternative energy projects cropping up all over the state, educational opportunities in alternative energy and sustainability are increasingly available at the state's public universities and colleges.
  
  

Red Rocks Community College

• Red Rocks Community College, founded in 1969 in the Denver suburb of Lakewood, is a public two-year college. Its Environmental Technology program offers courses for students interested in studying alternative energy. The college also awards certificates in related areas of environmental safety systems and air compliance. Red Rocks' Environmental Technology curriculum includes courses such as Regulatory Studies and Global Environmental Awareness; Sustainability in Environmental Technology, where students learn how environmental standards are implemented in industry and commerce; and Energy Science and Technology, which offers a general look at alternative energy options.
  
  Red Rocks Community College
  13300 W. Sixth Ave.
  Lakewood, CO 80228
  303-914-6600
  rrcc.edu
  
  

Colorado State University

• Colorado State University's School of Global Environmental Sustainability is a leading researcher in sustainable communities, climate change and energy. Beginning in the spring 2011 semester, the school will offer an interdisciplinary minor for undergraduate students. The school currently endorses a variety of courses offered by the university system's other colleges and divisions to prepare students planning to enter the growing "green" workforce, including Introduction to Natural Resource Economics, Global Change Ecology in a Changing World and Managing for Ecosystem Sustainability.
  
  Colorado State University
  200 W. Lake St.
  Fort Collins, CO 80523
  970-491-1101
  colostate.edu
  
  

University of Colorado Boulder

• The University of Colorado Boulder, the flagship university of the public CU system, offers students interested in alternative energy studies an energy option in the College of Engineering and Applied Science's bachelor's degree program in environmental engineering. Courses include Renewable Energy, Wind Energy and Advanced Solar Design, which can lead to a special certificate. The university also offers a minor in electrical renewable energy systems.
  
  University of Colorado Boulder
  914 N. Broadway St.
  Boulder, CO 80309
  303-492-1411
  colorado.edu