Going green in Boulder may be fueled by environmental values, but for much of the nation it is about saving money - escaping the high price of oil, energy and commodities.

Now that oil is down 65 percent to about $45 a barrel, some people and businesses are thinking twice about how fast they go green. A U.S. economy in recession doesn't help.

Will the latest green movement burst like the tech, housing and oil bubbles that preceded it? Or will a green-friendly President-elect Barack Obama, a struggling U.S. auto industry and new technologies keep "going green" alive?

Green business

A general slowdown in the local green industry is evident for businesses large and small.

Like many energy companies, Houston-based ConocoPhillips Co. is working to advance its oil and alternative energy exploration. And despite a weak economy, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) still plans to pursue both initiatives - albeit at a slower pace.

"We may alter how quickly we proceed on individual projects, depending on the current and prospective business environment. However, we remain committed to managing, growing and developing the company by using the same strategies that have succeeded in the past, and that have enabled us to withstand previous downward swings in the business cycle," ConocoPhillips spokesman Bill Tanner said in an e-mail.

The company has pushed back its Louisville campus opening from as early as late 2011 to sometime in 2013. That delay is a direct result of a weak economy, the company announced last month.

For Louisville-based Bella Energy, dropping oil prices has little effect on the solar energy firm, said Chief Executive Officer Jim Welch. Electricity prices continue to increase. But a slowing economy and changes to solar energy rebates has slowed down business leads, he said.

In late October, Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL) reduced its solar energy rebate rates in Colorado by 40 percent due to the passage of new federal tax credits. The change means increased upfront costs for solar energy systems in Colorado. So, while buyers can still recoup most of the price increases via the new federal tax credits, the higher upfront cost in a slowing economy is expected to hurt demand.

"People hesitate to make large investments in difficult economic times," Welch said.

At Boulder-based Eco-Cycle, the problem is plunging commodity and raw material prices due to decreased demand. The local recycling nonprofit saw its revenue from the sale of materials drop more than 50 percent in just 60 days, said Executive Director Eric Lombardi. Certain recycled plastics plummeted from $800 a ton to $200 a ton. Cardboard prices fell from $150 a ton to $20 a ton, and scrap metals dropped from $150 a ton to $15 a ton.

"Our buyers have said: 'Stop, we don't want anymore,' But we don't have the luxury of a normal business to stop production, because society continues to supply us with their discarded resources," Lombardi said. "We're going to live on our savings for six months, but if it goes longer than that, the entire recycling industry will be hurting."

But the news isn't entirely bad. Broomfield-based Range Fuels Inc., which specializes in cellulosic ethanol production, hasn't felt much of an impact from the drop in oil prices and the unstable economy.

"We're not slowing down one bit because of oil prices," said David Aldous, Range Fuels' chief executive officer, whose background is in the oil industry.

He's confident his company has enough funding to weather the economic storm and emerge from it in a great position to expand.

"We're well funded through this down cycle," Aldous said. But he added, "We might pinch back a little bit on our next phase of development, but materially nothing of significance."

Range Fuels is in the process of building its first commercial ethanol plant slated to be operational in 2010. By then, Aldous thinks biofuel demand will increase as people put more emphasis on alternative energy and vehicle fuel efficiency.

But he knows the risks involved as well.

"At the end of the day the products that we are producing tend to cost more," he said.

His long-term concern is whether or not people will continue to focus on the green movement once the economy improves. He's optimistic.

Consumers decide

Analysts and economists say the push to go green ultimately comes down to consumers.

"A lot of it has to do with what people's long-run expectation is," said Nicholas Flores, a University of Colorado at Boulder associate professor and chairman of the economics department.

As oil prices fall, people think less about spending money on fuel-efficient vehicles - such as hybrids - when they could drive their current vehicles for the same price.

"People are only going to use alternative energy if it's the cheapest," said CU economics professor Edward Morey.

Right now, people likely will focus less on going green and more on keeping green in their wallets, the economists said. Much of it comes down to an individual's motivations and whether he focuses on long-term sustainability or short-term savings.

"In the longer term once things turn around ... I think everybody still feels we need to get away from such dependence on fossil fuels," said Charles Howe, a retired CU economics professor. "I think there's been a change of spirit. People realize our use of finite resource has got to change."

As soon as consumers start feeling an energy pinch again, the emphasis on the green movement will pick up steam, said Justin Felt, a senior analyst for Norway-based Point Carbon LLC.

"I definitely call it a movement, and movements ebb and flow," Felt said.

Staying green

As the boom to go green generally slows nationwide, local industry leaders and governments are working on long-term approaches to keep green habits and investments from fading.

The city of Boulder recently passed new residential and commercial green building codes, requiring higher energy efficiency standards. By 2015, officials want to require new buildings to include renewable energy systems, and by 2030 the city has a goal of carbon neutral standards for all new construction.

Boulder County officials have similar new requirements and goals. And Boulder County voters recently passed a measure allowing the county to issue low-interest-rate loans - funded by private bonds - for green home improvements. 

The primary focus will come from President-elect Barack Obama, Welch said.

"It's really about leadership," he said. "The leader needs to say that we can't go back to our wasteful ways, or we will just return to high oil prices, gas guzzlers and bailouts for the car industry."

Welch, who is also the president of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association, said the group plans to go to Washington D.C. to share its ideas with the new administration. Welch himself is a proponent of a comprehensive alternative energy policy with tax credits for a variety of green technologies and tax increases on gas.

"Let's put people to work developing clean energy," he said. "It's good for jobs, it's good for energy security, it's good for our health and lifestyle."

Preaching green goes over well in places like Boulder County, Welch said, but the industry's biggest challenge will be convincing the larger middle class of America.

"Half of all our solar electric systems sales in all of Colorado are in Boulder County," he said. "We still have a long way to go to reach the rest of the state and nation."

Contact David Clucas or Ryan Dionne at 303-440-4950 or dclucas@bcbr.com or rdionne@bcbr.com.