Leading Democrats and representatives of the wind and solar energy industry are criticizing Republican U.S. Senate candidate Darryl Glenn for his opposition to popular tax credits supporters say contribute billions of dollars to the Colorado economy.

Citing studies that show Colorado at or near the top of states whose economies benefit from the renewable energy industry, state Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio and state Sen. Kerry Donovan, D-Vail, joined wind and solar executives and technicians and a homeowner with solar panels on a tour of the Front Range last week to make their case.

“When it comes to renewable energy, Darryl Glenn could not be more wrong,” said Donovan in a conference call with reporters.

Glenn, an El Paso County commissioner, is challenging Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet, and the two have staked out squarely opposed positions on renewable energy policy.

Glenn has said he would work to repeal the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, an Obama administration program aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions supported by Bennet. Glenn also said in a GOP primary debate earlier this summer that he would “dump” the wind production tax credit, while Bennet has been an enthusiastic backer of the subsidies, a position shared by his Republican colleague, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner.

“We have to have the political will to stand up to the tree huggers,” Glenn said at a Douglas County forum, adding that he would like to see an end to government subsidies for the renewable energy sector.

Congress passed a five-year extension of wind energy production and investment tax credits in December, part of a deal that included lifting the longstanding ban on exporting oil produced in the United States. Under the legislation, the credits gradually phase out by 2019. Both Bennet and Gardner voted for the legislation.

“The problem is, it’s not just the tree huggers who believe that renewable energy tax credits are important,” Donovan said. “It’s an issue that crosses party lines, and it crosses county lines.”

With an estimated $3.6 billion pumped into Colorado’s economy last year, the renewable energy industry employed more than 25,000 workers directly and accounted for more than 60,000 more jobs indirectly, according to an economic development study cited by the Democrats. A trade organization reported last year that the state led the nation in wind manufacturing jobs, including those employed at four Vestas Wind Systems factories in Colorado.

A spokeswoman for Glenn told The Colorado Statesman on Friday that he wasn’t backing down and charged that the Democrats were framing the issue incorrectly.

“The choice is clear: Michael Bennet is for allowing big companies to get sweet deals from the government because they hired the ‘right’ insider lobbyist,” Katey Price, Glenn’s communications director, said in an email. “Darryl is in favor of energy solutions that provide good jobs for Coloradans while making the U.S. more energy independent.”

“This is yet another example of Darryl Glenn being not only too extreme for Colorado but more extreme than Cory Gardner,” said Palacio, who pointed to Gardner’s votes in favor of bipartisan legislation extending tax credits for wind and solar.

At the same time, Bennet’s campaign circulated press releases issued by Gardner’s Senate office extolling the renewable industry’s effect on Colorado’s economy and voicing his support for continuing federal incentives.

“I am a true believer in the ability of wind energy to be a key part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy,” one of the Gardner releases said. “I have been a major proponent of the Wind Production Tax Credit in the past, and I continue to support incentives for wind energy. It plays a vital role in powering our homes and helping to grow our economy in Colorado.”

Noting that wind turbine technician is the fastest growing job in the United States by some measures, Ecotech Institute program director Auston Van Slyke dismissed Glenn’s position as short-sighted.

“I don’t know a lot about this Darryl Glenn, but if he thinks he needs to stand up to tree huggers and oppose these tax credits, I don’t think he’s a good senator for the state of Colorado,” Van Slyke said.

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com