Mystery buyer of STK site named; Oil and gas company will build a renewable research center on Louisville site

Energy giant ConocoPhillips' purchase of a 432-acre corporate campus in Louisville boosts Colorado's status as a clean-energy hub.

The Houston-based oil and gas company plans to rebuild the campus into a center to research hydrogen fuel cells, solar and wind power, and clean diesel fuel made from renewable resources. It also plans to establish a learning center to train employees from more than 40 countries.

"We believe this demonstrates what we've been saying about the new energy economy of Colorado," said Gov. Bill Ritter, announcing the deal Wednesday afternoon at a hastily called news conference at the Holiday Inn Denver International Airport. "The company recognizes that fossil fuels will be part of our energy future for decades to come. They are building a bridge to the future by investing in new, cleaner technologies and in renewable energy."

ConocoPhillips paid

$58.5 million for the campus -- among the largest in the world. It houses numerous buildings, warehouses and manufacturing facilities, most of which will be razed.

The new campus is expected to be completed in three or four years.

The Louisville campus won over other competitors because of its proximity to Colorado's major universities and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, in addition to its accessibility to the Denver International Airport, said ConocoPhillips spokesman Bill Tanner.

That Louisville ranks No. 3 among Money magazine's top 100 places to live in the United States helped.

"If talking to the employees is any indicator, they are excited about Louisville and there is a sense of optimism for the future," Tanner said. "We are looking forward to expanding our presence in Colorado."

John Poate, vice president for research and technology transfer at the Colorado School of Mines, said Conoco has a research and education relationship with the school that goes back more than 50 years. "And many of our alum are in the company," Poate said. "It's a fine company, one of the super majors."

ConocoPhillips has set up a team to determine how soon the existing buildings will be razed, how many new buildings will be built or how many employees will be hired, he said.

The company has not sought economic incentives from the state, although it will be eligible for some.

ConocoPhillips employs 600 people in Colorado, mostly in the gas fields of Piceance Basin straddling Garfield and Rio Blanco counties.

Lawmakers, environmentalists and businesses heralded ConocoPhillips' decision, noting it will bolster Colorado's efforts to advance clean and renewable-energy technologies.

"The location of this center in Colorado will bring great minds from across the country and the world to our state and will continue to make us a hub for renewable-energy research and development," U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Denver, said in an e-mailed statement.

Professor Bryan Willson, of Colorado State University, said ConocoPhillips would be able to draw on the state's intellectual resources under one umbrella, "a sort of one-stop shop."

"With Danish company Vestas building a wind turbines manufacturing plant near Windsor, and now ConocoPhillips, it really emphasizes the critical role of Colorado in terms of being a leader in developing clean-energy technologies," Willson added.

"ConocoPhillips bought the property last month from Sun Microsystems, but the buyer remained a mystery until Wednesday. Sun acquired the campus when it bought out StorageTek in 2005 for

$4.1 billion.

Jeff Smith contributed to this report.

Guess who?

The best-kept secret in real estate was revealed Wednesday: ConocoPhillips is the mystery buyer of the former StorageTek campus in Louisville.

Overview: Houston-based ConocoPhillips will tear down most of the buildings on the 432-acre campus and build a global training center and global technology center. The technology center will be a hub for research and development of renewable energy and carbon-fuels recovery.

Price: The oil company paid $58.5 million last month to buy the property from Sun Microsystems.

Timeline: The construction of the new campus -- larger than Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., campus -- is expected to be completed in 2011 or 2012.

Impact: The number of permanent employees is not known, but the training center will attract thousands of ConocoPhillips employees annually.

In Colorado: ConocoPhillips has 600 employees here. It has a large gasoline storage terminal in Commerce City, oil and gas production in Garfield County and a gas pipeline from Colorado to Texas.

History: The original Conoco, called the Continental Oil Co., located its headquarters in Denver in the 1870s.