This story by Chase Woodruff appeared on Colorado Newsline on July 22, 2024.
The Colorado Energy Office and the Denver Regional Council of Governments will receive a total of $328 million in new grant funding to support the state’s efforts to speed up the clean energy transition.
The funding, set to be announced Monday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, comes from a pot of $5 billion to be doled out by the agency as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark 2022 climate law.
The two awards under the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program allocate $129 million to fund the Colorado Energy Office’s launch of a “Colorado decarbonization accelerator,” and $199 million towards a plan by DRCOG to support building electrification and the adoption of zero-emission building codes in the nine-county metro region.
“This substantial funding is a major advancement in the bold action we must take to combat the climate crisis effectively,” U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat, said in a statement. “The Inflation Reduction Act includes some of the most significant climate action in our history, and I am proud to have voted for this landmark law. With this funding, Denver can take a significant step towards reducing pollution, combating climate change, and securing a healthier environment for future generations.”
DRCOG, a planning organization governed by representatives from dozens of Denver-area city and county governments, was previously awarded a $1 million planning grant under the same EPA program. The agency’s Priority Climate Action Plan, released in March, outlined a range of proposed measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, from electrification incentives for large commercial and multifamily properties to free home weatherization services for low-income residents.
The DRCOG project also aims to support workforce training, “generate well-paying jobs throughout the supply chain and drive innovation in the construction industry within our state,” according to a March 2024 letter in support of the proposal from DeGette and Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood.
The grants announced Monday rank among the largest single awards to Colorado state and local agencies to date under the IRA, which included a total of $369 billion in federal funding and consumer incentives to support clean energy adoption. Earlier this year, the Colorado Energy Office received $156 million in funding from the EPA to support rooftop solar installations and community solar programs.