CO Energy Office rolling out many ARRA energy grants

The Governor's Energy Office (GEO) is preparing to roll out numerous new opportunities for residents, businesses, local governments, non-profits and other organizations to save money and energy, spark job creation and increase energy independence thanks to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars.

Beginning this month, the energy office is posting a wide variety of grant opportunities designed to increase the energy efficiency of homes, schools and other buildings as well as increase the supply of energy from renewable resources and clean-burning natural gas. Grants will be provided in more than two dozen categories, including for wind power at schools, for geothermal energy development, for converting private and public fueling stations to include compressed natural gas and to install renewable energy or energy-saving equipment on historic properties.

"The Recovery Act provides a lot of ways for Coloradans to save money and cut energy use," said GEO director Tom Plant. "We know Coloradans are eager to show the state's leadership when it comes to saving energy, cutting pollution and improving the country's energy independence. These new opportunities will help us set the pace."

Initial schedules and descriptions of the upcoming grants are available at the GEO's website, at www.colorado.gov/energy. A window on the home page links to the latest information on grant opportunities, which begin rolling out in January and continue into the summer. Those interested in closely following the rollout of grant opportunities should check the GEO's website and sign up for the GEO's e-newsletter.

The initial set of grant opportunities now posted includes six requests for applications in the following categories (the total dollar amount available in each category follows in parentheses):

• Energy efficiency in historic buildings ($150,000): This grant provides funding for efficiency and renewable energy projects on historic building sites.
  
  
• New Energy Economic Development (NEED) grants ($3 million): These grants provide funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in commercial and industrial settings, as well as for supporting various programs promoting new energy work in residential settings.
  
  
• LEED for existing buildings certification grant ($115,000): This grant supports efforts by state colleges and universities to create green building certification programs for students.
  
  
• Energy efficiency expansion and training grants ($250,000): This grant provides funding to local businesses and non-profits that provide residential energy efficiency services. Grant dollars would help the organizations expand their work and aid with new employee training costs.
  
  
• Innovation funding for energy efficiency grants ($150,000): This grant is intended to provide funding to local businesses to assist with the costs of bringing new residential energy efficiency products or services to market.
  
  
• Compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicle fuel infrastructure (approx. $1 million): This grant will provide funding for the retrofit of existing private fleet yards or public retail stations to include compressed natural gas in their fuel selection. The grant offers up to $675,000 for the city of Rifle and surrounding area and $288,000 for areas outside the Rifle region.
  
  

The GEO plans on holding a webinar for each grant solicitation approximately one week after the official posting date. The webinars will provide a critical opportunity for interested parties to ask questions about each grant, though GEO personnel will be unable to comment on specific project proposals. More inforrmation about the webinars is available on the GEO website.

Beginning in the spring, the GEO will also be offering numerous rebates to help Coloradans eager to cut their utility bills. The GEO will offer many ways for people to participate, including rebates for home appliances, solar power and energy audits of homes and businesses. More information on rebate programs will be forthcoming in the coming weeks.

The grants are funded through part of the $145 million in federal Recovery Act funds provided to the GEO to help create jobs, strengthen our New Energy Economy and build energy security in Colorado. Additional new energy dollars from the Recovery Act have been directly allocated by the U.S. Department of Energy to many cities, counties, institutions and businesses in Colorado.