Colorado’s Clean Air Program Grants
Funding to reduce industrial air pollution.
Funding Overview:
Type: Grant
For: Business & Industry, Government
Amount: $25 million
Match: Required
Program Length: 6 years, sunsetting June 30, 2028
RFA rounds: The final RFA round will open January 2, 2025
Industrial production is among the top five leading contributors of emissions in the state. Colorado’s Clean Air Program provides grants for emission reduction projects that bring the State closer to its air pollutant emission reduction goals.
Clean Air Program grants offsets the direct costs of purchasing industrial air pollutant emission reduction equipment at the site where air pollutant emissions are generated and released.
Looking for assistance identifying decarbonization opportunities at your facility? Head over to the CAP Technical Assistance Offering webpage to learn more about our dedicated technical assistance offering. Technical assistance can help an applicant meet the CAP grant application’s technical requirements for most project types.
For more information regarding CAP grants, please reach out to Libby Lee at elizabeth.r.lee@state.co.us.
Sign-up for updates on the Clean Air Program
Webinar and Office Hours
The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) will host an informational webinar about the Clean Air Program on January 8, 2025 at 1:00 PM MT.
Register for CAP informational webinar
CEO will also host office hours about the current Clean Air Program funding round. All office hours sessions are on Wednesdays, 1:00 - 2:00 PM MT.
Eligible Applicants
The following applicant types are eligible to apply for this grant:
Private Entities:
- Manufacturing operations (2022 NAICS code between 31-33)
- Cement plants
- Steel mills
- Mining & Quarrying (NAICS code 2121, 2122, 2123)
- Midstream Operators
- Refineries
- Meat packing plants
- Dairies
- Airline operations
- Drinking and wastewater treatment plants
- Landfill operators
- Abandoned coal mine sites
- Carbon management project developers
Local Governments: A statutory or home rule municipality, county, city and county, or special district
Tribal Governments
Public-Private Partnerships: A partnership between a local government and a private entity that engages in industrial and manufacturing operations.
As-a-Service Company: A third-party financing and ownership model in which the service provider purchases, installs, owns, and is responsible for the operation and maintenance of eligible decarbonization equipment at an End User’s facility. There is no asset or liability added to the End-User’s balance sheet, making the service payment similar to any other operating expenditure, such as a subscription payment.\
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPVs): A subsidiary created by a parent organization to manage financial risk. Operating independently, an SPV maintains its own assets, liabilities, and legal status.
Note: Local and Tribal governments may only apply for funding for air pollution reduction projects at drinking and wastewater treatment plants and landfills and for carbon management and methane capture & destruction projects.
Eligible Project Types
Clean Air Program funding is available for voluntary emissions reduction projects at eligible industrial facilities. Voluntary projects are projects that achieve emissions reductions beyond or before reductions required by applicable state and federal laws, regulations, or mandates.
Eligible project types include:
- Fossil fuel efficiency & fuel switching to lower carbon fuel sources
- Industrial process changes that reduce air pollutant emissions
- Converting fossil fuel-powered equipment/processes to an electric fuel source (i.e. strategic electrification)
- Where grid access is unavailable, converting to renewable energy. Projects must support strategic electrification or fulfill some or all processing heating requirements.
- Concentrated solar for process heating
- Carbon management projects; specifically, carbon capture from an industrial point source, carbon sequestration or storage, carbon utilization, and direct air capture
- Methane capture, destruction, and utilization
Additional project types may become eligible for CAP grants in the future.
How to Apply
The Clean Air Program will open its final Request for Applications round on January 2,2025. The Request for Application documents from the previous application round are linked below for reference. Please note that eligibility, award amounts, and other information is subject to change for this final application round.
View Round 3 RFA documents
Additional Resources
The Colorado Energy Office hosted an informational webinar about the Clean Air Program Grant RFA on September 11. It also hosted a formal Q&A period during the application round.
Watch the Webinar Recording
View Round 3 Q&A Responses
Colorado Energy Office has partnered with CLEAResult to provide technical assistance to industrial entities.
For more information, visit:
Clear Air Program Technical Assistance Program Page
Industrial facilities may also be eligible for funding support through:
Colorado Industrial Tax Credit Offering
