0

Clean Air Program (CAP) Grants

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
RFA rounds: Open July 9 - August 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM MT

Industrial production is among the top five leading contributors of emissions in the state. Colorado’s Clean Air Program provides grants for industry-related emission reduction projects that bring the State closer to its air pollutant emission reduction goals.

Clean Air Program grants offset the direct costs of purchasing industrial air pollutant emission reduction equipment at the site where air pollutant emissions are generated and released.

CEO offered technical assistance to help eligible facilities identify decarbonization opportunities.
Visit the CAP Technical Assistance Offering webpage to learn more about this initiative. 
Sign-up for Industrial Energy Program Updates

Webinar and Office Hours

The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) will host an informational webinar about the Clean Air Program's upcoming Request for Application round on July 16, 2025 at 1:00 PM MT. 
Register for the CAP informational webinar

Following the informational webinar, the Colorado Energy Office will host Office Hours at 1:00 PM MT each Wednesday during the application submission period.
Register for Office Hours

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 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/or utilization

Vista of Colorado's Lake Granby under a Cobalt Blue Sky

How to Apply

The  upcoming Request for Applications round will open on July 9, 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 are subject to change for this final application round.
View Previous Application Materials
 

Additional Resources

View 2024 Clean Air Program Report

Industrial facilities may also be eligible for funding support through the Colorado Industrial Tax Credit Offering (CITCO), but may not combine this funding with CAP.
Learn more about CITCO