Charge Ahead Colorado

Charge Ahead Colorado Grant

Funding for multifamily housing, businesses, governments, and communities to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Funding Overview:

Type: Grant
Eligibility: Businesses & Industry, Government & Public Institutions, Non-Profit Organizations, Workplaces, Multifamily Housing. See full eligibility in Application Guide.
Amount: Standard: Up to $250,000 per applicant, per round; Rolling: Up to six Level 2 ports per applicant. See Application Guide for award amount details.
Match: Minimum 20% required, reduced to 10% for qualifying entities
Program Length: Continuous
Application Rounds: Standard and Multifamily Housing Portfolio: Open January 13 through February 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM MT. Three standard application rounds annually in January, May, and September. Multifamily Housing Portfolio is a pilot; future rounds to be determined. Rolling: Open year-round for projects requesting six or fewer Level 2 charging ports.

Charge Ahead Colorado supports electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Colorado by providing grants for EV charging stations to serve communities and EV drivers across the state. The Charge Ahead Colorado grant provides funding for community-based Level 2 (L2) and direct current fast charging (DCFC) electric vehicle charging stations.

Please see the Application Guide for more information, including a full program overview and additional details and definitions regarding eligibility, incentive amounts, match requirements, accessible design requirements, and scoring criteria. Charge Ahead Colorado applicants must read the Application Guide in full prior to submitting an application.
View the Application Guide

For more information about Charge Ahead Colorado, contact Mika Burdette, mika.burdette@state.co.us.
Sign-up for updates on Charge Ahead Colorado

See How to Apply for instructions on how to submit an application.

Enhanced Incentives for Qualifying Entities

Enhanced incentives are available for income-qualified entities and for qualifying entities in disproportionately impacted communities. Documentation verifying eligibility is required.

Income-Qualified Enhanced Incentive

Applicants can qualify for the income-qualified (IQ) enhanced incentive if at least 50% of current or future tenants have a household income of 80% or less of the county’s Area Median Income (AMI), or through participation in established programs including:

Housing Choice (Section 8) Vouchers
Low Income Public Housing
HUD Subsidized Project Based Section 8
Low Income Housing Tax Credit
Multifamily Housing operated by a Housing Authority

Disproportionately Impacted Community Enhanced Incentive

To be eligible for the Disproportionately Impacted Community (DIC) Enhanced Incentive, the proposed project must be located in a disproportionately impacted community, as identified in Transportation Equity Screening Tool. Qualifying entities eligible for this incentive include:

Certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE), Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Small Business Enterprises (SBE), Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), Women Business Enterprises (WBE)
Community centers
Government agencies
Income-qualified multifamily housing
Libraries
Non-profit organizations
Places of worship
Schools (not-for-profit and public)
Tribal entities

Eligible Projects

All public, private, and non-profit entities interested in installing L2 or DCFC may apply. However, the Colorado Energy Office will prioritize the following applications:

Multifamily housing (including income-qualified and affordable housing)
Workplaces
Qualifying entities
Tourist destinations
Community charging

Funds may cover costs directly associated with the purchase and installation of EV charging equipment and infrastructure, as well as costs associated with the five year networking and three year warranty requirements for the program.

All applicants are required to incorporate accessible design features to qualify for funding.
View the Access Board’s EV Accessibility Guidelines

Please view the Application Guide for detailed information on eligible project types, incentive amounts, and match requirements.

Please Note: CEO will only reimburse eligible project costs incurred or contracted for after executing a grant agreement with the Colorado Energy Office. Charge Ahead Colorado will not fund retroactive projects. Fleet charging, deeded or assigned parking spaces, and single-family homes are not eligible for this grant funding. Applicants planning to request funding for fleet charging stations must instead apply through the Fleet-ZERO program.
Go to Fleet-ZERO Program

How to Apply

Charge Ahead Colorado has three standard application funding rounds per year - in January, May and September.

Eligible applicants can submit the Charge Ahead Colorado rolling application year-round on an ongoing basis if they are applying for six or fewer Level 2 charging ports. Any single organization is eligible for up to three awards per quarter through the rolling application. CEO reviews rolling applications monthly.

The Charge Ahead Colorado Multifamily Housing Portfolio Lane is a new pilot application offering that is open during the January 2025 standard application funding round. Future Multifamily Housing Portfolio funding rounds are to be determined.

All Charge Ahead Colorado applications must be submitted online through the application portal. Applicants must create an account in the online portal to submit an application.
Apply Here - Online Application Portal

For preparation purposes, Word formatted versions of the standard, multifamily housing portfolio, and rolling application are available for download:

Please Note: There is a 3,000 character limit and a minimum word count of 150 words per question. Applicants cannot edit or update their application once submitted. Applicants are strongly encouraged to prepare their responses using the Word formatted applications above, and then copy and paste their responses into the online application portal. CEO will not accept hard copy applications or applications submitted via email.

Schedule:

January 2025 application period opens (Standard and Multifamily): January 13, 2025
Question submission deadline: January 21, 2025, 5:00 PM MT
Q & A responses posted: January 24, 2025, 5:00 PM MT
January application deadline: February 14, 2025, 5:00 PM MT
Award notifications: Estimated March 2025

Informational Webinar and Q&A Period

CEO will host an informational webinar on the Charge Ahead Colorado grant program on January 14, 2025 at 4:30 PM MT. This webinar is a joint effort with ReCharge Colorado coaches to answer questions about the program and the application process, as well as provide information about the pilot lane.
Register for Charge Ahead Colorado Informational Webinar

During the first week of every standard and multifamily housing portfolio application round, CEO hosts a formal Q&A period.
Submit Q&A Questions

CEO will post public responses to all submitted questions by 5:00 PM MT on the Friday after each Q&A period closes. Responses will be available in the folder linked below, which also includes responses from previous Q&A periods.
View Charge Ahead Colorado Q&A Responses

Additional Resources

CEO encourages applicants requesting funding for large-scale projects (e.g., 4+ DCFC, more than 30 L2 ports, etc.) to reach out to Colorado Energy Office staff or participate in via Office Hours prior to application submission.
Sign up for Office Hours

Local ReCharge coaches are also available to advise qualifying entities on appropriate project scale, location, and power levels prior to applying for funding.
Go to ReCharge Coaches

Charge Ahead Colorado does not have preferred or qualified vendors though vendors must meet minimum Reporting Requirements as identified in the Application Guide. Vendors that have participated in CEO’s vendor training can be found on the CEO Trained Vendor List.
View CEO Trained Vendor List

If you are a vendor that would like to be added to CEO’s Trained Vendor List and can meet the program's minimum requirements per the Application Guide, please fill out the CEO Vendor Agreement & Questionnaire.

Cooperative and municipal utilities interested in rebates for their customers to upgrade electric panels and wiring in residential homes should view the Electric Vehicle Home Charge (EVHC) program
Go to EV Home Charge Program