Clean Air Program (CAP) Grants

Eligible applicants

• Private entities: Manufacturing operations (2022 NAICS code between 31-33), cement plants, steel mills, energy producers & mining operations (2022 NAICS code 21), refineries, meat packing plants, dairies, airline operations, wastewater treatment plants, landfill operators, abandoned coal mine sites
• Local governments: A statutory or home rule municipality, county, city and county, or special district
• Public-private partnerships: A partnership between a local government and a private entity that engages in industrial and manufacturing operations

Eligible project costs & types

Funds will be used for costs directly associated with the purchase and installation of air pollutant emission reduction projects at the site where air pollutant emissions are being generated and released (Scope 1 emissions). Additionally, project costs associated with direct air capture and producing or utilizing sustainable aviation fuel or clean hydrogen may be deemed eligible. 
 

Eligible project types for the first RFA round will 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, renewable energy projects supporting strategic electrification or fulfilling some or all processing heating requirements

In the future, the following project types may become eligible for CAP grants:

• Transportation electrification projects
• Projects involving carbon capture at industrial facilities and direct air carbon capture projects
• Methane capture from landfills, sewage treatment plants, active or inactive coal mines, or agricultural operations
• Projects producing or utilizing sustainable aviation fuel
• Projects producing or utilizing clean hydrogen: Green hydrogen projects via electrolysis powered entirely by renewable energy will be prioritized over clean hydrogen projects utilizing any other clean hydrogen production technology. Other clean hydrogen projects, if awarded, must comply with section 42 U.S.C. sec. 16152 (1)

What is a voluntary project?

CAP considers a voluntary project to be a project submitted by an applicant who, at the time of application submission and award determination, is not subject to applicable state or federal air pollutant or energy reduction law(s), regulation(s) or legally binding mandate(s) that require the applicant to undertake reductions at or above the levels estimated to be achieved through the proposed project. In the event that an applicant is subject to any such requirements, the applicant is required to demonstrate all resulting air pollutant and/or energy reduction benefits are in excess of existing reduction or efficiency requirements, or that the reductions will occur at least one year before the requirements mandate.

Note: CAP reserves the right to make final determinations as to whether a project's additionality requirements have been satisfied

Total grant funding amounts

CEO is making a total of $25 million in project funding available to eligible entities. Each funding round may outline a specific amount of funding available to applicants during that Request for Applications (RFA) cycle. 

Minimum funding awards per application are initially set at $100,000

Maximum funding awards per application may be RFA cycle-specific

Match 

All applicants will be subject to a cash match requirement. Cash match requirements are subject to change each funding round and may be project and/or applicant-type specific.

How

Applicants who meet program criteria and eligibility requirements will submit applications and all required supporting documents to a dedicated email address. 

When

CAP expects the first RFA Cycle to open in Spring 2023.

To be determined.

To be determined.