Local IMPACT Accelerator
Supporting local policy adoption to foster community resilience and reduce emissions.
Funding Overview
Type: Grant
Eligibility: Local governments (cities, counties, and cohorts led by cities/counties) and Tribal governments.
Amount: $50M total; approximately $200,000/award for policy adoption and $1.8 million/award for implementation. The Colorado Energy Office may award smaller or larger amounts. See Program Guidance (coming soon) for additional details.
Match: 5% match (at least half must be cash, the rest may be in-kind). Low-income communities and Tribal governments may qualify for 0% match. See Program Guidance for details.
Application Rounds: First round open June 16 - August 1, 2025. An additional round will open this fall. See How to Apply for details.
Background
The Local Implementation, Mitigation, and Policy Action (Local IMPACT) Accelerator will provide a total $50 million in grants to support local governments with policy adoption to bolster local resilience, reduce emissions, and advance other state priorities, such as improved air quality. Funding for this program comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program.
The IMPACT Accelerator is designed to maximize emissions reductions by promoting policies that extend beyond state requirements in four categories: Buildings, Land Use, Transportation, Waste. Applicants can apply for funding to support policy adoption only or policy adoption and project implementation.
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Eligible Applicants
Local governments (cities, counties, and cohorts led by cities/counties) and Tribal governments.
Eligible Policies
The Accelerator will fund policy adoption in four sectors: buildings, land use, transportation and waste. Policy adoption funds are available for both policy advancement and project implementation.
Examples of eligible policies include:
- Buildings: Policies that adopt building energy codes that exceed the forthcoming Model Low Energy and Carbon Code (due statewide by July 2026), establish energy performance standards, and create energy efficiency incentives.
- Land Use: Policies that promote compact housing, parking management, EV charging, and clean energy or that discourage greenfield development.
- Transportation: Policies that encourage high quality active transportation infrastructure, transit prioritization, transportation demand management, and fee-based vehicle registration incentives.
- Waste: Policies that increase waste diversion, promote reuse, and help convert refuse trucks to zero-emission vehicles.
A comprehensive list of eligible policies and projects will be available in the Accelerator Program Guidance, posted online in early June 2025.
Note: Applicants must be able demonstrate local buy-in for policy adoption, such as a letter from City Council, County Commissioners, or a similar elected body.
Eligible Costs
Policy Funding
Policy funding may cover the costs to support, develop, or adopt one or more sector policies. Examples include:
- Stakeholder outreach, education, and facilitation
- Consultant support for technical analysis or policy development
- Studies that inform policy adoption
- Small pilot projects
Project Funding
Note: Applicants must apply for policy funding and cannot apply for project funding alone.
Project funding may cover the costs to implement or advance one or more sector policies. Examples include:
- Equipment purchases, rebate programs, or reduced fee programs
- Consultant support for project implementation
- Studies that inform project implementation
- Larger pilot projects
- Other incentives or similar efforts to increase policy impact
Generally, funding proposals for construction, staff, or projects with extended timelines will be considered less competitive.
How to Apply
There will be two application rounds in 2025. Applicants must first submit a Letter of Intent (LOI). Based on this LOI, the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) will provide feedback on the proposals as well as a “encouraged” or “discouraged” designation before applicants submit a full application. Applicants may not skip the LOI process.
CEO will post the full Accelerator program guidance on this page in early June 2025.
Key dates
Round 1:
- LOI: Open June 16 - August 1, 2025
- Full application: Open October 1 - November 5, 2025
- Awards announced: December 2025
Round 2:
- LOI: Open October 1 - November 17, 2025
- Full application: Open January 16 - February 18, 2026
- Awards announced: April 2026
Additional Resources
View Accelerator Program Overview
The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) also received CPRG funding for implementation grants. Jurisdictions in DRCOG territory may apply for both DRCOG and CEO funding. More details about apply to both programs will be available in the IMPACT Accelerator Program Guidance (coming soon).
Learn more about DRCOG funding