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Holy Cross Energy grant opportunities available

Staff report

Holy Cross Energy (HCE) is making $90,000 available to local stakeholders to be used for electric infrastructure upgrade costs associated with providing Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to the public.

The state of Colorado is rapidly emerging as a leader in the EV market. According to the ZEV Sales Dashboard, as of August 2017 there were 11,238 EVs in Colorado, but there are still barriers to the adoption of EVs. Lack of public charging has been cited a major barrier to greater adoption.

As part of the national Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Settlement, the state of Colorado will receive $68.7 million, and those funds will be used to incentivize the purchase of low-emission vehicles and for the development of EV charging infrastructure.



“Unfortunately, the communities served by HCE were not included in the Volkswagen Electrify America plan for Colorado,” according to a news release from the Glenwood Springs-based electric cooperative. “HCE believes in the use of EVs and the significant air quality benefits that they will provide to our communities.”

So HCE is offering $90,000 to be used to upgrade the electric infrastructure needed to provide DCFC public charging to local municipalities and stakeholders within our territory.



“We plan to partner with at least six stakeholders to help them install fast chargers at ideal locations to create a local fast-charging network for those both living in and visiting Western Colorado,” according to the release.

Commercial grant apps due Tuesday

Holy Cross Energy also announces its 2018 Think Efficiency grant program, offering $500,000 in matching grant funds for commercial HCE customers to carry out electric energy efficiency projects by Aug. 31, 2019.

Grant applications are due by Tuesday, July 31.

The matching grants can cover up to 50 percent of project costs for businesses and up to 75 percent of project costs for charitable organizations who own their building or have a lease extending for at least two years.

A project can be a bundle of electricity-saving measures at one or more facilities owned by the same entity or can be a single upgrade project. Projects must be efficiency retrofits in existing buildings; new construction is not eligible.

Think Efficiency grants are offered in lieu of standard commercial efficiency rebates offered by HCE. Projects are still eligible for additional funding from organizations such as Energy Smart Colorado.

Funding will be divided between small- to medium-size electricity users and large users. Small to medium size users are defined as those businesses that spend $80,000 or less on HCE provided electricity each year.

A total of $200,000 in grants is available to these businesses with a maximum of $40,000 awarded to any one business. Large users are those businesses that spend more than $80,000 a year on electricity; $300,000 in funding is available to these businesses with a maximum of $100,000 granted.

Commercial customers must apply for grant funding by July 31, and projects awarded grant funds must be completed by Aug. 31, 2019.


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