Colorado governor Jared Polis on Monday announced the state has been awarded $156 million in solar energy grants.
The award was through the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Solar for All” competition and was one of 60 grants announced by the federal agency on Earth Day.
“It’s exciting to receive this major funding to help more Coloradans save money with solar energy while creating a cleaner environment for future generations,” Polis said in a news release. “This award will help rapidly deploy more low-cost solar energy across Colorado. I want to thank the Biden Administration for this investment in Colorado.”
The $156 million was just a slice of the $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects announced Monday by U.S. President Joe Biden. The projects created from the funding will serve 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities.
The projects are expected to eventually reduce emissions nationwide by the equivalent of 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and save households $350 million annually, according to senior administration officials.
Colorado plans to use its funding on single- and multi-family rooftop solar and on community solar projects. The funding should help the state move closer toward its goal of 100% clean energy by 2040, Colorado officials said.
“We are grateful to the EPA for this funding, which will broaden access to solar power across the state,” Colorado Energy Office Executive Director Will Toor said in a news release. “Expanding access to rooftop and community solar energy will not only help us achieve our clean energy goals, but will also lower energy bills, and expand the use of solar energy for a wide variety of energy needs.”
The state already has other residential solar assistance programs, such as the Weatherization Assistance Program and Colorado’s Residential Energy Upgrade loan program, and the new “Solar for All” funding will complement these programs, officials said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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