Colorado announces $7.7 million grant awards for 35 geothermal projects
Pagosa Springs, Colorado/ U.S. (source: flickr/ EmmaNoProblema.com)
Carlo Cariaga
27 May 2024
The Colorado Energy Office and Governor Jared Polis has announced $7.7 million in grants 35 innovative geothermal projects in the State of Colorado.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis and the Colorado Energy Office have announced $7.7 million in grant awards through the Geothermal Energy Grant Program for 35 innovative geothermal projects in the state. The list of projects cover a wide range of geothermal applications with the grants divided as such:
- Single-structure geothermal heat pump installations – $947,000
- Interconnected thermal energy networks between buildings – $3.57 million
- Geothermal electricity generation – $3.22 million
Awardees are expected to invest more than $100 million into the awarded projects to leverage the state investment. The full list of awardees can be accessed via this link.
The awarded projects reflect a broad diversity of geographies and technologies. Geothermal heating and cooling projects in urban areas include fire stations, university campuses, a recreation center, a science and technology hub, and mixed-use neighborhood developments.
The awardees include the City of Pueblo which will be receiving $270,000 in grant funding to install ground-source heat pumps for heating and cooling at three new, net-zero emissions fire stations. These fire stations will be located in majority black, indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) communities that are far away from existing emergency services. The project will help reduce insurance rates and improve emergency response time. It will also save taxpayers more than $28,000 in energy costs annually.
Projects in rural communities will explore thermal energy networks to enhance community resilience, support affordable housing development, upgrade snowmelt systems, and electrify a regional airport.
On this front will be the project Gradient Geothermal, which will receive a $100,000 award. The company will assess the feasibility of developing a thermal energy network in Pierce, Colorado that uses inactive oil wells as a direct heat source. The site also has potential for geothermal electricity generation. Projects of this nature can provide a new and more sustainable economic opportunity for communities transitioning away from fossil fuel production.
The University of Colorado (CU) Boulder will also receive $675,000 to conduct feasibility and design studies for two interrelated geothermal projects exploring the co-generation of geothermal electricity and heat. The Geothermal Community District Heating Detailed Design Study will study the application of a geothermal exchange system for heating and cooling. On the other hand, Geothermal Electricity Generation Scope Study Project will explore the availability and feasibility of using deep geothermal resources to generate heat and power for the campus.
CEO awarded several grants for geothermal electricity site studies and test wells in a bid to develop the first 35 MW of geothermal electricity in Colorado. One of these is the $1 million award to Geothermal Technologies Inc. (GTI) to develop a geothermal test well at the Longs Peak Dairy in Weld County, potentially generating 3 MW of clean electricity initially and more than 180 MW once the site reaches its full generation capacity.
CEO will open another round of funding for the Geothermal Energy Grant Program later this year. The Colorado Heat Pump Tax Credit and the competitive Geothermal Electricity Tax Credit Offering are also available to support the use of geothermal energy for heating and cooling, including thermal energy networks, and for electricity generation in Colorado.
Source: Colorado Energy Office and University of Colorado Boulder
