The federal government is sending $328 million to Colorado to fight climate pollution through projects that include limiting methane emissions from coal mines and retrofitting large buildings so they produce fewer climate-warming greenhouse gases.

The Colorado Energy Office will receive $129 million and the Denver Regional Council of Governments will get $199.7 million through grants awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency. The grants, part of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, were described as unprecedented during a Monday morning news conference.

In total, the EPA awarded $4.3 billion in grants across the United States on Monday in an effort to eliminate 970 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2050. That’s the equivalent of eliminating the emissions produced by 5 million homes over 25 years, said KC Becker, administrator for the EPA’s Region 8, which includes Colorado.

Projects funded by the two grants in Colorado are expected to eliminate 173 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

“Certainly it helps reduce greenhouse gasses, but it also helps build infrastructure and create a competitive economy that is ready for a clean energy future,” Becker said.

The Colorado Energy Office expects its programs to cut 4.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030 and 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2050.

The regional council’s projects are predicted to eliminate 6.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030 and 148.2 million metric tons by 2050.

“That’s the equivalent of removing 35 million cars off the roads for a year,” said Jeff Baker, chairman of the Denver Regional Council of Governments. “With that significant improvement in air quality, we will see major improvement in public health.”

Some details, such as how the money will be dispersed and exactly which projects will be funded, are yet to be worked out. The two agencies should come up with budget plans and start spending the money within a few months, Becker said.

Michael Ogletree, director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Air Pollution Control Division, on Monday talked about using aircraft to fly over decommissioned coal mines to detect methane leaks and then working with operators to either stop the leaks or find a use for the methane. He said the state will develop a “rigorous detection and response” program for methane emissions.

“Methane is one of the world’s most powerful greenhouse gases,” he said.

The goal is to reduce methane emissions from coal mines and landfills by 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030.

Baker, who also serves as an Arapahoe County commissioner, said some of the grant money will be used to pay for low-income families to upgrade their homes to be more energy efficient and for rebates for higher-income families to do the same in their homes.

The Colorado Energy Office also will use the money to fund upgrades in commercial buildings to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

“Buildings are one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize,” said Dominique Gomez, the energy office’s deputy director. “There’s a lot of investment needed to reduce emissions through efficiency.”

Colorado air regulators have been pushing the owners of large buildings to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide they produce by switching to electric heating and cooling systems and taking other energy efficiency measures. But they are receiving pushback. They have set a goal of reaching net-zero emissions from large buildings by 2050.

Earlier this year, four organizations that represent commercial real estate developers, hotels and apartment complexes sued the state and Denver over new rules that require them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by switching to electricity from natural gas. Those groups have argued that making the changes will increase rents and utility bills.

Gomez said she could not comment on pending litigation but added, “It always helps to have funding to do this work.”

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a priority in Colorado, where the northern Front Range is in violation of federal air quality standards. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides and fluorinated gases are the four ingredients in greenhouse gases that combine to trap heat below the atmosphere.

They cause health problems in humans, harm trees and other plants, and form brown smog on hot summer days.

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Originally Published: July 22, 2024 at 12:40 p.m.