en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Colorado Energy Office, through its "Local IMPACT Accelerator" program, has distributed a total of $51.7 million in grants to local governments across the state, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "Climate Pollution Reduction Grants" program. These funds cover four policy areas: buildings, land use, transportation, and waste. Building-related projects must exceed Colorado's Model Low-Energy and Carbon Code (MLECC), released in September 2025, which became the state's minimum energy standard on July 1, 2026.
Among all awarded projects, six local governments with codes stricter than the state's final requirements received approximately $16.1 million. The largest single grant, $4,024,750, was awarded to a consortium of ten jurisdictions led by the City of Aspen. This group is developing a shared advanced building energy code that requires or incentivizes new buildings to be fully electric and powered by renewable energy. Funds will be used for code development, regional workforce training, and incentives for affordable housing and low-income residents. Fort Collins received $3,838,615 to adopt building performance standard policies and a standalone street safety plan, with a portion of the funds designated for technical assistance to help under-resourced building owners achieve compliance.
The remaining grants were awarded to smaller mountain towns. Telluride received $2,196,250 to develop new building energy performance standards for commercial and municipal properties, as the town considers buildings its largest source of emissions. Ridgway utilized $1,334,800 to adopt an all-electric code for new buildings. Steamboat Springs received $2,705,000, which will support zoning policies for accessory dwelling units, combined with geothermal system design efforts and municipal facility decarbonization upgrades.
Because the grant requires participating jurisdictions to exceed the statewide MLECC baseline, communities retain substantial discretion over the stringency and methods of further advancement, including all-electric mandates, performance standards, or incentive-based building requirements. Building owners and developers operating in multiple Colorado jurisdictions should anticipate significant differences between the codes adopted by the Aspen consortium and Fort Collins, and the statewide MLECC baseline.
