Awardees include local governments, school districts, residential communities, a medical campus, and a wastewater treatment facility.
“Geothermal energy - the heat beneath our feet - is a clean energy option that will help save Coloradans money and protect our state for future generations. I am thrilled to announce this $14.4 million investment in advancing geothermal energy across our state and empower companies to harness the heat beneath our feet,” said Colorado Governor Polis.
CEO made a total of 11 awards through the GEGP program and five through GETCO. Some projects qualified for both incentives based on project eligibility. This round of GEGP provided grants for single-structure geothermal, thermal energy network studies, and thermal energy network construction projects. GETCO recipients receive a refundable tax credit reservation that can be deducted from their income tax liability. Cycle two of GETCO provided tax credit reservations for geothermal electricity or thermal energy network studies and project installations.
The awarded projects include a broad range of ways to utilize geothermal energy. For example, the City and County of Denver will use its GETCO award to study the creation of a cutting-edge, multisource district thermal system that provides heating and cooling through a shared water loop for 5.5 million square feet of municipal buildings.
"The downtown thermal network pilot project is a key step toward a carbon-free downtown Denver,” said Liz Babcock, Executive Director of Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency.
Liberty School District J-4 will apply its funding to install a geothermal energy network for two buildings at Liberty School. This will replace a 60-year-old hydronic heating system with three cost-efficient heat pumps that will add cooling, improve ventilation, and enhance indoor air quality for better occupant health and comfort.
“Liberty School District J-4 extends its heartfelt gratitude to the Colorado Energy Office for their invaluable support in funding a new geothermal heating and air conditioning system for our K-12 facility,” said Liberty School District J4 superintendent Rhonda Puckett.
This announcement marks the second round of funding for GEGP and GETCO. For the first cycle of GETCO, SIMCOE LLC received a tax credit reservation of $1 million for the Florida Mesa Geothermal Project to support the development of up to 20 MW of geothermal electricity in Southwestern Colorado.
This funding will help SIMCOE LLC determine the heat source in the project location. The current application cycle for GETCO opened April 1 and will close June 30. GETCO applications will open twice annually through 2032 or until all $35 million in available tax credit reservations have been allocated.
