Across the Denver region, people want cleaner, healthier buildings, but everyday hurdles keep progress slow. Permitting requirements vary from place to place, contractors are often in high demand, and many buildings simply aren’t ready for new technologies. Rapid growth and a wide range of housing types add to that complexity, so what works in one neighborhood may not work as easily in another. State and local policies are building momentum for electrification, but they also add pressure for the people and organizations trying to move this work forward without a clear path for how to do it.
This makes now the right time to test new ideas and find creative solutions that help more communities take part in, and benefit from, the region’s transition to cleaner buildings.
Overview
The Innovation Pilot Program is a grant opportunity for businesses and organizations across the Denver region to design and test solutions that address barriers to reducing emissions from buildings. The program is built around ideas from the people and organizations closest to these challenges, helping ensure that solutions reflect local conditions, industry experience, and community needs.
Grant recipients will work closely with Power Ahead Colorado to identify what works, what does not, and why. Over time, these pilots are intended to surface practices that can be repeated, support models that can grow, and strengthen the region’s ability to advance equitable building decarbonization.
Program goals
The Innovation Pilot Program seeks to:
- Support community-led pilot projects that test new ways to electrify buildings.
- Identify lessons and ideas that can help shape future Power Ahead Colorado efforts.
- Focus on gaps in the market where promising approaches need support but no dedicated funding currently exists.
- Expand access to clean, efficient buildings, especially for communities facing financial or structural barriers.