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January 2025

Greetings,

As the new administration embarks on a direction that poses great risk to climate action, we hope you will remember that much of the progress towards a clean energy economy happens at the state and local levels. Together, we can continue to take action that will advance our goals of building a cleaner and safer world. This month's edition gives examples. While things may look bleak, let's stick together and remember how much power we have when we work together.


Sunny regards,

Rebecca Cantwell 

for New Energy Colorado



Please forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues and let us know what else you would like to read about by emailing us here

2025: The Year of the Heat Pump in Colorado



Just as the mid-January polar vortex sent much of Colorado and the nation into a deep freeze, Xcel Energy announced natural gas prices were going up.


Production and demand for natural gas will drive higher prices, the state’s largest utility said, while declining to estimate the impact on customers.


I felt grateful that thanks to the electric air source heat pump I installed recently, the gas hike won’t spike my bills. Sure, I will use more electricity to keep my home warm, but I won’t be burning more of the polluting and unhealthy methane in a furnace anymore.


In Colorado this may be the year of the heat pump. The efficient appliances that use air to both heat and cool our homes and offices are coming into their own in cold climates like ours. Increasingly, they are recognized as a key tool for lowering emissions and cleaning our air. And several programs are converging to bring the prices down to levels affordable for more and more residents.


The first-ever Xcel Energy Clean Heat Plan, approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission last year, marked a major victory for clean energy advocates. Xcel started out wanting to promote hydrogen blending and other dangerous heating schemes. But regulators sided with advocates who argued heat pumps using much cleaner electricity, are the way to go. The plan allocates $440 million, much of which is being translated into new rebates.


As one of our sponsors Elephant Energy pointed out, Xcel has launched “bonus ‘’ rebates as part of the Clean Heat Plan, effectively tripling the rebates available for Colorado homeowners. Cold climate heat pump rebates are going from $750 per ton to $2,250 per heating ton. Rebates for heat pump water heaters are jumping from $800 to $2,250. Lower income customers can see even bigger rebates. And rebates for other energy efficiency measures are also increasing.


Also coming down the pike is the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG)’s $200 million Decarbonization plan, which is expected to make heat pump rebates available to more residents of metro Denver, and to make the appliances available for little cost to low-income residents as it launches this year.


Additionally, the city of Denver, the state of Colorado and other utilities have their own energy efficiency rebate programs, and the federal government offers tax credits for heat pumps and other energy efficiency measures.


All this can get confusing and complicated quickly. But two upcoming events will help you make sense of it all.


Our partners PSR Colorado – Physicians for Social Responsibility are holding a webinar Jan. 23 explaining “How Colorado Won a REAL Clean Heat Plan.’’ You can learn more about the new rebates on the webinar: PSR Colorado's upcoming webinar "How Colorado Won a REAL Clean Heat Plan"


Then, New Energy Colorado is sponsoring a heat pump panel Sat. Feb. 8 where you can talk to neighbors who installed heat pumps about how they chose a contractor, how they decided what equipment to buy, and other key considerations. See the flyer below for all the details and invite your friends!

Here are some links to help you find rebates and tax credits for home efficiency:


Information on tax incentives for electric vehicles:



Colorado Develops Three New Green Building Codes


By Tracey Bernett


A 2022 law that required Colorado to develop building codes designed to save energy is coming into play as communities adopt new codes. Building codes are a critical tool for improving the energy efficiency of residential and commercial structures over time.

Under the law, a Building Energy Code Board was created, with members appointed from a wide range of interests to develop these codes:



1.     A model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code

New homes and commercial buildings must follow the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), saving owners significant money on utility bills by improving the building’s energy efficiency. The code also requires new homes and buildings to be ready for electric vehicles, rooftop solar and high efficiency electric appliances so homeowners avoid costly renovations and electrical rewiring when making these changes later. The code also has requirements for EV-ready parking spaces in multifamily buildings. A companion law passed in 2023 expands on requirements for electric vehicle parking and charging. Cities and counties with building codes must adopt this code when adopting or updating any building code until June 30,2026.


2.     A model Low Energy and Carbon Code

 The code has three goals:

1) Minimize overall carbon dioxide emissions associated with new and

renovated homes and commercial buildings

2) Maintain housing affordability and

3) Provide compliance pathways for both all-electric and mixed fuel (for example, gas and electric appliances) buildings.

By law, the code must be developed no later than July 1, 2025. Cities and counties with building codes must adopt these elements when they update any other building codes after July 1, 2026. This code adopts 2024 IECC codes and appendices as amended by Colorado’s Energy Code Board.


3. Voluntary Green Code

Additionally, the Colorado Energy Office was tasked with developing a voluntary Green Code which was recently finished.

The Green Code goes beyond the mandatory codes and specifies optional additional requirements that communities can adopt. The code addresses both buildings and building sites, including energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, occupant comfort and health, sustainable and regenerative materials cycles (i.e., embodied carbon), water conservation and enhanced building quality. The draft Green Code was published in November 2024. 



Learn more: Building Energy Codes and Toolkit | Colorado Energy Office

Planning for More Electrical Devices on the Grid


As residents buy electric cars, install solar panels and swap gas furnaces for heat pumps, the demands on the electrical grid are growing, Many of the new choices will require upgrades on the distribution grid, which connects individual homes to the larger electrical system.


Xcel Energy’s new Distribution System Plan, released in December, lays out the utility's plan for the next five years. It will be the subject of lengthy debate before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in coming months before it is finalized.


According to Xcel, the plan takes “a new, customer-centric approach to forecasting that considers both historical trends and future technology adoption likelihood at the individual customer level to determine when and where to reinforce the grid. In doing so, this DSP will build out a local grid to enable vehicle electrification, building electrification, and distributed generation and storage, while at the same time delivering enhanced reliability, resiliency, and safety benefits.’’


The need for better planning and upgrades is clear based on the numbers. Xcel says it now has 100,000 Colorado solar PV systems, and more than 100,000 EVs in its service territory (compared to around 20,000 five years ago). Air Source heat pumps may need to grow to hundreds of thousands of installations by 2030 to achieve Colorado’s clean heat goals. Distributed energy storage is also expected to grow rapidly.



Xcel says it is planning for different scenarios in a manner that is ``more granular in evaluating the timing of needed investment and also more granular in assessing the place for needed investment, all while anticipating the future needs created by evolving energy policy objectives.’’


But major expansion of the grid to add capacity won't be cheap. Xcel estimates that distribution upgrades will cost about $7.5 billion over 5 years, of which roughly $2.1 billion will be spent to make the system less vulnerable to wildfires, Customers will be expected to pay most of the costs through rate increases.


More information: Xcel Energy-Colorado wants to spend $5 billion on distribution system


To read documents related to the plan:

Proceeding Detail

Upcoming Events


BCRES: Data Centers: The Colorado Context

7p.m. January 21 In-person event

Information here


JCRES: Ways to Reduce the Need for Battery Minerals

7p.m. January 23 Hybrid Event

Information here


Join Heart of the Building for the premiere of

A Journey to a Zero Carbon Home - Avenson Residence 

January 25th, 2025 5pm on Rocky Mountain PBS



NCRES: What’s New In Residential Solar & Storage

Tuesday, January 28 at 7:00 PM | In Person

Information here

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