DRCOG oversight committee meets to begin implementing EPA-funded regional building decarbonization program

The Denver Regional Council of Governments convened its first Building Decarbonization Oversight Committee on Feb. 14 to begin implementing a regional program supported by federal funding to accelerate building electrification, workforce training and targeted assistance for low-income and disadvantaged communities.

The program is built around an EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant awarded to DRCOG and regional partners; DRCOG managing the effort said the transcript records the award as roughly $199 million and that the overall initiative could channel up to a billion dollars to Colorado over the next five years. Robert Spatz, DRCOG’s managing program lead for building decarbonization, told the committee that DRCOG is temporarily unable to draw grant funds and has “no communication with EPA for the moment” while a legal challenge plays out.

Why it matters: Buildings are the largest source of the region’s greenhouse gas emissions and shifting heating and cooking from fossil fuels to electric heat-pump technology is central to the program. DRCOG staff framed the initiative as a market-transformation effort that pairs rebates and no-cost upgrades for vulnerable households with contractor training, community engagement and coordinated local policy work.

Program components and targets DRCOG staff outlined five core work streams: a low-income/disadvantaged-community full-service retrofit program; a broad incentives and energy-advising program;…