Funding for Clean Energy Projects
Are you seeking funding for a clean energy project that reduces GHG emissions?
The Colorado Carbon Fund is partnering with The Climate Trust to identify and evaluate proposals for clean energy projects that result in high quality greenhouse gas emissions reductions (also called "offsets"). Funding from the Colorado Carbon Fund is not a grant. We provide funding to selected projects by entering into a long term contract to pay competitive prices to purchase emissions reductions.
Funding for all projects has been provided by donations from private businesses, organizations, and individuals who wish to support quality, innovative Colorado-based projects which reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Offsets are purchased from selected projects and then retired by The Climate Trust on behalf of these donors to the Colorado Carbon Fund.
Project Requirements
- Local. Projects must take place within the state of Colorado, and can be either private or publicly-owned.
- Additional. Project developers must demonstrate that selling emission reductions to The Climate Trust somehow enables a project's implementation and that without the opportunity to sell the project’s emission reductions the project would not occur. See our additionality standard for more details.
- Energy. Projects must reduce emissions through energy-related measures such as avoidance of methane emissions, switching to renewables, or making efficiency improvements. The Colorado Carbon Fund is not currently accepting sequestration project proposals.
- Direct. Projects must reduce emissions of one or more of the six greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulphur hexafluoride). Project must reduce emissions at the site where they are implemented by reducing or displacing the use of fossil fuels. Projects must demonstrate clear ownership of the emissions reductions, therefore projects that reduce or displace grid electricity are not considered because they result in indirect emission reductions which may cause ownership and double counting concerns.
- Scale. Projects must reduce at least 40,000 metric tons of CO2-equivalents over the contract term. Similar project types can be aggregated to meet the size requirement. For information and guidance on calculating emission reductions go to the baseline page. Also see the Quick Start Guide for examples of this scale of reductions.
- New. Projects must not yet be implemented and will not be implemented until after an Emission Reduction Purchase Agreement is executed.
Preferences for Project Acquisition
The Colorado Carbon Fund is interested in receiving a variety of innovative and viable proposals for emission reduction projects, but has a preference for:
- Anaerobic digestion projects
- Biomass projects
- Commercial solar hot water heater installations
- Energy efficiency projects with direct emissions reductions, such as cogeneration
- Transportation-related projects
- Project contract terms of less than 15 years
At this time, we are not considering any projects with emissions reductions related to reducing or displacing the use of grid-tied electricity, or any type of biologicial or terrestrial sequestration projects (such as low or no-till farming practices, reforestation or CO2 injection or storage). However, the Colorado Carbon Fund may seek additional project types in future years.
The Colorado Carbon Fund is a program of the Governor's Energy Office. If your clean energy project is seeking funding but doesn't meet criteria for this program, please visit www.Colorado.gov/energy for details on other possible funding sources available from the state.
Our Process
Step 1: Submit an initial proposal using our Offset Project Proposal Form. In this three-page form, project developers request an
amount of funding, and quantify the project’s greenhouse gas reductions. There is no deadline for submitting project proposals; the first proposals received,
however, are the most likely to be funded.
Step 2: Pending approval, submit a detailed proposal. In this formal proposal, project
developers describe the project’s timeline, financing, and major risks, and attach a Pro Forma. The Climate Trust may enter into a non-disclosure agreement with the project developer at this stage in the process.
Step 3: Negotiate a contract. For projects that pass our due diligence, an Emission
Reduction Purchase Agreement will be negotiated with project developers. This contract vehicle
establishes such key terms as ownership of the project’s emission reductions, price, the timing
of the payment, and provisions in case the project underperforms.
Related Pages
- Offset Project Proposal Form
- Additionality Standard
- Guidance for Developing a Baseline
- The Quick Start Guide to Submitting Offset Project Proposals to the Colorado Carbon Fund
Questions?
Contact Monica Thilges at The Climate Trust (mthilges@climatetrust.org)
(This information was updated in May 2009)