Working in Colorado to advance energy efficiency improvements, beneficial electrification, and clean transportation solutions.
The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project’s (SWEEP) team in Colorado works to help the state and its communities harness the economic benefits of energy efficiency, electrification, and clean transportation programs, to provide cleaner air and a healthier climate, lower energy costs, and protection for its most vulnerable citizens. | COLORADO FACT SHEET
*Savings and benefits data preliminary as of spring 2024.
Our work in Colorado
Policy
SWEEP has helped make Colorado a regional climate and clean energy leader through the adoption of bold and innovative policies to cut energy waste, reduce emissions, lower utility bills, and advance equity. These include:
- An improved process to upgrade the electric grid to meet Colorado’s climate, reliability, and supply needs.
- Nation-leading gas utility “clean heat” plans that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from gas used in buildings and generate hundreds of millions of dollars for beneficial electrification and energy efficiency improvements.
- Updated building energy codes that assure new homes are more energy efficient, and capable of being heated and cooled with clean electric appliances, and wired for solar panels and electric vehicle (EV) charging.
- Clean transportation policies to spur electrification of the transportation system, provide unprecedented funding for transit and rail service across the state, and enable more affordable and abundant housing in Colorado’s cities in order to reduce transportation pollution and traffic congestion.
Resources and publications
StoryMap: Recalibrating Colorado's Transportation System
Recalibrating Colorado’s Transportation System
In 2025, Colorado will decide how to spend tens of billions of dollars in transportation funding over the next decade. This presents an important opportunity to better align our spending with our goals to save people money on transportation, reduce climate pollution, build vibrant and walkable communities, and increase safety and access to opportunity for everyone.
Getting on track will require Colorado to recalibrate its approach to transportation planning. Over the last 50 years, Colorado has spent the lion’s share of transportation dollars on expensive highway expansion projects and interchanges, fostering widespread dependence on cars – the most expensive, polluting, dangerous, and inefficient form of transportation. In recent years, Colorado has made modest progress in diversifying transportation options, but now is the time to accelerate the shift toward more affordable and efficient modes.
In reviewing CDOT’s project selection and funding allocation, it’s clear that our spending does not align with our goals. CDOT’s budget overprioritizes highway capacity projects while dedicating only a slim portion to expanding transportation options beyond driving. Instead, Colorado should adopt a more balanced strategy – dedicating 30% of transportation funding to projects that support non-driving modes, such as transit, biking, and walking, while reserving the remaining 70% for “fix-it-first” priorities that repair and maintain existing roads and bridges, and ensuring that infrastructure remains safe and functional.
2025 agenda
In 2025, SWEEP and its partners will be helping to advance a set of policies and programs to continue achieving progress in reducing climate emissions, while decreasing energy costs and health impacts for all Coloradans. These include:
- Launching new ways for residents and businesses to afford energy upgrades, including easy payment on their utility bills and instant rebates at their local retail stores.
- Ensuring gas utilities evaluate and consider cheaper and quicker options for helping customers meet their energy needs — such as energy efficiency — instead of building costly new fossil fuel investments that exacerbate the climate crisis.
- Updating the Colorado Department of Transportation’s 10-Year Plan, along with new state targets for transportation choices like transit, biking, and pedestrian projects, that reduce air and climate pollution and improve mobility.
- Leading on building decarbonization strategies to accelerate consumer adoption of heat pumps and train the workforce needed to install them.
Support Our Work
Supporting SWEEP’s work in Colorado allows us to help communities harness the economic advantages of better energy efficiency and clean transportation programs for a state with cleaner and healthier air, lower energy costs, and protection for its most climate vulnerable citizens.
