What you need to know about Denver in 5 min.

Become a member and be a better Denverite every day.

Become a member and be a better Denverite every day.

Become a member and be a better Denverite every day.

Become a member and be a better Denverite every day.

The rebates aim to offset the cost of home electrification by 80%.

Earth Day isn’t a holiday known for gift-giving, but Denver thinks this year should be a little different.

On April 22, the city plans to launch a rebate program to help residents purchase all sorts of products — e-bikes, solar panels, cold-climate heat pumps — meant to help them ditch fossil fuels. Johnathan Rogers, a renewable energy specialist with the City and County of Denver, said the incentives will be available to anyone who lives in Denver, but the program will be initially focused on home-energy upgrades.

“I would encourage people who are thinking about that furnace replacement or air conditioner replacement to take advantage of our program early, because these high incentive levels, they might not last forever,” Rogers said.

Here’s the full suite of incentives available later this month. Taken together, Rogers said they’re designed to offset the cost to “electrify” a home by 80%.

The biggest drawback is the price. Rogers said a heat pump installation can easily cost well over $10,000, making it prohibitive for most Denver families.

Rogers said full details on the e-bike and home energy rebates will soon be posted on the city website. He noted they will be offered as upfront discounts at the time of purchase, so Denver residents won’t need to fill out any forms and wait for money after the fact.

Funding for the program comes from a .25% sales tax Denver voters approved in 2020, which provides about $40 million a year to the city’s Climate Protection Fund. Rogers said the city plans to draw $3 million from the fund each year to finance the new rebate program.

One stated goal of the new sales tax was to advance environmental equity across the city. While the rebates are open to all Denverites regardless of income, Rogers said higher-value incentives will be available to non-profits like the Energy Resource Center, which already completes energy efficiency projects for low-income families.

Those additional resources could allow many families to electrify their homes for free, Rogers said.

The initial investment is meant to drive a market for electric heat pumps and contractors willing to install them. Rogers said the rebates could be adjusted over time, depending on whether they’re working to help people avoid installing natural gas furnaces and water heaters.

“Every single one of us needs to participate in the energy transition, and we need multiple tools and programs to do that,” Rogers said.

Denverite is powered by you. In these weird times, the local vigilance, the local context, the local flavor — it’s powered through your donations. If you’d miss Denverite if it disappeared tomorrow, donate today.

Denverite supporters have made the decision to financially support local journalism that matters to you. Ready to tell your networks why? Sharing our “About” page with your own personal comments could really help us out.

Denverite members have made the decision to financially support local journalism that matters to you. Ready to tell your networks why? Sharing our “About” page with your own personal comments could really help us out.