Colorado to start energy rebate program

Colorado to start energy rebate program
By Mark Jaffe
The Denver Post
POSTED: 04/07/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
UPDATED: 04/07/2010 01:51:03 AM MDT

The Governor's Energy Office is set to launch an $18 million rebate program for energy-efficient purchases such as appliances, insulation and solar-power systems.

The program is part of $300 million in economic-stimulus funding for states through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The program will open April 19, when a state call center and a Recharge Colorado website go into operation.

Rebates, which can be reserved for 10 to 30 days through the website or call center, will be issued on a first- come, first-served basis.

In states that have already started, the rebates ran out within days.

The $2.6 million Kansas program opened Jan. 19 and closed Jan. 28.

Rhode Island's $1 million program started March 25, and all the rebates were gone by the next day, according to federal Department of Energy data.

The Colorado website will keep track of available state rebates and other local or utility rebates that can also be used. It will also have information on products, tax breaks, contractors and suppliers.

"We want to be one-stop shopping for consumers," said Tom Plant, director of the Governor's Energy Office.

"You get a rebate for insulation and find a local contractor, and that keeps money in the community," Plant said.

Among the rebates for energy-efficient appliances being offered are $50 to $100 for refrigerators; $50 for a dishwasher; and $75 for a clothes washer.

Those rebates can be combined with other rebates.

"That's what the website will help with," Plant said.

Denver Water, for example, offers a $150 rebate for water-efficient clothes washers, and Xcel Energy offers rebates of $40 to $100 on water heaters.

"We think these are complimentary programs," said Peter Narog, Xcel's marketing manager for consumer energy efficiency.

Aurora is using $1 million to offer an added subsidy, doubling Xcel's rebate, said Karen Hancock, the city's environmental-program supervisor.

So for a high-performance water heater, an Aurora homeowner could get as much as a $200 state rebate, an $80 Xcel rebate and an $80 Aurora rebate.

"We're starting with $1 million, but if the program is really popular we'll set about additional funding," Hancock said.

Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com

Selected rebates

The Recharge Colorado program will offer a wide range of energy-efficiency-related rebates using $18 million in federal stimulus money beginning April 19:

Appliances

• Refrigerators $50 and $100 with proof the unit was previously recycled

• Gas condensing furnace $500

• Gas boiler $400

Residential efficiency

• Insulation 20 percent of cost up to $400

• Duct sealing 20 percent of cost up to $75

Renewable energy

• Solar hot water, up to $3,000

• Solar photovoltaic panels, $1.50 a watt for the first 3 kilowatts (those not eligible for Xcel or Black Hills Energy rebates)

• Small wind turbine, up to $1 per watt for first 15 kilowatts

Commercial

• Solar photovoltaic panels, $1.50 a watt up to first 10 kilowatts and small wind turbine up to $1 per watt for first 15 kilowatts