News

To improve air quality throughout the state of Colorado, today the RAQC reopened its ALT Fuels Colorado application round to continue incentivizing the replacement and scrappage of pre-2009 vehicles with fully Electric and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) fleet vehicles. These funds are available to all public, private, and non-profit fleets statewide within Colorado. Go to the program website for more information and to apply.

The RAQC is excited to announce the hiring of three new staff members! Sarah Clark joined the RAQC in March as Air Quality Program Coordinator and is managing the Charge Ahead Colorado program. In late-April, Jennifer Shriver joined the staff as Development Director, and Wayne Chuang joined as Air Quality Planner & Analyst. Welcome to the RAQC team!

The RAQC is looking to award their second round of Clean Air Champions! Aligning with its mission to “improve air quality and protect Colorado’s health, environment and economy,” the RAQC is looking to recognize entities (i.e., public, private and nonprofit organizations, local governments and municipalities, etc.) that demonstrate a commitment to improving air quality in our region. The RAQC has identified the following categories as being of interest:

• Diesel: The RAQC wants to recognize entities that are working towards reducing emissions from medium and heavy-duty diesel engines – both on and off road. Diesel engines emit nitrogen oxides (NOx) which contribute to the formation of ozone pollution. The Denver Metro / North Front Range needs to dramatically reduce these emissions in order to attain our air quality goals.
• Electrification: The RAQC wants to recognize entities that are working towards reducing emissions through supporting electrification efforts. Electrification is a critical strategy for reducing both pollutants that contribute to ozone pollution and climate change.
• Transit Outreach Options: The RAQC wants to recognize entities that are promoting programs and projects that encourage low/no emission transit options.

If you know of any entities you believe should be recognized for their efforts, or would like more information, please contact Jessica Ferko.

In an effort to keep interested stakeholders informed of current happenings with RAQC programs, partners, and air quality news and events, the RAQC created The Air Monitor quarterly e-newsletter. You can read the most current issue here and see all past issues here. If you are interested in subscribing to the newsletter, sign up here or contact Sara Goodwin.

Please join us for an Ozone Modeling Forum on April 14th from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm  to hear an update on our 2023 modeling efforts for future year planning.  Agenda and additional materials will be made available on the RAQC’s Modeling Forum event page.

Registration is required and can be completed using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvdeutqTMrGtTGhgHXppzTP1A5-Af0Tuf9

In an effort to keep interested stakeholders informed of current happenings with RAQC programs, partners, and air quality news and events, the RAQC created The Air Monitor quarterly e-newsletter. You can read the most current issue here. If you are interested in subscribing to the newsletter, sign up here or contact Sara Goodwin.

The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) has released a Request for Applications (RFA) to solicit proposals to develop and implement eBike deployment projects. As part of the State’s Can Do Colorado Community Challenge (CDCCC), this program seeks to increase access to eBikes for low-income essential workers while maximizing air quality benefits. Additional program objectives include piloting a variety of eBike distribution models including individual ownership and shared deployment, expanding eBike access in communities across the state, and laying a foundation for future scalability and replicability.

This project is being funded in partnership between CEO, City and County of Denver, and the RAQC for a total of approximately $560,000. For more information about the RFA, including documents and program updates, click here. General comments and inquiries may be sent to ebikes@state.co.us.

The RAQC is excited to announce that its session proposal, Thriving Communities Work Together to Improve Air Quality, has been selected as part of the program for the 2021 Colorado Municipal League (CML) Annual Conference. The objective of the RAQC’s session is to educate local governments and organizations about the grant funding and resources available to them from the RAQC and the importance of collaborative partnerships in creating thriving communities with improved air quality. 

CML received a record number of submissions for conference sessions and the RAQC’s “…topic was one of the best we (CML) received.” The conference will take place June 22 – 25, 2021, in Snowmass, Colo.