The Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) is requesting applications to fund the purchase of low emission, commercial-grade, lawn and garden equipment to improve air quality in the Colorado ozone nonattainment area. The online application will be open continuously until funding is expended. Please visit mowdownpollution.org/commercial to complete the online application.
Program Goal: To aid in the expedited adoption of low emission lawn and garden equipment, the RAQC has funding available, through a grant from Noble Energy to help local/state public entities, schools, universities, and parks and recreation special districts in the Denver Metro/North Front Range ozone nonattainment area replace gasoline-powered equipment.
Funding: Approximately $120,000 is available for funding the replacement of gasoline-powered commercial lawn and garden equipment with battery or propane powered equipment. Applicants must apply for and be awarded funding before purchasing eligible equipment. Funding will be on a first-come-first-served basis with minimum awards of $1,000 and maximum awards up to $15,000. Grant funding will cover:
- Up to 50% off the purchase price of a battery electric hand held equipment, batteries, and chargers.
- *$500 towards the propane conversion of a commercial grade lawn mower
- **$2,000 towards the purchase of a battery-powered commercial grade lawn mower.
- **$1,000 towards the purchase of a propane powered commercial grade lawn mower.
*limit 4 propane conversions, per entity.
**limit 2 new mowers, of any kind, per entity.
Eligible Projects: The following types of equipment are eligible for funding through this program:
- New Commercial Grade Electric or Propane Lawn Mowers: Riding and Walk-behind
- New Commercial Grade Electric Hand Held Equipment: (Chainsaws, Blowers, Trimmers, Edgers, etc.)
- Propane Conversions to currently owned mowers
Eligible Entities: Public agencies within the Denver Metro/North Front Range 9-county ozone nonattainment area including:
- Local governments
- Schools and universities
- State agencies
- Parks and recreation special districts
- *Private contractors who are contracted to provide services for the above mentioned public entities
*verification required in the form of a letter of support from the contracting public entity
Timing: Fall 2017 – Fall 2018. This program will be open beginning Fall 2017 and will remain open until the end of 2018 or when funding is fully expended, whichever occurs first. The online application will be open continuously during this time until funding is expended.
Award Process: Applicants must apply for and be awarded funding before purchasing eligible equipment. Applications will be processed by the RAQC on a first-come, first-served basis until program funds are fully expended. Applicants will be notified by phone and email of their award. After being notified, awardees will receive a Purchase Order from the RAQC by email. The Purchase Order serves the following functions:
- Acts as a notice to proceed with purchasing the grant-funded equipment
- Denotes the maximum grant award for each requested piece of equipment
- Denotes the total grant award amount
Awardees may not purchase equipment before receiving the Purchase Order from the RAQC or they risk forfeiting their grant funding.
Reimbursement Process: Equipment must be delivered to and paid in full by the awardee before the awardee can seek reimbursement on their grant from the RAQC. Once this has occurred, the awardee will complete a reimbursement form and email it along with final invoices for the equipment and proof of payment to Kaylyn Bopp (kbopp@raqc.org). The final grant award amount will be based on the final invoices provided to the RAQC. Once this documentation has been submitted to the RAQC, reimbursement will be sent in the form of a check to the awardee within 30 days.
Reporting: This program is intended to help showcase the feasibility and durability of alternative fueled commercial grade lawn and garden equipment. Therefore, feedback on performance and lessons learned from grant recipients is a critical outcome to help promote and encourage widespread adoption within the region. All awarded applicants are required to complete an end-of-season questionnaire regarding equipment usage, operator experience, and equipment performance. Additional information and data may be requested as needed. The RAQC will send awarded applicants the questionnaire at the end of the summer in 2018 and 2019.
Additional Opportunities for Funding:
Up to $1,000 per mower is also available through the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) for new propane mowers and $500 per mower for propane conversions. For more information, visit: http://www.propane.com/commercial-landscape/programs-and-incentives/propane-mower-incentive-program/. This funding may be combined with RAQC grant funds.
Applicants may submit questions to Kaylyn Bopp at kbopp@raqc.org or 303.629.5450 x290.
Applicants are encouraged to use the Microsoft Word formatted version for preparation purposes only. All applications must be submitted online. Applicants should print the completed online application and keep a copy on file. The RAQC is not responsible for any lost applications. Please note, the online application will not allow applicants to paste tables or charts into text boxes. Please answer all questions in the narrative. If the applicant would like to display additional information in tables or charts, please upload the documents as attachments where permitted.