Grant awards from $5,000 to $500,000 will fund energy efficiency projects at public wastewater treatment plants
information provided by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (December 14, 2019) — The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Energy has announced up to $1 million of grant funding available for energy efficiency upgrades at public wastewater treatment plants. Under the Wastewater Treatment Plant Energy Efficiency Program, grant awards ranging from $5,000 to $500,000 will aim to reduce energy usage for Illinois municipalities. This round of funding follows the initial awards which were announced in April 2019.
The grant program seeks to invest U.S. Department of Energy State Energy Program (SEP) funds in energy efficiency projects, some of which were identified by no-cost energy efficiency assessments also funded by the Office of Energy, that will result in the greatest energy cost savings for Illinois residents. As with the first cycle, grant applications will be ranked according to multiple factors, including the energy savings per dollar (granted/invested), the energy rate paid by the applicant facility, and the energy cost to treat one million gallons of water at the applicant facility. Application materials are available at Illinois EPA’s Office of Energy webpage. The application period closes at midnight on February 28, 2020.
“Energy saving projects from our first round of funding are being implemented in Fairfield, Sauget, Annawan, and Chicago, and will result in more than 6,000,000kWh and $400,000 of annual savings when completed,” said Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim. “We look forward to additional successes for Illinois municipalities through this second round of funding.”
The Illinois EPA Office of Energy strives to achieve energy equity by investing Department of Energy SEP funds in projects across the State that aim to reduce the energy burden, or the percentage of household income that goes toward energy costs, for Illinois residents. In addition to the Wastewater Treatment Plant Energy Efficiency Program, the Office of Energy has also invested in:
- Upgrading Energy Code Training and Technical Support
- Clean energy companies based in Illinois through the Illinois Clean Energy Innovation Fund
- Research and education on solar energy paired with energy storage at the SIU Carbondale campus
More information about Office of Energy programming, including the Wastewater Treatment Plant Energy Efficiency Program, is available by contacting the Office of Energy:
- On the web
- By phone: 217-785-8841
Additional information on the U.S. Department of Energy SEP is available at https://www.energy.gov/eere/wipo/state-energy-program.
