Illinois EPA Office of Energy Releases 1st Round Funding for Energy Efficiency Upgrades at Public Water Supply Treatment Plants

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has announced $750,000 of grant funding available for the development and completion of energy efficiency projects at public water supply (PWS) facilities, commonly referred to as drinking water treatment plants (DWTP).

The grant program seeks to invest U.S. Department of Energy Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds in publicly owned PWS in the State of Illinois. The grants will enable units of local government to make energy efficiency upgrades to water equipment identified by previous energy audits, in some cases from audits provided at no-cost by the Illinois EPA Office of Energy. The funded projects will reduce the amount of energy consumed by water treatment operations, thereby reducing energy costs. Grant applications will undergo a comprehensive, merit-based review. Scoring factors will include cost effectiveness, energy cost impact savings, energy rate, and projects located in environmental justice areas of concern. Application materials are available on the Illinois EPA website. The application period closes at 5:00 pm on February 2, 2024.

"Illinois EPA has been fortunate to provide similar energy efficiency grants to wastewater treatment facilities in Illinois, and we are excited to able to expand funding to public water supply treatment facilities," said Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim. "We look forward to investing in energy efficiency upgrades at systems that provide clean, dependable drinking water to Illinois residents."

The Illinois EPA Office of Energy is investing Department of Energy IIJA funds in projects across the State that focus on energy efficiency, resiliency, and clean energy technologies specifically in areas of environmental justice concern. In addition, Illinois EPA works with the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) to help municipalities save energy and reduce the cost of supplying public water and wastewater treatment through no-cost energy usage assessments from SEDAC and ISTC. For more information, visit the Illinois EPA's webpage on Public Water Infrastructure Energy Assessments.

For more information about other Office of Energy programming, including the Public Water Supply Energy Efficiency Grant Program (EEPWS), please visit: https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/energy.html or call 217-785-8841.