The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was the first recipient of an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Large Customer grant.  The University received over $848,000 to spend on campus-wide energy conservation projects. The project will save the University more than $1 million each year in energy costs. The ARRA grant was administered by the Illinois Energy Office in the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has a program called the Illinois Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPs) that provides incentives and/or funding for projects that promote energy efficiency in local, state, and federal government facilities; public schools; community colleges; public universities; and colleges.

ICECF provided a grant to install solar thermal heating for the Veterinary Medicine buildings.  It was later cancelled when the EPC project there determined it was not the appropriate course to take for water heating at that facility.

The University of Illinois applied in 2005 to the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation's Renewable Energy Grant Program for assistance with funding an on-campus wind farm.  The original grant proposal was to install three utility-scale 1.5 MW Wind Turbine Generators on Campus South Farms.  The total project cost was estimated as $5.7M, and the funding request from ICECF was for $2M in support of the three-turbine project.  ICECF was extremely supportive of our campus' efforts to create a one-of-a-kind on-campus utility-scale wind farm.

The Foundation's lighting programs continue to assist Illinois communities improve lighting quality and lower utility bills by the simple act of replacing old light fixtures with high efficiency bulbs and ballasts. Over 4,000 buildings have been upgraded, leading to electricity demand savings of over 130 megawatts.

For 2014, the Foundation is introducing a new incentive and format methodology for Energy Efficiency Lighting Grants.

The new format and incentive structure provides:

The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation was independently founded in 1999 with an endowment of $225 million from Commonwealth Edison. The foundation’s mission is to “improve energy efficiency, advance the development of renewable energy resources and protect natural areas for people in communities all across Illinois.” So far ICECF has awarded more than 3,900 grants to nonprofit organizations, schools, municipalities, and other local and state government agencies.

The University will establish a dedicated, centrally coordinated funding pool for energy conservation projects within the next three years. This “clean energy” fund will allow for both internal (student fees, faculty contributions, staff contributions, energy savings reinvestment, capital programs), and external (programs, rebates, donations, outside investors) participation. It will be established as a capital infusion and coordination mechanism aimed at physical energy and energy cost reductions that also allows for the sustained maintenance of these investments.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is a major grant source for energy reduction projects.

http://www.commerce.state.il.us/dceo/Bureaus/Energy_Recycling/

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a not-for-profit public university, and it is eligible for a number of sustainability related grants.  Through the diligence of professional staff and comprehensive records management, this campus regularly seeks and receives grant awards in support of our programs.  We are very grateful to all the grant programs that have awarded funding, and we look forward to continued partnership over the next decades.

One of the current steps in the system for the disposal of durable goods is transfer of such goods within University departments. This is a positive action, from a sustainability standpoint, since it allows for reuse of goods with little transportation emissions.

Part of the 2010 iCAP strategies related to Purchasing/ Waste/ Recycling was to improve internal reuse policies. The University is working to improve such policies, which includes increasing department-to-department durable good transfers.