Lighting
The Foundation's indoor lighting programs have assisted 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 3,700 buildings have been upgraded, leading to electricity demand savings of over 105 megawatts. An additional 20 megawatts was saved from the Foundation's LED Traffic Signal Upgrade Program. The energy saving investments of Foundation grantees have reduced reliance on purchased power from the grid's electric generating plants.
Lighting Upgrade Program Priorities
In 2012, the Foundation will support lighting upgrade opportunities in the following nonprofit and local government sectors:
- Government Buildings
- Non-Profit Community Centers
- Non-Profit Community Care Providers
- Applicants Not Eligible for Funding under Illinois Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS)
| Application Deadlines: | Applications are due March 13, or September 13, 2012. |
Review Process: | The Foundation evaluates Full Proposals against program funding criteria. Within two months of the above deadlines, the Foundation's Board of Trustees will award grants to some or all applicants. The Foundation's review process is competitive. |
| Available Support: | Foundation lighting upgrade grants are awarded on a Dollar per Kilowatt of Electricity Demand Reduced. The EEPS Ineligible Program awards grants at the lighting incentive levels provided by Ameren and ComEd. Grantees can leverage other funding sources including, but not limited to, utility programs from Ameren, ComEd and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. In no case will the Foundation provide funding in excess of the total project cost inclusive of funding from utilities and/or government agencies. |
| Program Criteria: | See Program Criteria under each individual lighting program description. |
Innovative Energy Efficient Lighting
Applications due January 19, 2012 or July 19, 2012
The Foundation will also entertain a limited number of funding requests to install Innovative Energy Efficient Lighting systems not yet widely adopted in Illinois to demonstrate those systems' effectiveness in facilities common to Illinois. These systems can be active or passive and generally would not be implemented as part of a "standard" lighting upgrade project under the Foundation's lighting program priorities. "Standard" upgrade projects typically replace T-12 lamps with lower wattage T-8 or T-5 lamps. Though energy efficient, such bulbs are market accepted and would not be considered innovative. Innovative lighting systems would raise the performance bar significantly. Requests for innovative lighting are limited to indoor building systems. The Foundation will not consider outdoor lighting system requests.