LIGHTING UPGRADES

The Foundation's seven indoor lighting programs have assisted schools, libraries, child care centers, park districts, colleges & universities, county historic courthouses, and public safety facilities in hundreds of communities throughout Illinois embrace cleaner energy and lowered utility bills by the simple act of replacing old lights with high efficiency light bulbs and controls. The Foundation’s indoor lighting programs for K-12 Schools, Park Districts and Public Libraries ended in 2007. In 2008, the Foundation launched new indoor lighting programs to upgrade lighting systems in public safety and historic county courthouses. The Foundation's only outdoor lighting program also ended in 2007. The LED Traffic Signal Programs provided municipalities higher quality, more energy efficient LED traffic signals at a lower cost to taxpayers. In 2009, lighting upgrades for child care centers and colleges/universities ended.

Every Foundation dollar granted to support lighting upgrades has leveraged nearly another dollar of energy efficiency investment from other sources.

Benefits of upgrading to efficient lighting systems:

  • Improved lighting quality
  • Reduced operating and maintenance expenses
  • Saved energy, leading to less pollution in Illinois communities


Current Lighting Upgrade Grant Opportunities

HISTORIC COUNTY COURTHOUSES

The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, with the support of the Illinois Association of County Board Members and Commissioners, encourages all counties that operate historic courthouses and public safety buildings to apply for funding through the Foundation’s Historic County Courthouse and Public Safety Lighting Upgrade Grant Program. Upgrading to energy efficient lighting saves energy, cuts operating costs and improves indoor lighting quality.

County courthouses designated as historic by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency or other government agency are eligible to apply for funding to pay for energy-saving upgrades to lamps, ballasts and/or controls in existing indoor lighting systems. Grants are up to $700 per kilowatt of electricity reduction in electricity demand that the lighting upgrade, as installed, yields. Grants will be limited to no more than $40,000 for any one historic courthouse building.

Lighting Upgrades bring improved lighting quality for courthouse employees and visitors while decreasing operating and maintenance expenses. The Foundation’s lighting upgrades save energy, help create cleaner Illinois communities, and serve as an energy efficiency model from which the community can learn.

County governments and 501(c)3 organizations that own and operate historic county courthouse buildings may apply for funding through this program.

You may download our 2010 Lighting Upgrade Grant Program for Historic County Courthouse Building Brochure and Application to learn about this new program. This program was developed with the encouragement and endorsement of the Illinois Association of County Board Members and Commissioners (IACBMC). Application forms may also be downloaded from the IACBM website: www.ilcounty.org. The application deadline is March 24, 2010.

If you have questions about this grant program, please contact Bob Romo at Illinois Clean Energy (312-372-5191), bromo@IllinoisCleanEnergy.org) or Kelly Murray at IACBM (217-528-5331), (iacbm@msn.com).
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PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES

The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, with the support of the Illinois Municipal League, encourage all municipalities that operate public safety buildings to apply for funding through the Foundation’s new 2008 Public Safety Lighting Upgrade Grant Program. Upgrading to energy efficient lighting saves energy, cuts operating costs and improves indoor lighting quality.

This is the Foundation’s second program developed with the encouragement and endorsement of IML. IML previously worked with Illinois Clean Energy to design the LED Traffic Signal lighting upgrade program to help overcome the higher up front costs of LED traffic signal bulbs.

Local government agencies (including municipalities, villages, townships, fire protection districts & county sheriffs) are eligible to apply for funding to pay for energy-saving upgrades to lamps, ballasts and/or controls in existing indoor lighting systems. Grants are up to $500 per kilowatt of electricity reduction in electricity demand that the lighting upgrade, as installed, yields. Grants will be limited to no more than $30,000 for any one public safety building and no more than $120,000 for any unit of local government.

Stand-alone public safety buildings such as fire and police stations are the most common type of public safety building. Multiple use buildings that provide public safety services along with other government services (e.g., city halls that house police departments) are eligible to apply for this program so long as public safety related functions comprise a minimum of 40% of total building square footage.

Lighting Upgrades bring improved lighting quality for public safety employees and visitors while decreasing operating and maintenance expenses. The Foundation’s lighting upgrades save energy, help create cleaner Illinois communities, and serve as an energy efficiency model from which the community can learn.

You may download our 2010 Lighting Upgrade Grant Program for Public Safety Building Brochure and Application to learn about this new program. This program was developed with the encouragement and endorsement of the Illinois Municipal League (IML). Application forms may also be downloaded from the IML website: www.iml.org. The application deadline is March 24, 2010.
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