The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (the “Department” or “DCEO”) is issuing this Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”) to provide pre-development funding opportunities to eligible contractors to support the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects benefitting businesses, community organizations, and the workforce in Illinois with a specific focus on historically disadvantaged communities.
Donor Name: Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
State: Illinois
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 12/31/2024
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 4 Years
Details:
The Equitable Energy Future Grant Program is designed to help remove barriers to project, community, and business development caused by lack of capital. 
The Equitable Energy Future Grant Program, established by Public Act 102-0662 (Section 5-60, subsection (d), is intended to provide grants of up to $1 million promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that will accomplish any or all the following: 

Provide benefits to low-income communities wherein at least 50% of projected energy produced or saved benefits low-income households or not-for-profit organizations providing services to low-income households, affordable housing owners, or community-based businesses providing services to low-income households; 
Invest in equity investment eligible communities
Provide on-the-job training; 
Support contractors who are participating in or have demonstrated an intent to participate in the Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program and the Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator Program (when operational); 
Employ a minimum of 51% of its workforce from graduates or current or former participants of the following Clean and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) and Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) workforce programs: the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program (when operational), the Illinois Climate Works Pre-apprenticeship Program (when operational, the Returning Residents Clean Jobs Training Program (when operational). 
Provide avenues of employment for the workforce training efforts for programs created by FEJA, including the Solar Training Pipeline Program and the Multi-cultural Jobs Program. 

Funding Information
Total amount of funding expected to be awarded through this NOFO is $25.5 million. Awards will range from $250,000 to $1,000,000.
Grant Period
4 Year.
Uses of Funds 
Grant funds may be used to support a wide array of pre-development activities to support the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, including:  

Planning and project development, including costs for professional services such as architecture, design, engineering, auditing, consulting, and developer services 
Application (e.g. Funding, Credentials, Agency Applications, Utility Applications etc.), deposit, and approval 
Purchasing and leasing of land 
Permitting and zoning 
Interconnection application costs and fees, studies, and expenses 
Equipment and supplies (for pre-development uses) 
Community outreach, marketing, and engagement 
Staff and operations expenses (for pre-development uses).

Eligibility Criteria

Equity Eligible Contractors (EEC) that can provide an Illinois Power Agency EEC certification. An EEC per the definition in the Illinois Power Agency Act, is defined as:

A business that is majority-owned by equity eligible persons.
A nonprofit or cooperative that is majority governed by equity eligible persons.
A natural person that is an equity eligible person offering personal services as an independent contractor.

An Illinois business or nonprofit or cooperative organization that meets the equity building criteria in paragraph (9.5) of subsection (g) of Section 8-103B of the Public Utilities Act.

To determine if an applicant meets the equity building criteria outlined in the cited section of the Public Utilities Act, the Department will evaluate the required Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA) Plan which is required with submission of this NOFO’s application package. The DEIA plan is available on the DCEO NOFO site for the opportunity along with additional required application materials. 

For more information, visit DCEO.