In a move that's making waves across the Land of Lincoln, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is dishing out $750,000 in grant dinero for energy-saving upgrades at public water supply plants, the Illinois government's news hub announced Monday. Government offices say this green is set to juice up facilities with tweaks to keep them from sucking up too much juice—the spark behind the water that flows in our homes. Reining in power use is both a money-saver and an Earth-friendly move, and local governments are being called to action to get a slice of that eco-friendly pie.
The deadline for getting applications in is February 2, 2024, and there's a whole heap of criteria to meet for those looking to score the funding; this ain't no free-for-all; it's a merit-based system where projects are eyed for cost-effectiveness, energy savings, and impacts on energy costs, not to mention projects located in environmental justice hotspots. "Illinois EPA has been fortunate to provide similar energy efficiency grants to wastewater treatment facilities in Illinois, and we are excited to be able to expand funding to public water supply treatment facilities," said Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim, amid expectations for more lean, mean, water-cleaning machines.
Nods are being thrown to the Department of Energy's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds—this program's piggy bank—for juicing up this environmental initiative. Reflective of a broader plan to lean into resilience and clean energy tech, the Illinois EPA Office of Energy isn't just all talk, no action; they're buddying up with Illinois big brains like the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) to guide municipalities through energy thicket and help trim the costs of quenching the state's thirst.
Folks can hop over to the Illinois EPA's webpage on Public Water Infrastructure Energy Assessments for the lowdown on how to apply and where to get energy audits on the house no charge, courtesy of SEDAC and ISTC.
