Illinois Climate Pollution Reduction Grant: Community Geothermal Planning and Pilots Phase One Planning Grants

The Illinois Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program is offering Community Geothermal Planning and Pilots Phase One Planning Grants to accelerate the deployment of community-scale geothermal energy systems. These systems are intended to serve multiple buildings or clusters of homes rather than individual buildings or campuses. The program emphasizes projects that demonstrate measurable greenhouse gas reduction. The grants will fund planning and design activities for projects that have already begun preliminary development and can demonstrate early progress toward community-scale geothermal deployment. Key aspects of the grant include: • The grant is part of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program created by the Inflation Reduction Act. • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) awarded $430,251,378 to the State of Illinois for the program. • The grant will fund planning, design, and construction of community-scale geothermal systems. • The program is designed to yield measurable long-term benefits in reduced carbon emissions, decreased fossil fuel use, and lower or more stable household energy costs. • Applicants must register and pre-qualify through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal. • Selected applicants must also register with the federal SAM.gov and must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) assigned in SAM.gov.