A third phase of GeoAlliance grants will be offered to schools beginning July 1, 2009. Schools that receive their electricity from Illinois electric cooperatives will be eligible for a part of $250,000 in grant funding to support the installation of clean and highly energy efficient geothermal heating and cooling systems. The maximum grant per school will be $50,000. Those monies will be available until funding is depleted.

While geothermal technology has been used in residential applications for years, the technology has been used less frequently in commercial applications. In commercial settings, such as schools, geothermal can be edgy, requiring different needs and unique configurations.

New schools that are installing geothermal heating and air conditioning systems are very pleased with how efficiently and inexpensively the systems are performing. And retrofit projects for schools that have been heating with old and very inefficient boiler systems have been extremely successful as well. The systems are fostering a considerably more hospitable learning environment for students, while greatly improving comfort for faculty and school administrators. Although geothermal systems generally cost more up front, the payback can be within as little as two to three years, with a reduction in energy costs for the life of the system.

Geo Alliance was established in 2003 to encourage the growth of geothermal technology through a grant incentive program. The grant program is a unique collaboration between the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF) in Chicago, which funds the program, and the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC) in Springfield, which administers the program. The first two phases of the program have supported the installation of new or retrofit energy efficient geothermal systems to heat and cool non-profit entities and public facilities served by AIEC member cooperatives. The third phase will provide funding for co-op-served school projects only.

Phase one of the grant program was launched in 2003, with $500,000 in funding from the ICECF. The funds seeded 21 geothermal projects across Illinois. Those projects accounted for estimated energy savings of 3.25 million kilowatt hours of electricity.

In May 2006, when phase two of the program kicked off, the ICECF contributed an additional $500,000 to further expand commercial use of geothermal technology in co-op territories. An additional 17 projects were funded with those grant monies.

Eligible Geo Alliance grantees include the following:

     Public and private k-12 school
     Public and private universities and colleges
     Vocational and adult education facilities

Summary of Geo Alliance projects to date:

     Case Studies / Phase One
    Case Studies  / Phase Two

Geo Alliance Grant Application Requirements

• Name of funding recipient
• Written confirmation of recipient's local government or federally recognized 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.
• Recipient's location (address and phone number) and servicing electric co-op.  Installation type (e.g. new construction, retrofit, vertical, horizontal, pond loop, etc.)
• Building use and square footage served by the geothermal installation (in the event of a partial facility retrofit - we need just the square footage involving the geothermal installation, not that of the entire facility.)
• Size of geothermal system in tons (must be a minimum of 10 tons to qualify).
• Total cost for both the geothermal system and conventional system (written quotes on both will verify the incremental cost).  The bid for the conventional system must include costs of a Central Air system with a SEER of 10 or greater--which is required by Code.
• A brief description of the financing plan for the entire project.
• Summary of weekly and annual hours of use for programmed activities in the facility.
• Estimated project completion date.
• A timeline of the project, including estimated dates to accept bids from designers and contractors, to begin construction on the facility and/or to begin installation of the geothermal system.
• Copy of detailed energy analysis from the geothermal installer/dealer, which the AIEC will use to make several calculations, such as estimated energy savings and demand reduction.

How to apply

Download an application

To submit an application:

Potential grantees should complete and mail the attached application, including the above-listed required documentation, to: Nancy Nixon, Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives, P.O. Box 3787, Springfield, IL  62708.

For more information on the GeoAlliance program, contact your local electric cooperative or phone Nancy Nixon or John Freitag at the AIEC at: 217-529-5561. You can also reach Nancy or John by e-mail at: nnixon@aiec.coop or jfreitag@aiec.coop.


For additional information on energy efficient heating and cooling systems:

Illinois Clean Energy Foundation
Enertech Inc.
WaterFurnace
Connor Company / ClimateMaster

For more information about geothermal technology, see "What is Geothermal," which can be found under the Energy Efficiency heading on the AIEC homepage.