Grant Funding Helps Shrink City's Carbon Footprint

is a little bit greener and has a smaller carbon footprint now that some local businesses and organization have taken steps to make buildings more energy efficient.

Thanks to the Greener Business Matching Grant program, 30 businesses, religious institutions and multifamily complexes will receive matching funds for undertaking energy saving projects. Some projects already have been completed and funded.

The funds for the program, roughly $283,000, first became available in January 2010. Last week the city announced that it had finally awarded all of the funding.

One additional request did come in after all the money was divvied up, said city of Naperville Community Planner Katie Forystek. The grants allowed a maximum of $10,000 per building at a rate of $.50 for every $1 spent toward energy efficiency improvements.

“The goal of the Greener Business Program is to assist qualifying owners and operators of qualifying buildings to complete energy efficiency retrofit projects that reduce energy consumption and emissions and increase energy efficiency, thereby reducing the city of Naperville’s greenhouse gas emissions,” Forystek said. 

As part of the Federal Government's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Naperville was awarded $1.39 million in Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant Funds, Forystek said.  The City Council allocated a portion of the funding to the Greener Business Program. 

Businesses and organizations that were interested in participating in the program had to complete all of the work upfront before being reimbursed, she said. 

 Once the improvements were complete, a business was required to schedule a compliance inspection with the city, which allows the city to verify that all work was completed in accordance with the grant application. After an applicant completed the inspection, they needed to submit the paperwork for reimbursement. 

Some of the organizations that already have completed projects include , , the and the .

The owner’s of Potter’s Place estimated that the business would save an estimated $10,000 per year on gas and electric bills following the installation of a new white Energy Star rated roof and insulation, according to a city of Naperville news release. The business owner received $10,000 in matching funds through the Greener Business Program to assist funding the project.

North Central College made many upgrades on its campus and recently signed the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact.

The college invested approximately $90,000 in energy efficiency improvements and received a total of $29,999 in matching grant funds through the Greener Business Program, according to the city of Naperville. The college anticipates a total costs savings of $96,689 annually on electric and gas utility bills.

In a news release, North Central College said it is pledging to achieve the state’s highest recognition for energy-saving and environmentally friendly initiatives by being among the first institutions of higher education in Illinois to seek gold status under the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact.

College President Harold R. Wilde signed the compact April 18. He said the pledge is a fitting part of North Central’s yearlong celebration of its sesquicentennial, according to the news release.

“We’ve always been an institution that has had a waste-not, want-not ethic,” Wilde said in the release. “You can’t solve the problems in the world unless you first solve the problems in your own house.”

Although several of the business and applicants have completed projects not all have. If for some reason a business does not complete the work outlined in the Green Business Energy Grant application before the end of 2011, grant funding might be available in 2012.

Though all the matching grant funds have been distributed, the city does have money left through the Greener Business Revolving Loan Fund, which allows qualified businesses to apply for a loan of up to $25,000 for energy efficiency improvements.  

Greener Business Revolving Loan Fund applications are available online and in the city manager’s office, located on the second floor of the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St. For more information on the Greener Business Program, including an application, list of qualifications and frequently asked questions, visit www.naperville.il.us/greenerbusiness.aspx.