Illinois Climate Pollution Reduction Grants: Small Utility Clean Energy Planning Grant Program - Third Round

In July 2024, Illinois was announced as one of the recipients of an award under 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 to implement a variety of programs over the five-year grant period (2024-2029). The Small Utility Clean Energy Planning grants are one of these programs.

In July 2024, Illinois was announced as one of the recipients of an award under 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 to implement a variety of programs over the five-year grant period (2024-2029). The Small Utility Clean Energy Planning grants are one of these programs.

To charge indirect costs to a grant, the applicant must have an annually negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA). There are three types of NICRAs: Federally Negotiated Rate. Organizations that receive direct federal funding, may have an indirect cost rate that was negotiated with the Federal Cognizant Agency. Illinois will accept the federally negotiated rate. The organization must provide a copy of the federally negotiated NICRA. State Negotiated Rate. The organization may negotiate an indirect cost rate with the State of Illinois if they do not have a Federally Negotiated Rate. If an organization has not previously established an indirect cost rate, an indirect cost rate proposal must be submitted through State of Illinois’ centralized indirect cost rate system no later than three months after receipt of a Notice of State Award (NOSA). If an organization previously established an indirect cost rate, the organization must annually submit a new indirect cost proposal through CARS within six months after the close of the grantee’s fiscal year. De Minimis Rate. An organization that has never negotiated an indirect cost rate with the Federal Government or the State of Illinois is eligible to elect a de minimis rate of 10% of modified total direct cost (MTDC) . Once established, the De Minimis Rate may be used indefinitely. The State of Illinois must verify the calculation of the MTDC annually in order to accept the De Minimis Rate. All grantees must complete an indirect cost rate negotiation or elect the De Minimis Rate to claim indirect costs. Indirect costs claimed without a negotiated rate or a De Minimis Rate election on record in the State of Illinois centralized indirect cost rate system may be subject to disallowance.

IFA/ICB will aim to notify applicants of the selection decision within 45 days after the deadline for application submission. Projects may require review and approval from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and US EPA. NOTE: Any notice of selection is not an authorization to begin performance of the project or incur costs. Costs incurred before entering into a subaward agreement with the IFA/ICB will not be recoverable.

Please see attached NOFO. Applicant must also submit a completed Attachment A and Attachment B.

If any assistance is needed in accessing application materials or submitting application due to limited Internet access or other limitations, the potential applicant should contact Claire Brinley at climatebank@il-fa.com, 312-651-1319. Questions and answers will be posted anonymously and publicly on the Illinois Finance Authority website.

Applicant Eligibility: Municipal and cooperative electric utilities in Illinois are eligible to apply. Applicants included in the SAM.gov Exclusion List and Illinois Stop Payment List will not be eligible for an award. Other entities identified as a “utility” under the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA), including a municipal power agency, municipality, or electric cooperative such as a generation and transmission electric cooperative that provides wholesale electricity to one or more distribution electric cooperatives, may apply on behalf of one or more eligible municipal or cooperative electric utilities, provided that the applicant demonstrates authority to conduct power planning, procurement, or integrated resource planning activities on behalf of its member utilities. Beneficiary Eligibility: The Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program in Illinois supports initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions across five key sectors. For the Small Utility Clean Energy Planning Grant, beneficiaries include municipal and cooperative utilities that receive financial and technical support to transition to renewable energy. Indirect beneficiaries include the communities these utilities serve, who will benefit from cleaner energy sources, improved air quality, and enhanced energy resilience. Credentials Documentation: To submit an application, the applicant must register and pre-qualify through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal, www.grants.illinois.gov/portal. Registration and pre-qualification are required annually. Selected applicants must also register with the federal SAM.gov and must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) assigned in SAM.gov. Applicants included in the SAM.gov Exclusion List and in the Illinois Stop Payment List will not be eligible for an award. The Grantee Portal alerts the entity of “qualified” status or informs how to remediate a negative verification (e.g., missing UEI Unique Entity Identifier assigned in SAM.gov, not in good standing with the Secretary of State). Inclusion on the SAM.gov Exclusion List cannot be remediated.

See attached NOFO

Grantees will be responsible for ensuring all reporting requirements associated with the federal funding are met. This includes providing timely and accurate reporting to the Climate Bank in compliance with all federal and programmatic obligations. The Climate Bank will ensure that reporting processes are adjusted as necessary to meet updated or additional requirements issued by U.S. EPA. Reporting will include, but is not limited to, project financial and activity report, and assistance in developing sample project case studies. Reporting will include semi-annual reports to assist the Illinois Climate Bank in showing progress on achieving this program’s purpose. These semi-annual progress reports will be due to US EPA within 30 calendar days of the end of the semi-annual reporting period. Consequently, to allow time to compile reports from multiple grantees, reports may be due to the Climate Bank within as few as 3 days of the end of the semi-annual reporting period, which run from October 1 to March 31 and from April 1 to September 30 of each year. Grant recipients will track the impact of the small utility clean energy planning program through the metrics identified in the funding opportunity and as may additionally be requested by IFA/ICB.

Claire Brinley Program Manager, Illinois Finance Agency 160 N. LaSalle St., Suite S-1000 Chicago, IL 60601 ClimateBank@il-fa.com 312-651-1319