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by Bob Romo Since 2001, the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation has awarded Illinois park and recreation agencies more than $7.1 million in grants to:
• Install upgraded, energy saving indoor lighting systems
Agencies that receive grants experience a double barrel effect. First, facility improvements financed with foundation grants lead to lower utility costs. At the same time, the grants help park, recreation and conservation agencies do their part to improve environmental quality by saving energy, leading to less pollution in Illinois communities. The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF) is an independent, nonprofit grant making institution, created to support efforts that protect and improve the environment in Illinois communities. The ICECF provides financial support for projects that advance specific program priorities through grants awarded in competitive application cycles each year, through partnering with nonprofit organizations and local or state government agencies and through its own direct initiatives. If your agency is considering capital improvements or acquiring a natural area, perhaps it can join the many others that have leveraged ICECF grants to make environmentally responsible improvements. The following pages describe the foundation's initiatives and provide real-life examples of how agencies have used foundation grants to build a greener Illinois. ICECF's hope is that these stories will inspire other Illinois park, recreation and conservation agencies to incorporate energy efficient thinking into their planning, to acquire additional natural areas and to apply for clean energy grants. Energy Efficient Lighting The foundation's Energy Efficient Lighting Upgrade Program is helping park districts lower utility bills and improve indoor lighting quality for users and staff. As of May 1, 2005, the foundation had awarded 90 grants totaling $1.72 million to 80 park agencies throughout Illinois. These agencies have embraced cleaner energy by the simple act of replacing old inefficient lights with high efficiency light bulbs, ballasts and controls. These projects have saved 2,440 kW of electricity, equivalent to the energy needs of 975 homes. Avoided emissions are equivalent to planting over 400,000 trees. From Peoria to Sterling to Rockford to the greater metropolitan Chicago area, examples abound on how agencies are benefiting from lighting upgrades: The Bensenville Park District was awarded a $32,062 grant towards the cost of its project to replace 706 older fixtures with newer and more energy efficient T-8 and T-5 light bulbs and electronic ballasts at the district's main building. The project reduced electricity demand and will save the district over $20,000 a year. "In effect, we are cutting lighting energy costs in half at two facilities," said Bensenville Park Board President John Wassinger. "Saving this much money annually on energy and operational costs will allow us to put more money into the programs and services that Bensenville residents have come to appreciate from their park district." A plan to upgrade lighting in Springfield Park District buildings is expected to save the district close to $25,000 annually in utility bills. The district covered the bulk of the $105,000 cost of the project with an $80,000 foundation grant and an additional $17,000 rebate from City Water, Light and Power, the local public utility. "We spent $5,000, and we save roughly $25,000 per year. That wasn't a hard sell to the board," said Scott Hanauer, a park district trustee. Green Design The foundation's Energy Efficient "Green" Building Design and Commissioning Program is helping local government and nonprofit organizations design state-of-the-art energy efficient "green" buildings. The foundation has funded over 50 projects in the state, driving the design phase of each project. Many agencies plan to meet the nationally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards developed by the United States Green Building Council. LEED is a voluntary certification system created to encourage environmentally friendly practices, such as the use of energy efficient design, water conservation, renewable energy and recycling. Design features can be as simple as increasing the use of natural light with well-positioned windows, tapping into natural heat sources underground or specifying efficient systems and materials. Incorporating energy efficient features into the design of a building reduces energy consumption and cuts operating costs throughout the lifetime of the facility. Thanks to foundation grants, the Bolingbrook and Naperville Park Districts can boast of state-of-the-art buildings that are models of green building design. In one of its first grants, the foundation provided $75,000 to the Bolingbrook Park District to make the district's new 22,000-square-foot maintenance facility a green building. The grant led to the use of green design features, including: clerestory windows to take advantage of extensive day lighting; higher
www.ilparks.org July/ August 2005 30-31
levels of insulation for the roof, wall and the windows; plus separation of an unheated cold storage garage from the shop that uses a radiant heating system. As a result of these design features, the facility is estimated to use 58 percent less energy than a comparable facility. The foundation awarded $100,000 to the Naperville Park District for its new South Parks Operations Facility, which is being designed to meet the LEED Silver certification level. The district's board was eager to invest in energy saving technologies that lower energy demand and demonstrate leadership in environmental stewardship. The district's architectural firm is responding with green design features that reduce energy use by 26 percent compared to a conventional building. This will lower energy costs by 24 percent every year, with a one-time green construction cost increment for the building envelope of five percent over conventional construction. When completed, the new facility will be the first LEED Silver certified building in Naperville and the first for an Illinois park district. In realizing this milestone, the building will employ a panoply of green features including:
• Sunshade devices and window glazing to minimize heat gain
"The new Naperville Park District Operations Facility will add a highly visible, publicly accessible green building to DuPage County's growing collection of buildings that embrace principles of environmental sustainability," said Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation Executive Director James Mann. "This remarkable building introduces a number of highly innovative features to Illinois that can be readily adopted by other park districts in future building projects."
The foundation is interested in developing consumer demand for energy efficient products and technologies through the installation of systems not yet widely adopted in Illinois. To this end, the foundation's Model Energy Efficient Systems program is helping the Bolingbrook Park District reduce its energy costs through replacement of its HVAC system at its Pelican Harbor Aquatic Park's indoor pool. Bolingbrook is going with an innovative, energy efficient MENERGA system. In 2004, the district was awarded a $40,000 grant to cover a small percentage of the higher incremental cost to purchase this system estimated to use 50 percent less energy. MENERCA is specifically designed for leisure pools. It dehumidifies and ventilates the pool hall using a highly effective multi-stage heat recovery system that ensures minimum energy consumption. Features of MENERGA that produce energy efficiencies include:
• Less mechanics (reducing compressor run time)
Indoor water parks and aquatic centers require large amounts of energy for heating water and controlling indoor air quality and humidity. Long hours of operation and use of chlorine and other water treatment chemicals stress mechanical HVAC systems and can reduce equipment life expectancy. Although air-to-air heat recovery systems are pretty simple technologies that save a lot of energy, they have not been commonly implemented in indoor pool environments. The MENERGA system has been used extensively in Europe where energy costs are substantially higher, but it has never been used in Illinois. The installation is scheduled for completion this summer and should prove to be a useful case study to schools, health clubs, hospitals, YMCAs and others that operate indoor pools. "The Bolingbrook Park District
32 Illinois Parks and Recreation www.ILipra.org greatly appreciates the generous support of the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. Their contributions have been extremely helpful to the district's efforts to demonstrate innovative, cutting-edge technologies that, over the long run, will help control costs and fees," stated Ray Ochromowicz, director of parks and recreation.
The foundation's Natural Areas Program has invested more than $5 million through its grants to park, recreation, conservation and forest preserve districts to preserve and protect important habitats in Illinois. These grants have allowed districts in rural communities and metropolitan areas to conserve important natural areas for everyone to enjoy. Grants from the foundation have supported key acquisitions in communities and the critical planning leading up to them. For example, foundation funding helped the Forest Preserve District of Will County complete the purchase of sixty acres for its DuPage River greenway and an island in the Kankakee River (providing habitat and a new canoe takeout point). In DuPage County, the foundation has supported the efforts of the forest preserve district to expand and buffer sensitive forest preserves in high-growth areas. Following a foundation-funded planning effort, the Boone County Conservation District received a grant to protect 103 acres of high quality habitat along 1/2 mile of both banks of the Kishwaukee River. The Macon County Conservation District received support to develop a conservation master plan that identified conservation priorities and an action plan for implementing them.
How to Apply for an Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation Grant The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation provides funding to charitable federally recognized 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organizations and state and local government agencies serving Illinois residents. There are generally three ways to apply for foundation funding: 1. For Energy Efficient Green Building Design inquiries, contact Foundation Program Officer Bob Romo to obtain a copy of program guidelines and information submittal requirements. 2. For Energy Efficient Lighting Upgrade inquiries, contact the foundation for information on future program activity. 3. For Natural Areas inquiries, contact Foundation Program Officer Elizabeth Cisar to obtain program guidelines and information submittal requirements.
For all other inquiries, submitting a letter of inquiry by the appropriate deadline is the first step in the application process. The foundation's funding priorities and application deadlines are posted on its Web site at www.illinoiscleanenergy.org. A letter of inquiry may be no longer than three pages. It must describe the proposed project, explain the need for the project and summarize the total project expenses and proposed sources of funding, including the specific amount requested from the foundation. Following review of letters of inquiry, the foundation will ask selected applicants to submit a full proposal. When the foundation invites a full proposal, it will specify what information and supporting documents the proposal should include.
Generally, proposals with the best chance of receiving funding are those that are clearly written, provide assurance of implementation and closely follow specific program guidelines in the foundation's priority areas. For lighting upgrade requests, proposals must include all information required in the application form along with supporting documentation. Preference will be given to cost-effective projects that achieve high levels of permanent electricity demand reduction per dollar granted. For energy efficient green building design requests, projects must demonstrate energy savings at least 20 percent above the Illinois Energy Efficient Commercial Building Act, and financing must be in place to complete building construction. For model energy efficient requests, the foundation is interested in innovative projects demonstrating technologies or equipment not commonly used in Illinois. These projects should advance the adoption of energy efficiency in a particular type of facility common to Illinois communities. For natural areas requests, the foundation favors projects that protect high quality habitat; have been identified in local or regional planning efforts; are connected to other preserved natural areas; and provide public access. The foundation will support both outright acquisitions and purchases of conservation easements. The foundation's Web site has other useful information for agencies seeking funding, including lists of past grant awards, grant application process information and announcements about new initiatives. Bob Romo is a program officer for the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. The Chicago-based foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant making institution that supports efforts that protect and improve the environment in Illinois communities. Its Web site is at www.illinoiscleanenergy.org. You may e-mail the foundation at info@lllinoiscleanenergy.org. www.ilparks.org July/August 2005 33 |
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