Illinois Climate Bank Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund
Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund
Bridge loans, funded by congressionally approved and lawfully awarded funds from U.S. DOE’s Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund (EERLF), provide short-term financing to cover the period between funding an energy efficiency project and receiving federal tax credits (including elective pay), renewable energy credits (RECs), or other financial incentives. These loans help ensure that contractors and customers can move forward with projects without waiting for tax credits, U.S. Treasury payments, utility payments, or other incentives. While we expect that solar and battery storage installations will be the most popular use of this loan, geothermal, energy efficiency, and other clean energy upgrades may also be eligible.
Funding
- Bridge Loans: Up to $1,000,000, term of 18-24 months
- Co-Lending/Participation Loans: Up to $1,000,000, term of up to 7 years
- Interest rates generally range between 3-6%
Administrator
Illinois Climate Bank
Eligible Projects
Eligible projects must be commercial buildings, including multifamily buildings with five or more units located in Illinois, that have undergone a qualified energy audit as outlined in Section 3 of the EE RLF Initial Bridge Loan Strategy. The audit must recommend eligible technologies as defined in the strategy. Qualified borrowers include:
- Municipalities, counties, and local government agencies
- Public school districts
- Nonprofit organizations
- Rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities
- Tribal governments and entities
- For-profit entities
Building Sector
Commercial, nonprofits, and community organizations (including schools)
Process
Fill out the pre-application form to determine eligibility for IFA bridge loans.
Advantages
Loans are available for up to 24 months, with no monthly payments required until receipt of direct pay tax credits from the U.S. Treasury and/or receipt of Solar for All incentives from the Illinois Power Agency.
Additional Information
Clean Energy Tax Incentives for Business
The Illinois Finance Authority will be frequently accepting stakeholder feedback to continuously refine its Bridge Loan product. The Authority will be hosting several stakeholder engagement sessions to solicit feedback from relevant parties. If you are not on the Authority's email list and are interested in participating in these conversations, please email federalfunding@il-fa.com.
