Geothermal Grant

Money available for energy saving heat pumps

Imagine a heating and cooling system that would keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter, cut your utility bills by 25 to 50 percent, and help save Planet Earth, all at the same time.

Sounds like a challenge for the new millennium, doesn't it?

The good news is this advanced heating and cooling system is here today. It's called a geothermal heat pump, and thousands of homeowners and businesses are already reaping the benefits, including higher comfort levels and lower utility bills.

A geothermal heat pump taps the renewable, safe, and virtually endless energy supply that lies just below the earth's surface.

The way it works is simple. In winter, warmth is drawn from the earth through a series of pipes, called a loop, installed beneath the ground. A water solution circulating through this piping loop carries the earth's natural warmth to a heat pump inside the home.

A unique collaboration between the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives and the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation provides non-profit organizations and communities with assistance in going geothermal. Incentive funds totaling $500,000 are available to qualifying Illinois electric cooperative members to install geothermal heating and cooling technology in facilities owned by local government or non-profit organizations.

Grants of up to $50,000 per project will cover half of the "incremental cost" of each project, or the difference between a traditional heating-cooling installation and a geothermal system.

For more information on the program, go to www.aiec.coop and click on the geothermal button, or contact John Freitag or Rick Polley at the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives at (217)529-5561.

Members of the Fouts Christian Church, Centralia, received a $40,750 grant toward the installation of a geothermal heating and air conditioning system in their new church. The grant was funded by the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, and administered by the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives. John Winter (center), Commercial Sales Manager, Enertech, Inc.; and Mike Rightnowar (right), Owner of Rightnowar Heating and Cooling; discuss the operation of the indoor portion of the geothermal system with Jerry Piercy, Pastor of the church.

20 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING www.icl.coop