EV Communities

Illinois EPA is accepting applications to replace model year 2009 or older diesel transit buses with new all-electric transit buses in the counties included in the three priority areas for Volkswagen funding. Applicants may find the NOFO and all application materials at https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/air-quality/driving-a-cleaner-illinois.html and also at Illinois’ GATA webpage at CSFA. Applicants must pre-qualify prior to application submission. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis until funding is exhausted. Illinois EPA anticipates that approximately 40 buses could be funded. Applications should be signed, scanned and submitted to epa.vwgrants@illinois.gov

DCEO’s Equitable Energy Future Grant Program is a pre-development and planning grant for eligible contractors or businesses. It has an on-the-job training component. Planning for EV charging stations is an eligible project. This is a rolling opportunity that closes on June 30, 2024. Find out more on the DCEO website. 

The Illinois Department of Transportation is tasked with building out EV chargers along interstate corridors across Illinois through its federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program allocation.  The state has announced more than $25.3 million in grants to support 37 projects for the first round of funding, which will facilitate the construction of 182 new charging ports, including at least four DC fast charging ports at each location (which can charge a typical EV from empty in less than 30 minutes).

IDOT’s second Notice of Funding Opportunity for the NEVI Program is open. Applications for funding will be accepted through Jan. 31, 2025 at 11:59 PM CST. All application materials can be found on IDOT’s website at Drive Electric. Awards are anticipated to be announced in early 2025. Selected locations will have at least four fast-charging ports; when complete, these projects will provide access to fast charging at least every 50 miles along Illinois interstates. This round will provide approximately $24 million for the construction of charging stations along Illinois interstates. This second funding opportunity aims to make approximately 20 awards, building upon the 37 awards from the first NEVI funding opportunity IDOT announced in September and aligning with the State of Illinois goal to deploy 1 million electric vehicles on Illinois roadways by 2030.

For business customers in the ComEd service area, ComEd currently has EV rebates available ranging from $5,000 to $180,000 for the following types of light, medium, and heavy-duty electric vehicles: Fleet Vehicles, Transit Buses, and K-12 School Buses.

In addition, there are Make-Ready rebates available for both Level 2 and Level 3 DCFC Charging infrastructure (but not the chargers themselves). More information may be obtained from ComEd at https://comed.chooseev.com/commercial/promos/.

$965 million in federal Clean School Bus Rebates from the US EPA are now open for applications due by January 9, 2025. Rebate applications can request funds for replacing up to 50 buses. The program provides funding for zero and low-emission buses, including electric, propane, and compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, all of which emit significantly fewer tailpipe emissions compared to older diesel buses. More information is here: https://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/clean-school-bus-program-rebates

Through funding from both Illinois EPA and the USEPA, school districts across Illinois have begun to transition to cleaner school buses. School districts that may be interested in pursuing bus electrification should review the technical assistance materials available here and information on potential tax credits here. The Illinois EPA anticipates releasing additional electric school bus funding under the Driving a Cleaner Illinois program.

The State of Illinois and its partners have won numerous federal grants for charging projects. Find out more at the links below:

Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program (CFI Program) is a competitive grant program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in the places people live and work – urban and rural areas alike – in addition to along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs).

• Round 1A Award to Illinois Finance Authority of $14,962,506 for a State of Illinois Community Charging Program
• Round 1B Award to City of Chicago for $15 million for Charge Up Chicago!
• Round 2 Award to Metropolitan Mayors Caucus for $14,471,562 for Aggregated Community Charging
• Round 2 Award to Illinois Environmental Protection Agency of $100 million (largest round 2 award) for Equitable Future-Ready Electrification Infrastructure for Green Heavy-duty Transportation (E-FREIGHT) in Illinois

Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator funds the repair or replacement of broken or non-operational electric vehicle charging ports to improve the reliability of existing charging infrastructure.

• Award to Illinois Department of Transportation of $7,074,498

Clean Ports Program is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to provide US EPA with $3 billion to fund zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure as well as climate and air quality planning at U.S. ports.

• Award to Illinois Environmental Protection Agency of $2,997,998 to set emissions reductions goals for thousands of vehicles in operation at Illinois Waterway Ports and Terminals

Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program, created by the Inflation Reduction Act, will replace existing internal combustion engine heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission vehicles, while also supporting the build out of clean vehicle infrastructure, as well as the training of workers to deploy these new zero-emission technologies.

• Awarded to Illinois State Board of Education of $19,957,592 toward a $27M state program to convert diesel school buses to electric
• Awards also went to Grayslake Community Consolidated School District 46, North Chicago CUSD 187 and Zion Elementary School District 6 as well as the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Commuter Rail Division of the Metra, and City of Chicago Department of Fleet and Facility Management

In January 2024, it was announced that the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA), in its role as the Illinois Climate Bank, was chosen to receive $14.9M for charging infrastructure projects from the US Department of Transportation's FY22-FY23 Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program.  IFA will share the list of selected communities and further details about the planned expenditures for this award on the federal funding page on IFA’s website.

The Illinois Finance Authority PACE Program is designed to accelerate private investment in PACE Projects affixed to existing and newly constructed commercial, industrial, non-residential agricultural, and multi-family (5 or more units) properties, in each case up to 25% of the value of the property. Eligible improvements generally include fixtures, products, systems, equipment, devices, and materials intended for energy efficiency, renewable energy, resiliency, or water use; electric vehicle charging stations are eligible improvements too. Read more.