The Illinois Finance Authority, in its role as Illinois’ Climate Bank, is pleased to release its plan for the Community Geothermal + Pilots Program. The program is designed to accelerate the deployment of community scale geothermal energy systems that will serve multiple buildings or clusters of homes, rather than individual buildings or campuses. The program will use a two-phase approach: phase one will consist of planning grants and phase two will be dedicated to pilot and project deployments.
The development of this plan was guided by a Request for Information published earlier this year. All feedback received through this process was reviewed and considered in the development of this plan and helped ensure that the final program framework reflects the diverse perspectives of our stakeholders.
Phase One (Fall/Winter 2025): Planning Grants will support planning and design activities for projects that have already begun predevelopment activities and can demonstrate early progress toward community scale geothermal deployment.
Phase Two (Winter 2026): Pilot and Project Deployments will fund the construction and deployment of community geothermal projects that are ready, or nearly ready, to begin construction and installation. This phase is intended to demonstrate replicable community scale geothermal models that achieve measurable greenhouse gas reductions and tangible community benefits.
More information can be found on the full Community Geothermal Planning + Pilots Plan.