New Program will Support Energy Efficiency in Illinois; Website will Help Increase Number of Trade Ally Partnerships

CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s (DCEO) State Energy Office today announced the Illinois Energy Now Trade Ally Program to further energy efficiency efforts in Illinois.  The new Trade Ally program will help forge partnerships between trade allies and their public sector clients to provide more energy efficient building solutions that will result in increased energy savings in schools, municipality buildings and government facilities.

Trade allies are general contractors, lighting contractors, HVAC contractors, engineers, architects, energy service companies, and energy-saving product wholesalers, distributors and retailers who are trained on the Illinois Energy Now (IEN) program to deliver more energy efficient building solutions to their public sector clients. 

“The Trade Ally program is an important tool to help public sector building owners connect with contractors, engineers and others trained in providing energy efficient solutions to help achieve energy savings,” said DCEO Director Warren Ribley. “More than 100 trade allies have already registered for the program by word of mouth and the new web site will help us reach an even wider audience.”

Since they are fully trained on the portfolio of energy efficiency programs, trade allies have a solid understanding of IEN program rules and procedures and play an important role in educating their clients about energy efficiency programs and rebates.  Through ongoing support and guidance from Illinois Energy Now program staff and engineers, DCEO trade allies can help their clients navigate the incentive process, including completing DCEO incentive applications.

The Illinois Energy Now Trade Ally Program is a collaborative initiative between the Illinois Energy Office of DCEO, the Energy Resources Center (ERC) at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

For more information about the Trade Ally program visit www.erc.uic.edu/tradeallies.