Project to bring hydroelectric power to Rockford receives state grant
ROCKFORD (WREX) — State officials announced $23 million in grants through the Equitable Energy Future Grant Program Thursday, with money going towards a project on the Rock River in Rockford.
More than $900,000 in funding will be going to a local company with a project aiming to retrofit the Fordham Dam in Rockford to generate electrical power to homes.
A partnership between Latitude Power of Rockford and Studio GWA is developing an initial demonstration product in the hopes that a larger-scale version could harness hydropower capabilities to Rockford.
The $914,330 grant will go towards the demonstration product, which will take 18 months to manufacture and install. That time includes the time needed to get approval with the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
Latitude Principal Carl Cacciatore says the demonstration product would generate enough electricity to give homes, but the full project could supply electricity to at least 50 homes.
“There are all sorts of applications for this that will then spread out across the country,” Cacciatore said. “Rockford will be at the center of it all.”
Cacciatore says Latitude would need to reach an agreement with ComEd to direct the energy into its electricity grid and offer residential users a credit on their bills.
State Sen. Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) praised the grant funding going towards the project, saying Rockford could become a manufacturing and sales hub for micro-hydro cycling systems.
“The test program being proposed for the Fordham Dam is just the type of clean energy development we had in mind when we approved the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act,” Stadelman said. “Rockford has a proud manufacturing tradition, and being the base for production and sales of this technology will bring jobs and could lead to wider economic growth.”
The grant is through the Equitable Energy Future Grant Program, which provides seed finding and pre-development funding opportunities to contractors and other entities to work on efficient and renewable energy projects in low-income and historically disadvantaged communities.
Qualified entities can apply for the next round of grant through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity through their website. Applications for grants between $250,000 and $1 million must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Dec. 31.
For urgent breaking news and severe weather updates - click here to download the 13 WREX News App and the 13 WREX Weather Authority App.