Seven Generations Ahead (SGA) is thrilled to announce that the Village of Broadview and the Cross Community Climate Collaborative (C4) were awarded an Energy Futures Grant from the Department of Energy. The grant funding helps state, local, and tribal governments transition to renewable energy in an equitable and just manner, prioritizing disadvantaged communities.
“A lasting clean energy transition starts with state, local, and Tribal governments in the driver’s seat, taking the wheel in pursuit of their own unique clean energy strategies,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in the DOE announcement. “With support from the Energy Future Grants Program, local communities can devise their own projects to solve challenges, create new jobs, and make their clean energy goals a reality.”
The Broadview project was one of 40 Energy Futures Grant awardees nationally, and one of only two Illinois-based projects to win this prestigious grant. The funding will help transition Broadview to renewable energy, while providing green jobs for residents, and contributes to the larger goals of C4.
C4 brings together BIPOC and non-minority communities across income lines to share ideas, secure resources, and drive large-scale projects that achieve agreed upon greenhouse gas emissions reductions, equity, and sustainability goals. C4 currently supports 14 disinvested and resourced communities and their institutions, including schools, park districts, libraries and municipal governments, in the Chicago metro area and beyond. This unique, award-winning collaboration prioritizes emissions reductions on an ambitious timeline, in line with the latest scientific recommendations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The C4 Executive Team consists of the BIPOC-led Urban Efficiency Group (UEG), 22-year-old sustainable communities non-profit, Seven Generations Ahead, and the mayors of the Villages of Broadview, Oak Park, and River Forest in Cook County, Illinois.
The Energy Futures Grant award will help the Village of Broadview to transition away from fossil fuels quickly and at scale. The priorities of the project include:
- connecting low to moderate-income residents to reduced-rate solar,
- conducting building assessments and driving on-site solar installations on community institution buildings,
- connecting institutions to solar electricity procurement,
- supporting EV infrastructure planning and resource acquisition for charging stations and fleet vehicles,
- and ensuring workforce training and jobs linked to new clean energy project development.
The Village of Broadview will lead the way for other C4 communities to transition away from polluting, climate-heating fossil fuels and toward the renewable energy future.
“On behalf of the Village of Broadview, I am immensely grateful to the U.S. Department of Energy for this Energy Future Grant,” said Mayor Katrina Thompson in a press release. “The $476,487 grant is a win for our residents, our businesses, and our region because it will help empower us to build a cleaner, more sustainable Broadview for generations to come.”