Do your part to reduce energy use and help Elgin win $100,000.

One easy way you can help our community win the competition is by taking the ENERGY STAR Pledge each time you purchase a product displaying the Energy Star logo. Whether it’s a LED light bulb, or a new appliance, television or computer, go to Elgin's ENERGY STAR Pledge Page to take credit for your purchase. Each ENERGY STAR pledge taken by Elgin residents will be credited to the city and go toward the Com Ed Challenge. Tell your neighbors and your friends about taking the pledge!

ENERGY STAR® REBATE PROGRAM
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the U.S. Department of
Energy is providing funding to states and territories to support consumer rebate programs
for ENERGY STAR qualified appliances. Click here for more information about the program in Illinois.

The ComEd Community Energy Challenge (CEC) is a municipal energy reduction competition hosted by Commonwealth Edison (ComEd). Launched in January of 2009 and continuing through June 2010, the CEC involves 12 communities; Elgin, Aurora, Northbrook, Oak Park, Wilmette, Carol Stream, Palatine, Schaumberg, Evanston, Highland Park, Hoffman Estates, and Orland Park.

For this competition each community was posed the challenge of creating an energy efficiency/reduction plan that is implementable within the one year competition. Communities were asked to develop relatively small, focused projects that fit into one of eight project categories ranging from “energy savings” and “greenhouse gas emission reductions” to “using municipal authority to promote energy savings”. Depending on the calculated energy savings from the proposed projects, points are awarded to communities based on a normalized scale. Past sustainable efforts are rewarded as well, allowing additional points to be gained.

To help communities implement their proposed plan, ComEd has allocated $2.5 million in incentive funding for homeowners and businesses. This money is available for communities to use for the various initiatives outlined in their plan. As such, communities were encouraged to utilize existing ComEd and Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) incentive programs.

The community that is able to realize the largest energy savings based on their plan, from June 2009 through June 2010 will win the CEC. The winning community, aside from prestige, will $100,000 which can be used any way the community sees fit.