The Kane County Energy and Environmental Committee on Sept. 12 approved a $20,000 contribution to Batavia’s “GR EEN” grant program, a city-run initiative that provides energy audits and rebates to residents for home efficiency upgrades.

The county contribution passed on a roll call vote after a motion and second; the tally was Caius, Hennessy, Strathman, Bates and Roth voting yes and David Young voting no. The committee’s staff recommended the contribution come from the county’s electric-aggregation fund.

Batavia Assistant City Administrator Max Weiss, the program’s project manager, told the committee the program uses revenue from the city’s single-use bag fee and a competitive vendor to perform audits and coordinate resident participation. “Our green program stands for grants for residential energy efficiency in neighborhoods,” Weiss said. He said Batavia allocated $95,000 in year one, which funded energy audits and grants for 25 residents — 10 classified as low-income and 15 non–low-income — and that the city received more than 160 applications.

Weiss described the grant structure: low-income households can receive up to $3,000 for recommended improvements and non–low-income households up to $1,000. He said the city hires an energy-audit contractor, Sustainability Construction, to perform four-hour, Building Performance Institute–certified audits; homeowners may choose their own contractors to perform upgrades and the city reimburses verified costs.

Committee members pressed for measurement and reporting. David Young asked who would verify energy savings and whether the county would see post-installation meter data. Weiss said the audits are “quite intensive” and the city plans spot checks; because Batavia operates a municipal electric utility, Weiss said the utility could review aggregated consumption data to check for expected reductions. Weiss also said the audits comply with requirements tied to the Section 25C tax credit for energy-efficiency work.

Committee staff said the proposed $20,000 would be added to Batavia’s program to expand the number of homes served in 2026; staff recommended the money come from the electric-aggregation 4-21 fund. A county staff member said an MOU being drafted with the city and the county state's attorney will set reporting expectations and data-sharing details.

Why it matters: the county’s electric-aggregation program exists to return energy-related funds to residents and local energy-efficiency initiatives. Committee members said they expect Batavia’s program to produce measurable electricity and carbon reductions and asked that the city report results to the county once audits and work are complete.

The committee’s action authorizes the $20,000 allocation and asks staff to finish a memorandum of understanding specifying reporting requirements and program metrics.