Energy Assistance & Solar Savings Initiative Expands in South Bend with IFF’s Support February 6, 2024

Launched in 2022, the Energy Assistance & Solar Savings Initiative (EASSI) is a collaboration between the City of South Bend’s Office of Sustainability, IFF, and CDFI Friendly South Bend that provides access to subsidized energy assessments, city-sponsored grants, and flexible loans to complete energy efficiency and solar projects at facilities located in South Bend, IN. Offered in its first two years only to nonprofits, EASSI is now expanding to provide energy assessments and grant funding to local businesses interested in upgrading their facilities to improve energy efficiency. Doing so will help speed progress on the City of South Bend’s Climate Action Plan, which is designed to guide the city toward carbon neutrality by 2050. 

IFF’s supports EASSI by providing energy assessments at participating organizations’ facilities, compiling a comprehensive report detailing the findings, and offering flexible financing to supplement grants from the city for facility upgrades that increase energy efficiency. Examples of the types of projects facilitated by EASSI include solar panel and geothermal installations, HVAC replacements, ENERGY STAR® appliance upgrades, lighting improvements, insulation/weatherization updates, window replacement, and more.

Twenty-seven organizations have participated in EASSI to date, with many achieving significant cost savings on energy bills as a result of their participation in the program. Watch the video below to hear directly from several EASSI participants about how the program has positively impacted their organizations.