Relevant

Harrisburg:  Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pennsylvania will receive nearly $100 million from the United States Department of Energy to stimulate the economy and create jobs while meeting the following goals:

· Increase energy efficiency to reduce energy costs and consumption for consumers, businesses and government
· Reduce reliance on imported energy
· Improve the reliability of electricity and fuel supply and delivery of energy services
· Reduce the impacts of energy production and use on the environment

Pennsylvania has established several initiatives to meet these goals. PA Green Energy Works! is a set of grant programs designed for the purchase and installation of renewable energy and energy efficiency equipment to meet the goals above. Pennsylvania is offering one-time grants for the deployment of shovel-ready green energy projects, including wind, solar, biogas and combined heat and power (CHP) projects. The program's goal is to use this recovery funding to create:

· Jobs: over 1,500 permanent jobs and 700 temporary jobs
· Alternative Energy: over 325 MW of installed capacity.
· Energy Savings: over 3,337,825 MWh annually. Enough to power over 316,000 homes
· Environmental Benefits: over 2,761,092 tons of CO2 avoided, equivalent to taking 502,000 cars off the road, and
· Leverage Funds: more than $775 million

  A collective total of up to $52 million will be available under four Green Energy Works solicitations.  Each solicitation has been announced individually

· Up to $11 Million will be available for Combined Heat and Power Projects (Due October 9)
· Up to $5 Million will be available for Biogas Projects (Due October 23)
· Up to $6 Million will be available for Solar Projects (Due October 16)
· Up to $20 Million will be available for Wind Projects (Deadline to be announced)

All project proposals must be for a minimum of $250,000.  No project proposal may exceed the amount available under each solicitation.  For more information and to download the General Application Guidelines, click here.

Pennsylvania's Office of Energy & Technology Deployment will receive more than $23.5 million to establish the "PA Conservation Works! Program," which will award grants to local governments and non-profit entities with shovel-ready projects that promise energy efficiency improvements of at least 25%. Eligible projects include the installation of energy-efficient streetlights; retrofitting of high-efficiency furnaces, boilers, and air conditioners; efficiency upgrades at wastewater treatment plants; and the deployment of renewable energy technologies on or in government buildings. Other recipients of the EECBG awards include Allegheny and Delaware Counties, as well as Abington Township, Altoona, Cheltenham Township, Middleton Township, and York. DOE is continuing to review applications and will be making awards to additional cities and counties in the weeks to come.

The EECBG program was funded for the first time by the Recovery Act and provides formula grants to states, cities, counties, territories, and federally-recognized tribes nationwide to implement energy efficiency projects locally. Eligible efforts include the development of energy efficiency and conservation strategies, the development and implementation of advanced building codes and inspections, the creation of financial incentive programs for energy efficiency improvements, the delivery of energy efficiency audits and retrofits, the creation and implementation of transportation programs, and the installation of renewable energy technologies on municipal buildings.

Harrisburg:  Compiled by the PA Department of Environmental Protection, A Guide to Energy and Green Technologies Funding Programs in and for Pennsylvania helps potential users to find government programs by the categories of homeowner, low-income homeowners, business owners, business owners with more than 150 employees, municipalities, schools, and non-profit organizations.  The programs range from weatherization to solar to tax credits and green certifications.  This Guide is current to the end of June 2009.  For a downloadable copy of the guide, click here.  For more information, contact PA DEP by clicking here.