Pennsylvania announces $6.4 million
for clean energy projects
Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell announced
the State is investing $6.4 million in 16 clean energy projects
that will create 316 permanent and up to 280 construction jobs in
the commonwealth, as well as to leverage more than $38 million in
private funds.
“By partnering with Pennsylvania companies
that are advancing solar power, biofuels and other forms of renewable
energy, as well as building clean fossil technologies, we are creating
opportunities to put Pennsylvanians to work now and for years to
come.” said Governor Rendell.
Energy output from the projects, which were approved
by the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, will generate
an estimated 15,710-megawatt hours of electricity, enough to power
about 1,600 Pennsylvania homes, and produce the equivalent of enough
natural gas to supply almost 2,500 homes for a year. Another 208,000
million British thermal units (Btu) will be conserved. The projects
also have the potential to produce 115-million gallons of biofuel.
The 16 projects will receive grants for a variety
of clean fuels and green power projects using sources such as solar,
fuel cells, biofuels, landfill gas, wind and biomass.
This funding represents the third round of awards
by PEDA, which Governor Rendell revitalized after years of inactivity
as part of his strategy to build a clean, indigenous, diversified
energy industry in Pennsylvania.
The 16 PEDA projects were evaluated on a variety
of criteria, including their ability to promote Pennsylvania’s
indigenous energy resources, encourage energy diversity, enhance
energy security and improve the environment. The projects were judged
on their potential to create jobs and stimulate investment in the
state. Technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness also were considered.
This third round of PEDA financing priorities
included solar, distributed energy generation for critical public
infrastructure and clean, alternative fuels for transportation and
other technologies.
Five of the projects include solar power, with
a total public-private investment of almost $3.8 million. Two of
the projects will spread solar power generation to sites across
the commonwealth, raising the awareness of renewable energy and
demonstrating the viability of power aggregated from multiple, small-scale
sites.
Following is a list of the $6.4 million in grants
awarded through PEDA for 16 clean energy projects.
- HydroGen LLC - $250,000 to install a two-megawatt fuel
cell at U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley facility, fueling it using
surplus hydrogen-rich gas from coke oven operations.
- Middle Road Volunteer Fire Department - $51,388 for
a 3.2-kilowatt solar power generation system to provide supplemental
power and battery backup power to essential functions.
- Glendale Yearound Water Co. - $150,059 for wind and
solar power generators to serve as a backup power system for the
community water supplier and wastewater treatment plant, and to
cut demand for electricity.
- Kuchera Defense Systems Inc. - $391,548 to establish
a Center for Excellence for Advanced Energy Systems Manufacturing,
focusing on fuel cell manufacturing.
- Clarion Boards Inc. - $100,000 for a BioFilter system
to replace a thermal regenerative oxidizer.
- BioEnergy International LLC - $1 million to construct
rail facilities for a $180 million ethanol plant with a capacity
of 108-million gallons per year.
- Benton Area School District - $350,000 for a biomass-fired
boiler heating system.
- Keystone BioFuels Inc. - $500,000 to expand current
biodiesel production capacity from 1 million to 7 million gallons
per year.
- Elk Regional Health Center Inc. - $500,000 to install
and implement a biomass heating and cooling system that uses wood
by-products from nearby state and federal forested lands as fuel.
- Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority - $299,000
for a 25-kilowatt wind turbine-generator to power pumps on an
existing water line.
- Allentown - $517,045 to install first phase of a solar
photovoltaic array at the city’s Bridgeworks facility, a
brownfield industrial reuse building.
- Philadelphia Water Department - $500,000 to install
a system to purify biomethane gas generated from sludge.
- PA Pellets LLC - $325,000 for equipment to make wood
pellets from indigenous resources including sawdust and forest
thinning by-products.
- Johnstown Regional Energy LLC - $250,000 to construct
landfill gas projects at Southern Alleghenies and Shade Landfills.
- TRF Sustainable Development Fund - $701,366 for 46 solar
photovoltaic systems on buildings in southeast Pennsylvania.
- Mesa Environmental Sciences Inc. - $491,741 to install
solar photovoltaic systems, totaling 120 kilowatts, on 21 farms.
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