Grants to help small businesses save energy

Small-business owners are being urged to apply for state grants for pollution prevention and energy-efficiency projects.

More than $1 million in total grant funding is available for eligible small businesses through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Small Business Advantage Grant Program, according to a press release from state Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19.

“There are almost a million small businesses in Pennsylvania, and these grants can go a long way in helping them realize the advantages of investing in energy-efficiency upgrades that cut operating costs, increase profitability, and benefit our environment,” Dinniman said in the release. “I encourage business owners to apply now as funds are limited and first-come, first-served.”

Businesses can apply for 50 percent matching grants of up to $9,500 to adopt or acquire energy-efficient or pollution-prevention equipment or processes.

Applicants must be a for-profit corporation, LLC, partnership, sole proprietorship or other legal entity with 100 or fewer full-time employees. The grant-supported project must be located in Pennsylvania. Eligible project must save the business a minimum of $500 and at least 25 percent annually in energy consumption or pollution prevention related expenses, the release said.

Applicants may be manufacturers, retailers, service providers, mining operators or agricultural businesses. Eligible projects include HVAC and boiler upgrades, high-efficiency lighting, solvent recovery systems, waste-recycling systems and auxiliary power units deployed as an anti-idling technology for trucks. Funding is eligible for those costs incurred between July 25 and June 30, 2017, the release said.

Eligible applications will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted. Applications will be accepted until funds are exhausted or on April 14, 2017, whichever comes first.

Last year, DEP awarded 151 grants totaling nearly $1 million to Pennsylvania businesses to support pollution prevention and energy-efficient upgrades, spurring more than $2.9 million in private investment; the program is funded by the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act. Past Chester County recipients have utilized the grant funding to upgrade lighting, HVAC systems, replace oil-fired burners with high efficiency gas-fired burners, and install tankless water heaters.

Applications are available by visiting the DEP Small Business Ombudsman’s office. Applications must be mailed to DEP’s Grants Center, P.O. Box 8776, Harrisburg, 17105-8776 or be hand delivered to the center on the 15th floor of the Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market St., Harrisburg. Faxed or electronic submissions will not be accepted.

To contact the Small Business Ombudsman’s office, call 717-772-5160 or email epadvantagegrant@pa.gov. For more information, contact Dinniman’s district office at 610-692-2112, or email acirucci@pasenate.com.

 

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