PEDA Seeks Applications for Clean Energy Projects
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ — The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) is seeking applications to help finance clean energy projects in the commonwealth.
Applicants can seek assistance in the form of grants, loans or loan guarantees for a variety of electric power projects including wind, solar, biomass, waste coal, coal gasification and others. Applied research projects related to electric power also are eligible to apply.
Proposed projects will be evaluated on a variety of criteria, including their ability to promote Pennsylvania’s indigenous energy resources, encourage energy diversity and enhance energy security. Projects will be judged on their potential to create jobs and stimulate investment in the commonwealth. Potential environmental benefits, as well as technical feasibility and cost- effectiveness, also will be considered.
“Pennsylvanians now spend some $30 billion per year on imported energy fuels and we want to develop homegrown resources that can help to support our energy needs,” Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty said. “Now is the time to invest in projects that stabilize energy prices, promote job development, improve the environment and enhance homeland security. As traditional energy costs rise, alternative energy projects not only become more competitive, they also make more sense.”
The deadline to apply is Nov. 15. A total of $3.5 million is currently available.
The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority originally was established in 1982 to promote applied energy research, provide financial incentives for the deployment of clean, alternative energy projects and promote investment in Pennsylvania’s energy sector. Governor Edward G. Rendell revitalized PEDA as part of his strategy to build a clean, indigenous, diversified energy industry in the state.
The Governor’s Growing Greener II initiative provides significant resources to support these energy initiatives, including up to $10 million annually for PEDA, which in June awarded its first round of funding that included $6.5 million for 16 clean energy projects. Those projects will create as many as 450 permanent and construction jobs, including 327 full-time positions as the result of successful research and development efforts.
Governor Rendell has made Pennsylvania a frontrunner in addressing the country’s dependence on foreign oil by supporting the nation’s first-ever waste-coal-to-diesel plant and creating a fuel consortium that will purchase nearly all of the 40 million gallons of cheaper, cleaner diesel fuel to be produced at the Schuylkill County facility, which is being built by Waste Management and Processors Inc. The consortium is a powerful new tool that will provide the long-term security needed to finance construction of more of these innovative plants.
Pennsylvania also is home to one of the nation’s most progressive alternative energy portfolio standards, ensuring that in 15 years, 18 percent of all energy generated comes from clean, efficient sources. Pennsylvania is one of two states with a portfolio standard that includes energy efficiency. Benefits include $10 billion in increased output for Pennsylvania, $3 billion in additional earnings and between 3,500 and 4,000 new jobs for residents over the next 20 years.
The Pennsylvania Energy Harvest grant program funds projects that build markets for advanced and renewable energy technologies that use biomass, wind, solar, small-scale hydroelectric, landfill methane, energy efficiency, coal- bed methane and waste coal. The program has awarded $10 million and leveraged another $26.7 million in private funds since its inception in May 2003.
The Governor also is actively promoting the development of a new manufacturing sector that focuses on advanced and renewable energy systems, energy efficiency and conservation, and clean advanced energy businesses, and encouraging companies that are located elsewhere to consider establishing manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution centers in Pennsylvania.
Governor Rendell recently signed an executive order, “Energy Management and Conservation in Commonwealth,” that ensures maximum efficiency in energy management and conservation in state facilities through the implementation of a centralized energy strategy. This measure will decrease energy consumption and energy costs and promote a cleaner environment.
More recently, Governor Rendell announced a plan to replace some 25 percent of the state’s vehicle fleet with hybrids by 2011.
PEDA’s guidelines are available on the authority’s Web site at http://www.dep.state.pa.us/, Keyword: “PEDA.”
CONTACT: Kurt Knaus
(717) 787-1323
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
CONTACT: Kurt Knaus of Pennsylvania Department of EnvironmentalProtection, +1-717-787-1323
Web site: http://www.dep.state.pa.us/