PEDA Board Approves $3.7 Million in Funding for 13 Clean Energy Projects

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, or PEDA, announced today that 13 projects across the state will receive a share of $3.7 million to develop and implement clean energy projects. Each grant recipient will provide matching funds of various amounts.

"These innovative projects now have the funding to be implemented," DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. "They will bring measurable energy efficiency and decreased air emissions; and some, like Pittsburgh's natural gas-powered waste-hauling trucks, will serve as a model for other cities and states looking to implement cleaner-burning fuels."

The City of Pittsburgh will pair with EQT Corporation to replace four diesel-powered waste trucks with trucks powered by natural gas. Two of the trucks will be purchased with grant funds; the other two will be purchased by the partnership between Pittsburgh and EQT. These new trucks will provide the city with an annual savings of $38,400 in fuel costs and reduce emissions in the region.

Other funded projects are in Bedford, Dauphin, Greene, Lawrence, Lehigh, Luzerne, Montgomery, Snyder, Union and Washington counties.

PEDA provides funding for energy projects across the commonwealth through grants, loans and loan guarantees. Projects in Allegheny County may be funded using a portion of a settlement reached between Duquesne Light and the Pennsylvania Utility Commission.

PEDA is an independent public financing authority that was created in 1982 with the mission to finance clean, advanced energy projects in Pennsylvania. Projects that could potentially qualify for PEDA funding include solar energy, wind, low-impact hydropower, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas, fuel cells, IGCC, waste coal, coal-bed methane, and demand management measures.

For more information, visit www.dep.state.pa.us or call 717-783-8411.

Media contact: Kevin Sunday, 717-787-1323

Editor's Note: Following are project descriptions, grant and match amounts:

Allegheny County: Pittsburgh and EQT Corporation will replace four diesel refuse trucks with four new natural gas-powered versions. The goal of this project is to build momentum, experience and ultimately, comfort, in the city for natural gas as an important, robust and cost-effective fuel for its fleets. Grant funding of $500,000 will be used to purchase two of the four natural gas refuse trucks. The city is providing a matching commitment of two natural gas refuse trucks, estimated at $593,000 or 54 percent of the project. The city's current refuse trucks consume an average of 4,800 gallons of diesel fuel per year. By using the equivalent of 630,000 cubic feet of natural gas, or 2.5 million cubic feet total, the project will save the city $38,400 per year. In addition, it will reduce the annual air emissions of CO2, particulate matter, NOx, VOC and CO by more than 200,000 pounds annually. Grant $500,000; match $593,000.

Phipps Conservancy will design and construct the Center for Sustainable Landscapes, a "living" building which will emerge as one of the world's greenest buildings. Among a variety of energy-saving technologies and strategies, the center will incorporate rainwater harvesting and thermal heating and cooling systems, produce potable water for non-potable use and treat all the sanitary water from Phipps' lower campus, the Living Building development site. Grant $250,000; match $1,926,410.

Bedford County: Hyndman Area Health Center will convert a vacant 10,000- square-foot facility in Bedford Borough into a health care center. Utilizing a state-of-the-art natural gas-fired HVAC system, the center will achieve energy efficiency and emission reductions. Grant $250,000; match $1,601,000.

Dauphin County: The Whitaker Center for the Performing Arts will install an air handler unit condensate reclamation system to capture condensation from air conditioning units to be used in cooling towers, along with insulation in the loading dock, and to install new doors on the 3^rd Street and Market Street entrances to improve energy efficiency. Grant $102,813; match $102,813.

The Harrisburg University of Science & Technology will install 14 energy-saving elevator vestibules in the parking garage, which is part of the academic center. By separating the elevator shafts from the outside air, air from the open parking decks will no longer flow into the building, reducing overall energy consumption by an estimated 10 percent annually. Grant $100,000; match $105,000.

Greene County: Foundation of the Pacific Pennsylvania Group Inc. will install three in-line turbine systems at the industrial wastewater treatment plants at three Greene County mining sites. These are low-impact hydro turbines placed on the back end of a wastewater treatment plant to create electricity from the flow of the effluent. Grant $264,000; match $426,000.

Lawrence County: Arcadia Recovery, LLC, will build an anaerobic digester and composting facility that will turn animal and organic wastes into useful, sustainable products, such as composted mulch, animal bedding and methane gas that will be used directly to either generate electricity or be condensed into fuel. Arcadia's goal is to assist small and mid-sized agricultural operations by creating cost-effective and environmentally friendly digester facilities that can be used to provide affordable, viable options to deal with their animal-derived and organic wastes. Grant $350,000; match $3,850,000.

Lehigh County: Allentown Commercial and Industrial Development Authority and the city of Allentown are working with Delta Thermo Energy, an alternative energy company, to develop a plant between the Allentown wastewater treatment facility and a power substation. The plant will process sludge from the treatment facility and municipal solid waste collected in the municipality to produce electricity, steam and hot water energy to power the treatment facility. Grant $500,000; match $30,500,000.

Luzerne County: Misericordia University will install energy-efficient lighting at the sports and health center and the science building, reducing lighting energy use in the buildings by 39 percent, and replace the steam boiler at the student life center, yielding an estimated 33-percent energy savings. Grant $273,841; match $155,149.

Montgomery County: Ursinus College will retrofit 214 parking lot and walkway lights with LED lights. By replacing the existing metal halide and high-pressure sodium bulbs, the campus will reduce annual electricity costs by nearly $20,000. The bulb conversions will also yield estimated annual emissions reductions of 170,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 950 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 300 pounds of nitrous oxide. Grant $120,645; match $41,514.

Snyder County: Durabuilt Homes, LLC, will make its Selinsgrove modular home manufacturing facility more energy efficient through renovations to compressed air supply equipment and systems, lighting systems, controls and heating equipment. Grant $638,185; match $225,000.

Union County: Evangelical Community Hospital will install an 18-million BTU-per-hour biomass boiler system at the main hospital facility in Lewisburg. The system will reduce heating, cooling and electricity costs of the hospital complex and utilize a micro-turbine and absorber chiller system for improved efficiency and reduced energy usage and expenses. Grant $250,000; match $2,058,150.

Washington County: ARC Technologies will install an add-on device to an existing methane recovery plant at South Hills Landfill near South Park that would allow the plant to recover all the methane from the plant's inlet, resulting in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The project will be a model for other landfills in the state. By capturing all the methane that enters the plant inlet, there will be no need to have an on-site flare to burn any excess gas. Grant $120,000; match $120,000.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection