PA Awards Energy Harvest Grants for Renewable Projects

Renewable Energy Today, Feb 12, 2004

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) recently announced it has awarded a total of $5 million in Energy Harvest grants to 32 recipients, the majority of which plan to use the funds for renewable energy projects.

Grant recipients include Middle Allegheny Streams Alliance, Inc., which received $64,000 to install a photovoltaic (PV) power system at the Indiana Township municipal plaza complex in Allegheny County; the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program, which was awarded $29,000 to install a five-kilowatt (kW) wind turbine at the Terra Dei Homestead demonstration site; Seneca Landfill, Inc., which received $145,000 to utilize a portion of landfill gas to power the leachate treatment system; the Chester County Industrial Development Authority, which was awarded $150,000 to convert mushroom compost into methane and ethanol; Maysie's Farm Conservation Center, which received $12,760 to install a two-kW PV panel at a farm in Chester County; and the Clinton County Conservation District, which was awarded $357,000 for an anaerobic digester project.

Additionally, Borough of Media received 415,925 to install a 4.8-kW PV system atop the Media Armory; Presque Isle Partnership, Inc. was awarded $42,106 to erect a Bergey Excel-S 10-kW wind turbine atop a 120-foot tower at the Stull Interpretive Center at Presque Isle State Park; the Fulton county Conservation District received $200,000 to develop a "green" healthcare facility that utilizes such technologies as geothermal heating; the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies was awarded $25,200 to construct a 10-kW wind turbine; and the Indiana County Conservation District received $408,577 to develop an anaerobic digester.

Grants were also presented to the Lancaster County Conservation District, which received separate grants of $367,412 and $294,203 for the installation of anaerobic digestion systems at the Wanner's Pride-N-Joy Farm and Graywood Farms dairy, respectively; the Discovery Center of Science & Technology, which was awarded $41,000 to install a wind energy system on the Cedar Crest College campus; Jeddo Coal Company, which received $51,633 to install a wind turbine at an abandoned mine lands site; the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, which was awarded $6,103 to install a 75-watt PV system at Three Sisters Farm in Mercer County; and the Somerset Conservation District, which received $373,205 for an anaerobic digester at Dovan Farms in Somerset County.

Other recipients include the Penn State Cooperative Extension of Westmoreland County, which was awarded $54,182 to install and demonstrate a hybrid wind and solar energy generation system at the Donohoe Center Complex in Greensburg; Monona, LLC, which received $199,740 to utilize switchgrass to produce electricity; E3, Inc., which was awarded $247,982 to install turbines at three sites within the Delaware River watershed; and the Pocono Northeast Resource Conservation and Development Council, which received $400,000 to install an anaerobic digester at three farms.

Contact: PA DEP, website http://www.dep.state.pa.us.

(EIN STAFF: 2/9)