Pennsylvania to Support Clean Energy Tech with New Fund

Breaking new technologies into traditional markets can be challenging, particularly in the energy field it seems. To help overcome that hurdle, the State of Pennsylvania has undertaken a $5 million initiative to help finance the implementation of clean and renewable energy technologies such as biomass and wind power. The initiative, Pennsylvania Energy Harvest, will help improve air quality, preserve land and protect local watersheds while providing economic opportunities for the state’s agricultural community.

Pennsylvania Energy Harvest mixes money from the state's Clean Air Fund, Growing Greener Program, and U.S. Department of Energy grant funding. The initiative is designed to encourage clean and renewable energy demonstration projects that will have real and measurable impacts on pollution reduction, environmental quality and energy generation, rather than projects that focus solely on public outreach and communication. Among some of the projects that could qualify for funding:

• Using biomass, which includes any organic and renewable material such as agricultural byproducts, for electricity generation.
• Implementing wind farms to produce pollution-free power locally for farmers, industrial parks and others.
• Taking advantage of existing waste coal to produce energy.
• Using small-scale solar power systems in rural areas to mitigate other environmental impacts. For example, a farm could use solar power to pump water to livestock, eliminating the need to either truck water or herd animals to a stream; or solar power could be used to power traffic signals at a busy intersection.

Pennsylvania Energy Harvest is part of the plan to get Pennsylvania to meet 10 percent of its energy needs with "green" power by encouraging more state agencies to use energy sources such as those above. Some of the sources are not truly renewable but still offer environmental benefits. Twelve agencies currently participate.

The state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Acting Secretary Kathleen McGinty said DEP and state government in general will continue to look at ways to encourage the development of green power, including regulatory enticements and other credits or incentives. One way, she said, will be to put the state’s resources to work to encourage energy innovation by expanding the state’s Green Power program.

Former Pennsylvania Governors Tom Ridge and Mark Schweiker instituted the program to require state facilities to meet 5 percent of their energy needs through renewable energy sources. Gov. Ed Rendell has pledged to increase that goal.

The Pennsylvania Energy Harvest grant program is open to farmers, local governments, conservation districts, nonprofit organizations, farms, businesses and school districts, colleges and universities. The deadline to apply is Sept. 19, 2003. For more information, type "2003 Energy Harvest Grant" in the PA Keyword field at http://www.state.pa.us.