Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger this week toured The Bridge Business Center in Bristol Township, Bucks County, where $1 million in federal recovery funds are being used to install a modern energy system in a former Rohm & Haas laboratory.

Secretary Hanger witnessed a milestone in the project's development, as seven micro-turbines were lifted by crane and placed on the roof of a building at 360 George Patterson Blvd., where renovations are underway in the 50,000-square-foot, multi-tenant facility.

"This is how recovery funds are making a real difference in people's lives," said Secretary Hanger. "In a community that has suffered from an economic downturn, we see this developer making not only a $4.5 million investment in adaptive reuse of a building on a designated brownfield site, but also in providing a clean, affordable and reliable source of energy for its tenants."

In March, Gov. Rendell announced the $1 million Pennsylvania Energy Development Authoritygrant to the Keystone Redevelopment Group to install an energy system that uses gas-fired micro-turbines. This project is one of the first in the state to receive funding through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Through the installation of this system, total savings on energy costs over a 10-year period are expected to equal approximately $2 million. A significant portion of that savings – as much as $150,000 a year – will come from the sale of energy back to PECO. The system is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 13,000 pounds per year, equivalent to removing 250 average-sized automobiles from the state's highways.

The retrofitting of 360 George Patterson Blvd., the design and installation of its sustainable energy system, and employment by its tenants are expected to result in the creation of 100 high-wage jobs.

"Chemical research and development is an energy-intensive business," Secretary Hanger said. The incorporation of this energy system is expected to make The Bridge Business Center highly competitive in the life sciences real estate market, and to attract tenants that will create hundreds of additional high-wage jobs in the future."

The Bridge Business Center is located in a Keystone Innovation Zone. KIZs are established in communities with institutions of higher education, and are designed to foster innovation and create entrepreneurial opportunities. More than 600 jobs have been lost in Bristol Township since 2005 as employers Rohm & Haas and Jones New York downsized.