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DEP Awards Small Business Advantage Grants To Nine Small Businesses

The Department of Environmental Protection has awarded more than $57,905 in grants to help nine small businesses across Pennsylvania invest in energy efficiency or pollution prevention projects under the Small Business Advantage Grant Program.
            “This program empowers small-business owners to invest in important upgrades that make the most sense for their business,” DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. “It gives them the opportunity to lower the costs of production, which makes them better environmental stewards and more competitive.”
            One of the nine businesses received funding from the Storm Relief Grant program, which offers a maximum 50 percent reimbursement, up to $9,500, for small businesses that sustained storm damage in counties that were declared eligible for federal disaster relief following last year’s floods.
            The Small Business Advantage Grant Program, funded through the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, assists small businesses with fewer than 100 employees. It provides 50-percent matching reimbursement grants of up to $7,500 to implement projects that will save $1,000, in addition to 25 percent annually in pollution prevention or energy-related costs. Since 2004, the program has invested $6.1 million in 1,571 small businesses statewide.
            Of the $1 million in grants budgeted for the current fiscal year, 129 grants totaling $780,994 have been awarded to date. The nine new grants will create $231,001 of private-sector investment in small businesses. 
            Examples of eligible projects include High Efficiency HVAC and insulation upgrades for new businesses, high-efficiency lighting to save energy, installation of energy-efficient heat pumps and new auxiliary power units that help large trucks reduce time spent with idling engines.
            A list of grants awarded is available online.
            For more information, visit the Small Business Advantage Grant Program webpage or contact DEP’s Small Business Ombudsman’s Office at 717-772-8909 or send email to: epadvantagegrant@pa.gov.


4/9/2012

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