The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority this week awarded $10 million to help finance 17 clean energy projects. The funding represents the first awards by the newly revitalized PEDA.

The 17 selected projects will receive financial assistance in the form of grants or loans for a variety of electric power projects, including wind, solar, biomass, waste coal and coal gasification, and comprehensive redevelopment plans, among others.

Projects were evaluated on a variety of criteria, including their ability to promote Pennsylvania’s indigenous energy resources, encourage energy diversity and enhance energy security. The projects were judged on their potential to create jobs and stimulate investment in the commonwealth. Potential environmental benefits, as well as technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness, were also considered.

The projects include:

Allegheny County: PFBC Environmental Energy Technology Inc. will receive $1 million to design, construct and commission a Process Rest Facility capable of burning a wide variety of Pennsylvania waste coals.

EQA Landmark Communities will receive $413,477 to develop 300 acres of brownfields in South Fayette Township. The project will focus on creating homes and buildings that are energy efficient and green. Some homes will be designed to achieve zero energy status.

Capital Technologies Inc. will receive $162,629 to purchase and modify a natural gas micro-turbine to run on neat biodiesel, commonly called B100, to generate electricity.

Plextronics Inc. will receive $300,000 to fund the research necessary for development of the next generation of solar cells based on polymer technology.

Cambria County: Pristine Resources Inc. will receive $3.5 million to convert waste heat from a 1.7-million-tons-per-year coking operation into an operation that will produce 130 megawatts of electricity annually. The project will create 179 jobs at the coking operation and another 500 jobs in three coal mines that would be reopened to provide feedstock to the plant. Another 1,000 jobs would be created to construct the project.

Centre County: Penn State University will receive $182,919 to obtain performance data from a suite of biofuels indigenous to Pennsylvania.

Penn State University will receive $130,342 to develop a novel solid absorbent that can be used to remove hydrogen sulfides and carbon dioxide from the coal and biomass gasification streams.

Chester County: Southeastern Chester County Refuse Authority will receive $500,000 to develop a landfill gas collection system to produce 6.9 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

Franklin Fuel Cells Inc. will receive $460,000 to research ongoing development of solid oxide fuel cell technology.

Elk County: C/G Electrodes LLC will receive $491,114 to install two UTC Power PureCycle 200 units to produce electricity from the waste heat generated by the company’s normal operations.

Lancaster County: PPL Energy Services Holdings LLC will receive $650,000 to develop a 3,200-kilowatt landfill gas-to-energy project in Conestoga.

Luzerne County: Community Energy Inc. will receive $1 million to build a 24-megawatt utility-scale wind farm using Gamesa turbines to produce 73,000 megawatt hours annually. The project will create three full-time positions and as many as 50 construction jobs.

Westmoreland County: Solar Power Industries Inc. will receive $302,676 to research potential nontraditional means to increase available feedstock of solar-grade silicon, which is used for the manufacture of solar cells.

Multiple Counties: Advanced Fibers & Powders LLC will receive $139,960 to develop an integrated carbon activation and gasification process that uses cleaner-burning anthracite coal as the primary feedstock for electricity generation.

The Energy Coordinating Agency will receive $264,546 to create a successful ENERGY STAR affordable housing program throughout Pennsylvania.

Advanced Energy Partners LLC will receive $425,000 to develop and install a 600-kilowatt dispatchable aggregate power plant.

AFC First Financial Corp. will receive $77,337 to expand the Keystone Home Energy Loan Program (HELP).

For more information, visit the PEDA webpage.

6/24/2005