The Department of Environmental Protection has awarded $290,010 in grants to help 36 small businesses across Pennsylvania invest in energy-efficiency or pollution-prevention projects.

“Since 2004, DEP has invested $7.5 million in 1,756 small businesses statewide,” DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. “We are committed to investing in energy and pollution-saving measures in small businesses.”

Pennsylvania’s Small Business Advantage Grant program, funded through the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, helps businesses with 100 or fewer employees. It provides 50-percent matching reimbursement grants of up to $9,500 to implement projects that will save 25 percent annually in pollution-prevention or energy-related costs.

Of the $1 million in grants budgeted for the current fiscal year, this is the last of three announcements of selected grantees. The 36 new grants will create more than $1.1 million in private-sector investment in small businesses.

Examples of eligible projects include high-efficiency HVAC and insulation upgrades, 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 about the Small Business Advantage Grant program, contact DEP’s Office of the Small Business Ombudsman at 717-772-8909 or send email to: epadvantagegrant@pa.gov.

3/11/2013