Due to an overwhelming response, the Department of Environmental Protection anticipates that the application window for the Small Business Advantage Grant Program will close the last week of August, or once the $1 million in funding is committed to eligible projects, whichever comes first.

On August 13, the DEP Small Business Ombudsman’s office opened the Advantage Grant program for FY 07-08. Applications arrived at a frenzied pace after the first day, averaging more than $70,000 in requests per day.

At the current rate of incoming applications, the Advantage Grant program may experience the shortest application window in its history. To put it in perspective, last fiscal year’s grant round was open for two-and-a-half months.

The Small Business Advantage Grant Program provides a 50 percent matching grant-up to $7,500-to help defray the costs of purchasing new equipment or implementing new processes that reduce energy consumption and prevent pollution, while helping to increase profitability.

Listed below are examples of pollution prevention and energy efficiency projects that have received Advantage Grant funding in previous rounds: Anti-Idling Technologies for Long Haul Trucking, Alternate Fuels or Heat Exchanger/Recirculating Systems, Compressed Air System Upgrades, High Efficiency Lighting Systems, Dental Digital Radiography, Lumber Mill By-Product Utilization, Dry-Cleaning Equipment Upgrades, Process Chiller/Boiler Systems and Motor Controller Upgrades

To be eligible, an applicant must be a for-profit corporation, limited liability company, partnership, sole proprietorship or other legal entity with no more than 100 full-time employees. The entity must be a separate legal business at the time the application is submitted, and located within the commonwealth.

For more information, visit the Small Business Advantage Grant Program webpage.

8/24/2007