Release Date: Nov 12, 2009  |  Author: Steve Weitzman, DCED;  717-783-1132 ; Michael Smith, Governor's Office,  717-783-1116 

Harrisburg – More than $23 million was approved this week for 36 new solar and other alternative and clean energy projects that will help maintain Pennsylvania’s status as a national leader in the drive to create a green economy, Governor Edward G. Rendell said.

“From a geothermal energy system for the Sisters of St. Joseph in Erie; to a new high-energy-performance, mixed-use building in Lancaster, these are the kinds of investments that are crucial if we are to continue developing clean energy resources and enhancing our reputation as a leader in the field,” Governor Rendell said. “I’m committed to supporting growth and innovation that promotes energy conservation and efficiency, a cleaner environment, and a stronger green economy.”

The Commonwealth Financing Authority administers Pennsylvania's economic stimulus programs, including the $650 million Alternative Energy Investment Fund. On Nov. 10, the CFA approved the following solar energy and alternative energy projects:

Allegheny County

·         Trek Development Group Inc. will receive a $273,872 alternative and clean energy program loan for a geothermal project in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Trek specializes in residential real estate development and is working on an affordable housing project called Dinwittie Phase I. Trek plans to install a geothermal heating and cooling loop system to provide low cost energy to residents. The funds will be used for the new geothermal wells, piping, pumps and installation of the system. Total project cost of the alternative and clean energy project is $547,745. Trek will provide $273,873 in matching funds. 

·         Chatham University will receive a $113,037 solar energy program grant to purchase and install solar thermal systems for two residence halls on its Pittsburgh campus. Chatham is partnering with system manufacturer Solar Tomorrow to complete the project. Solar Tomorrow is a start-up energy technology company that would like to establish its production headquarters in Pittsburgh. This project will be the first-to-scale implementation of the new technology, and it could establish the commercialization of Solar Tomorrow’s product. Solar Tomorrow expects to create 100 jobs within five years, not including manufacturing jobs that will be outsourced to local partners. The total project cost is $226,075. Chatham University will contribute $113,038 in matching funds.

·         The Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens was approved for a $2 million alternative and clean energy loan to build its Center for Sustainable Landscapes Building on a remediated brownfield site in Pittsburgh. The new building will use the latest technologies to generate its energy needs on site, capture and treat its own water, implement heat mirror window technology and a smart skin high performance building envelope, and utilize wind and photovoltaic installations.  The building will house the conservatory’s education, research and administration functions, and it will meet or exceed LEED-platinum status. The construction project cost is $11.95 million. The Phipps Conservatory, through numerous grants, will provide $9.95 million in matching funds.

·         The East End Cooperative Ministry will receive a $175,000 renewable energy program grant for a geothermal feasibility study for its five buildings on Penn Circle, Pittsburgh. EECM employs 63 staff members and plans to consolidate services to this location. Total project cost is $1 million with EECM contributing $830,804 in matching funds.

Berks County

La Ferrovia LLC will receive a $40,341 renewable energy program loan to build a LEED-platinum certified, early childhood education facility in Ruscombmanor Township. Growing Hearts Early Childhood Education Center plans to provide services for more than 200 children and will create up to 16 new jobs.

Bucks County

Warrington Township will receive a $278,240 solar energy grant for a $1.2 million solar voltaic system at the Tradesville Station wastewater treatment facility. The township will provide $976,060 in matching funds.

Chester County

·         Uwchlan Township will receive an $85,000 solar energy program grant for a $386,460 solar energy system at the township’s municipal building. The township will provide $301,460 in matching funds.

·         Earth Rising Ventures Inc. was approved for a $1.02 million alternative and clean energy program loan guarantee a LEED-platinum, mixed-use, high-performance building construction project in Kimberton Village’s historic district, on a 1.4-acre brownfield site in East Pikeland Township. The building will include residential living space and a business office incubator. The building will be heated and cooled by the sun and earth using photovoltaic electricity and geothermal heat pumps, thereby reducing peak electrical demand and significantly reducing carbon dioxide and other emissions. In addition, the project includes a 60-kilowatt solar photovoltaic rooftop array. The loan guarantee will ensure financing for the land cleanup, property acquisition and building construction costs. The total eligible project cost is $2.05 million, including $1.4 million from Phoenixville Federal Bank and Trust and $655,636 from Kimberton Village Green Investment. Total project cost is $7.8 million.

·         Camphill Special School will receive a $30,000 renewable energy program loan to install a geothermal heat pump system in its new residence, education and resource center in East Vincent Township. The geothermal project cost is $340,650 with the school contributing $310,650 in matching funds.  Total project cost is $6 million.

Crawford County

Ernst Biomass LLC will receive a $902,707 alternative and clean energy loan to build a biomass processing and densification facility in Union Township. Total project cost is $2.7 million; other funds include an $896,400 PEDA grant and $920,757 in company equity.

Cumberland County

·         SunEdison received approval for its $5 million solar energy program loan for a $19.9 million solar energy system at its Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. facility in Carlisle. The company will invest $14.9 million for the system, which will cover 14.5 acres next to its facility.

·         The Carlisle Area School District will receive a $950,000 solar energy program grant toward a solar photovoltaic system, which will produce about 15 percent of its annual power need. The $5.8 million project includes a $1 million grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority and $3.85 million in matching funds from the school district.

Dauphin County

A $1.6 million grant was improved for the Dauphin County Industrial Development Authority for a $7.8 million project to build a ground-based solar power system on 9 DCIDA-owned acres in Middle Paxton Township and supply power to county-owned buildings.  DCIDA and the county will provide the remaining $6.1 million. 

Delaware County

·         Fairgrounds Housing Partnership II LP will receive a $15,000 renewable energy program loan to purchase and install a geothermal heat pump system at a community building in Chester Township, the cost of which is $214,500.  Fairgrounds Housing Partnership II will provide $199,500 in matching funds from the sale of Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Total project cost is $19.5 million.

·         Sun Center Studios Corp. will receive a $459,000 renewable energy program loan to install of a geothermal heat pump system at a feature-film sound stage facility to be built in Chester Township. The owners intend to seek LEED certification. The geothermal system will provide approximately 500 tons of heating and cooling for service of 30,000 square feet of office space and 123,000 square feet of sound stage/special events space. Sun Center Studios Corp anticipates that 200 full-time jobs will be created through this project.  The geothermal project cost is $8.2 million; the total project cost is $85.8 million.  Matching funds are in place from other sources, including $28.9 million from Sun Center Studios.

Erie County

The CFA approved the Sisters of St. Joseph Northwestern Pennsylvania for a $33,000 renewable energy program loan to purchase and install a geothermal system for a new administrative office building in Millcreek Township. The geothermal project cost is $73,062; the Sisters will provide $40,062 in matching funds as part of the $2.5 million project.

Lancaster County

·         Johnson & Johnson will receive an $876,000 solar energy grant for a $3.2 million solar power system to be constructed on the roof of its manufacturing facility in East Lampeter Township. The company will provide the remaining $2.4 million.

·         Illuminex Corp. will receive a solar energy program grant of $185,910 to help fund the acquisition of a chemical vapor deposition system to produce a new material that, once commercialized, will be a suitable platform for military and consumer applications. Total project cost is $373,020.  Illuminex will contribute $187,110 in matching funds.

·         TCH Realty & Development Co. LLC will receive a $239,500 alternative and clean energy program grant to build a high performance building on a 21-acre brownfield site, the Lancaster Stockyards, in Lancaster. The estimated total construction cost for the Cargas Systems building is $2.4 million and includes a $2.1 million loan from Sovereign Bank. The project is expected to create 386 permanent, full-time, non-construction jobs.

Lehigh/Northampton counties

Lehigh Valley Hospital Inc. will receive a $96,120 solar energy program grant for a $1.9 million project that will install rooftop solar photovoltaic systems at two LVH sites: Kasych Family Pavilion, Allentown, and Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg, Bethlehem. Other funding includes a $951,500 U.S. Department of Energy grant, $502,000 from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, and $353,380 from Lehigh Valley Hospital.

Lehigh County

A $237,423 renewable energy program grant will help Parkland School District add a geothermal system in a new school in Upper Macungie Township. The geothermal project cost is $1.7 million; Parkland School District will provide matching funds of $1.44 million.

Luzerne County

Butler Township will receive a $52,000 renewable energy program loan to purchase and install a geothermal system for the township’s community center. The geothermal project cost is $470,000, towards which Butler Township will contribute $418,000 in matching funds. Total project cost of the building is $3 million.

Lycoming County

The East Lycoming School District was approved for an $111,882 renewable energy program loan for geothermal heat pump systems at Renn Elementary School, Lairdsville, and Ferrell School, Picture Rocks, the total project cost of which is $2.3 million. The district will provide $2.15 million in matching funds.

McKean County

American Refining Group LLC will receive a $609,422 alternative and clean energy program grant to build and install two above-ground biofuels storage tanks in Bradford—one 65,800-gallon biodiesel tank and a 237,930-gallon ethanol tank. The total  project costis $1.5 million and American Refining will provide $914,035 in matching funds.

Montgomery County

·         SunEdison will receive a $2.55 million solar energy program loan for a $6.1 million project to build a rooftop solar photovoltaic system on a commercial property in Fort Washington. The property manager, Cushman & Wakefield, will purchase the energy generated by the system; SunEdison will own the system and will invest $3.5 million in matching funds.

·         Abington School District will receive a $190,518 renewable energy program loan to help install a geothermal heating and cooling system in the Rydal East Elementary School, Abington Township. The geothermal project cost is $2.5 million; Abington School District will contribute $2.35 in matching funds.

·         CPM Group LLC was approved for a $43,620 renewable energy program loan to install a geothermal heating and cooling system in a 25-unit apartment building in Narberth. The geothermal cost is $291,082; CPM will contribute $247,462 in matching funds.

·         The Artman Lutheran Home will use a $54,175 solar energy program grant to install a solar hot water pre-heat system at the home in Ambler. The total project cost is $108,350. Artman Lutheran Home will contribute the other $54,175 in matching funds.

Northampton County

·         The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern PA will receive a $750,000 alternative and clean energy grant towards an $18 million project to expand its TechVentures incubator on Lehigh University’s Mountaintop campus, creating 75 jobs in five years.

·         A $100,000 solar energy program grant will help fund IQE Solar LLC’s acquisition and modification of a specialized reactor for its Bethlehem facility. IQE Solar is a new subsidiary of IQE Inc., a leading manufacturer of compound semiconductor wafers in wireless devices. The total project cost is $4.1 million. IQE Inc. will contribute $4 million in matching funds.

Philadelphia

Borrego Solar Systems Inc. will receive a $649,152 grant towards a $2.3 million solar photovoltaic system project for at the Tasty Baking Co. Borrego, a California-based company, will provide $1.6 million in matching funds.  

Pike County

The county was approved for a $72,000 alternative and clean energy program loan to complete a geothermal heating and cooling system for its new, $10.5 million 911 emergency operations center in Blooming Grove Township. The total geothermal project cost is $543,000, with the county contributing $471,000 in matching funds. 

Potter County

The Charles Cole Memorial Hospital will receive a $1 million alternative and clean energy program loan toward a biomass combustion unit and boiler unit to provide heat for the hospital in Eulalia Township. Projected energy cost savings are $385,000 per year. The total project cost is $2.7 million, with the hospital providing $1.7 in matching funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Westmoreland County

Green Gas Energy LLC will receive a $1.5 million alternative and clean energy loan to develop a landfill gas processing plant at the Greenridge landfill in East Huntingdon Township that will produce electricity. The project’s total cost is $8.9 million; Ameresco Inc. will provide $7.4 million in matching funds to the project that is expected to create at least five new jobs.

York County

·         Dallastown Area School District will receive a $1 million solar energy program grant for a $3.4 million rooftop solar power system on the middle/high school building in York Township. The school district will contribute $2.4 million.

·         St. Jacobs Lutheran Church will use a $31,200 renewable energy program grant to help purchase and install a geothermal heating and cooling system in a new facility to be built on Route 216 in Codorus Township. The total geothermal project cost is $307,872, with the church providing $276,672 in matching funds.  The building’s total project cost is $2.2 million. 

For more information on state investment programs available through the Department of Community and Economic Development, visit www.newpa.com or call  1-866-466-3972 .

Media contacts:

Steve Weitzman, DCED;  717-783-1132 

Michael Smith, Governor’s Office;  717-783-1116 

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