Pennsylvania DEP highlights energy efficiency, pollution prevention grants for small business owners and farmers

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently reminded small business owners and farmers that grant funding for energy efficiency and pollution prevention projects is still available through the Small Business Advantage Grant program.

“This grant program was created with small businesses and farmers in mind,” DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said. “There are tremendous monetary savings available to Pennsylvania’s small business entrepreneurs by installing energy-efficient equipment, such as LED lighting, and Energy Star rated HVAC and boilers. Pennsylvania farmers can also benefit from these grants by receiving support for undertaking projects to help them divert sediment and nutrient runoff from our waterways.”

Pennsylvania farmers and other small business owners with 100 or fewer full-time employees are eligible for the grants, the DEP said in a press release. Projects must save the business at least $500 and 25 percent annually in energy consumption or pollution-related expenses. Natural resource protection projects are exempt from the minimums, but the projects must be able to quantify sediment and nutrient reductions into nearby waterways.

“Clean water and healthy soil are the keys to sustaining our farms and feeding our communities,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “These grants are an investment in our future, and I encourage Pennsylvania farmers to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Businesses can apply for 50 percent matching funds for equipment or materials, up to $7,000, to adopt energy-efficient or pollution prevention equipment or processes.

Applications are considered on a first-come, first-served basis and will be accepted until fiscal year 2019-20 funds are exhausted, or April 12, 2020, whichever occurs first, according to the DEP.

The complete grant application package is available through the DEP Small Business Ombudsman’s Office site.