Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today awarded nearly $5 million to manufacturing projects across Pennsylvania that focus on reducing industrial emissions and improving air quality – and those projects will save Pennsylvania companies over $500,000 in energy costs as part of the Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) Small-scale Award Track (SAT) grant program.
“Pennsylvania has a long industrial history, and these RISE PA grants are going to help manufacturers build their business with lower energy costs, more energy focused jobs, and reduce air pollution for the surrounding communities,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. “It’s a commonsense program that improves the economy and environment and continues Pennsylvania’s energy leadership.”
The SAT represents one component of the RISE PA grant program, a $396 million statewide industrial decarbonization grant program funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants. RISE PA offers grants for small, medium, and large-scale decarbonization projects at industrial facilities by investing in emissions reduction equipment and energy efficient upgrades.
The medium and large-scale RISE PA grants are expected to be announced this spring. RISE PA has the potential to reduce approximately 5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents by 2050 – nearly 10 percent of Pennsylvania’s current annual industrial emissions.
The first year of the SAT grants project implementation is expected to prevent approximately 5,055 metric tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere. This is the greenhouse gas equivalent of 1,179 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year; the equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions avoided by 429,708 trash bags of waste recycled instead of landfilled; and the amount of carbon sequestered by 83,585 tree seedlings grown for 10 years. Companies will save an estimated $572,751 on electricity costs in the first year of the projects.
The Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) at Penn State manages the $40 million SAT program through the RISE PA initiative and helps businesses with a no cost site assessment. The goal is to help manufacturers identify opportunities to lower operational costs and reduce their environmental impact to surrounding communities.
“The RISE PA program illustrates that Pennsylvania is at the forefront of addressing energy efficiency and its impact on industry, the environment, and residents. PennTAP is excited to partner with DEP in this historic effort,” said PennTAP Director Tanna Pugh. “The SAT applications we received in round one show innovation and commitment by manufacturers across the state to implement solutions that significantly reduce emissions and enhance performance and we look forward to seeing the statewide impact of the projects.”
This is SAT’s first round of grants being awarded, with additional funding rounds planned through 2029. Round two has been closed and awardees are expected to be announced this summer. In addition, PennTAP is now accepting applications for the third round through April 15, 2026.
The following businesses have been awarded the first round of RISE PA SAT grants:
Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Projects
Allegheny County:
- Alpine Packaging, Inc., $106,333: Installing an LED lighting project to replace remaining non-LED fixtures within their facility. Estimated Energy Savings: $9,866
- Industrial Scientific, $121,305: Installing new air quality sensors and a controller to standardize HVAC operations in their equipment testing laboratories. Estimated Energy Saving: $95,987
- Value Added Processing, Inc., $699,937: Replacing an outdated overhead crane system that uses energy-intensive direct current (DC) motors with high-efficiency alternating current (AC) induction motors, enabling regenerative braking and energy recycling. Estimated Energy Savings: $15,052
- GE Energy Power Conversion USA Inc., $500,000: Replacing outdated 17 existing HVAC units with 17 high-efficiency units. Estimated Energy Savings: $55,895
Delaware County:
- PQ, LLC, $72,303: Replacing two 30-year-old compressors with one high efficiency standard air compressor and one high efficiency variable speed drive compressor. Estimated Energy Savings: $45,552
Jefferson County:
- Phoenix Sintered Metals, LLC, $36,799: Installing an LED lighting project to replace old fixtures and retrofit existing fixtures to install LEDs. Estimated Energy Savings: $20,104
Luzerne County:
- Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC, $276,100: Replacing 15 patented, custom-made (legacy) pocket spring production machines and 3 assembly machines with 6 new higher-capacity pocket coiling machines and 2 assembly machines equipped with dust collectors. Estimated Energy Savings: $12,583
Montgomery County:
- Enersys Advanced Systems Inc., $492,982: Increase energy efficiency and decarbonization through: upgrading their Building Automation System to improve capabilities to remotely control HVAC and lighting; replacing three rooftop units with new heat pump rooftop units; upgrading fluorescent lighting with LED bulbs; and replacing a single speed air compressor with a new variable speed model. Estimated Energy Savings: $45,537
Fugitive Emissions Reduction Infrastructure Projects
Lancaster County:
- Mars Wrigley Confectionery US, LLC., $499,234: Constructing a new cooling tunnel that will use chilled water directly from the site's existing high-efficiency centrifugal chiller. This delivers cooling to the product without intermediate refrigerant and replaces 100 percent of the original hazard with non-hazard. Estimated Energy Savings: $3,096
Solar Infrastructure Projects
Berks County:
- Weaver Nut Company, Inc., $492,633: Installing a roof-mounted solar system to offset 19.9 percent of the facility's annual electricity use. Estimated Energy Savings: $62,133
Dauphin County:
- Hearth & Home Technologies, LLC, $493,796: Installing a roof-mounted solar system to offset 19.8 percent of the facility's annual electricity use. Estimated Energy Savings: $61,369
Lancaster County:
- Engle Printing & Publishing Co. Inc., $493,114: Installing a ballast-mounted solar system on the facility roof to offset 99.9 percent of the facility's annual electricity use. Estimated Energy Savings: $12,583
Luzerne County:
- Northern Pelagic Group, LLC, $492,035: Installing a ballast-mounted solar system on the facility's roof to offset 7 percent of the facility's annual electricity use. Estimated Energy Savings: $63,197
York County:
- Monarch Products Co., Inc., $176,729: Installing a roof-mounted solar system to offset 99.9 percent of the facility's annual electricity use. Estimated Energy Savings: $23,873
To learn more about RISE PA’s SAT program, please visit the DEP website and the PennTAP website.
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