Pennsylvania set to invest in clean energy and biofuel projects to boost economy and environment

5 Feb 2009

The Governor of Pennsylvania, Edward Rendell, will ensure that investments are made in clean energy and biofuel projects, accelerating the state’s energy independence.

At present, 49 projects have been selected and Governor Rendell believes that they will boost jobs in the area and save consumers millions of dollars a year in energy costs.

‘These are difficult times for businesses to raise the capital needed to develop new products and processes, even for the renewable energy and biofuels industries that had been among the fastest growing globally just a few months ago,’ said Governor Rendell. ‘And even though energy prices have subsided recently, we have seen how volatile these markets can be and how high energy prices can hurt an economy.

‘We want to be sure Pennsylvania is doing everything it can to encourage energy conservation and efficiency, as well as the increased use of alternatives and renewables. Making this kind of investment today is even more crucial now if we are to continue developing clean energy resources and growing the Keystone State’s green energy manufacturing industry. That way, we are positioned to capitalise on increased demand once the economy improves.’

The grants include $7.2m through the Energy Harvest programme and $6.5m through the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant programme and are expected to leverage more than $53.1m in private investments.

Combined, the projects will save 25.1 million kilowatt hours of electricity, 250.1 million gallons of diesel and 37,564 million British thermal units of natural gas.

Environmental protection acting Secretary John Hanger, added, ‘Developing homegrown sources of clean energy is essential to providing clean air so our most vulnerable citizens can breath easier, to reducing the impacts of climate change, and to providing a competitive business environment that attracts entrepreneurs and jobs to our state.’

Despite this progress, Governor Rendell warned that more must be done to protect families and businesses from potentially devastating price spikes once electricity rate caps are lifted statewide beginning in 2011.

Tags: biofuel, clean energy, policy