Energy Assessments for Small to Mid-Size Manufacturers
Through US Department of Energy's (DOE's) State Energy Program (SEP) Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding, DEP's Energy Programs Office is providing funding assistance for Pennsylvania industrial facilities to receive reduced-cost energy audits.
What does an energy audit involve? There are three levels of energy audits, as defined by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE): a Level 1 “Walk-Through Audit”, a Level II “Energy Survey and Analysis” and a Level III “Investment Grade Audit”.
DEP has earmarked over $2.3 million in SEP-BIL funding towards providing reduced-cost Level II ASHRAE energy audits. To qualify, facilities must meet the definition of a small to medium-sized industrial facility (defined as Standard Industrial Codes
(SIC) 20-39; gross annual sales below $250 million; and fewer than five hundred (500) employees at the plant site).
A Level II audit will provide facilities with a detailed cost-benefit financial analysis of recommended energy efficiency measures and the steps needed for implementation. Working with our contractor,
The Cadmus Group LLC, DEP hopes to offer manufacturers an actionable energy efficiency plan for their facility.
This program is expected to launch in early 2025 and a simple online application process will be utilized for interested manufacturers. Funding will be utilized to provide assessments for up to 200 industrial facilities. The program will be geared toward small to mid-sized manufacturers with a focus on disadvantaged businesses or those businesses located in Environmental Justice (EJ) areas, which can be found here:
PennEnviroScreen (pa.gov)
For information on the industrial assessment program, please contact Michelle Ferguson, PA DEP Energy Program Specialist,
miferguson@pa.gov
To further enhance efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions from the industrial sector, Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) is a $396 million statewide industrial decarbonization grant program funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The purpose of this program is to offer grants for small, medium, and large-scale decarbonization projects at industrial facilities to reduce GHG and co-pollutant emissions.
RISE PA is focused on reducing emissions from Pennsylvania’s industrial sector, which is the highest-emitting sector statewide and accounts for just over 30% of Pennsylvania’s total GHG emissions.
RISE PA funding aims to utilize technologies to further mitigate decarbonization (or cut GHG and co-pollutant emissions) including energy efficiency, industrial electrification, low-carbon fuels, feedstocks, energy sources including clean hydrogen, material efficiency or substitution, carbon capture utilization and storage.
For more information, visit
RISE PA.
Other resources for the industrial sector include: