Grants were awarded in Allegheny, Berks, Blair, Bucks, Butler, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Luzerne, Montgomery and Somerset counties.
PA Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) is now accepting applications from small businesses for the fourth round through August 17.
Click Here for video and photos from the event.
Collectively, the projects are expected to save businesses more than $470,000 in energy costs and reduce approximately 2,500 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in their first year.
The greenhouse gas reductions are equivalent to removing 575 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles from the road for one year, recycling 209,447 trash bags of waste instead of sending them to a landfill, or growing 40,741 tree seedlings for 10 years.
Tröegs, one of the grant recipients, will use its $204,284 award to help offset the cost of installing a carbon dioxide reclamation system at its facility.
The system will capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the fermentation process and reuse it in later stages of beverage production, reducing the amount of CO2 the company needs to purchase for its production process.
“Pennsylvania has a long industrial history, and these RISE PA grants are helping manufacturers build their business with lower energy costs, create more energy focused jobs, and reduce air pollution for surrounding communities,” said DEP Secretary Shirley. “This program offers tailored grants to increase energy efficiency, use renewable energy, and help reduce or eliminate pollution, while also continuing to support our economy and position Pennsylvania as an energy and industrial leader.”
The RISE PA grant program is a $396 million statewide industrial decarbonization grant program funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants.
The $40 million Small-scale Award Track is administered by the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) at Penn State and supports small businesses across Pennsylvania.
RISE PA offers grants for small-, medium-, and large-scale projects at industrial facilities that reduce emissions through investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, electrification, and other pollution-reduction technologies.
PennTAP also provides participating small businesses with no-cost energy assessments to help identify opportunities to lower operating costs and reduce environmental impacts.
“On-site visits to Round 1 awardees, our team is learning more about RISE PA’s broader impact. In addition to helping manufacturers improve air quality in their local communities, these funded SAT projects will yield significant cost savings that is earmarked for re-investment in furthering energy efficiency initiatives, adding jobs, and expanding production,” said PennTAP Director Tanna Pugh. “Funding is also driving corporate investment in these Pennsylvania facilities, growing local operations and the state’s manufacturing economy. We look forward to hearing similar outcomes from Round 2 awardees.”
This is the second round of SAT grants being awarded; the first round was announced on April 1, 2026. Additional funding rounds are planned through 2029.
Round three has been closed and awardees are expected to be announced later this year.
The following small businesses have been awarded the second round of RISE PA SAT grants--
Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Projects
Allegheny County
-- Bearing Service Company — $179,280: Replace aging roof top units (RTUs), wall-mounted AC, and overhead natural gas heating system with new roof top units and updated HVAC ducting. Four new cooling-only RTUs will have variable air volume kits installed. Also, install a new building control system to optimize HVAC use within the facility. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $4,325
-- Schroeder Industries — $179,280: Replace two ground-level air handling units and a RTU with a single, more efficient air handling unit. Install HVAC controls and a new lighting control system. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $14,421
Blair County
-- Blair Image Elements — $65,761: Replace three existing RTUs with three new, efficient RTUs. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $9,880
-- Curry Rail Services — $149,930: Replacing an outdated air compressor and dryer with a new variable speed air compressor and dryer. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $111,491
Bucks County
-- Dunmore International — $233,484: Replace remaining lighting to high-efficiency LED lighting, replace outdated HVAC unit with updated, high-efficiency HVAC system. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $9,936
Butler County
-- Standard Bent Glass — $347,490: Replace two existing kilns with a new kiln that enables parallel processing, improved heating efficiency, and significantly shorter production cycles. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $39,264
Montgomery County
-- Accupac — $149,303: Replace existing indoor lighting with highly efficient LED lighting and fixtures. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $19,058
Lebanon County
-- Plain and Fancy Custom Cabinetry — $63,465: Replace all remaining indoor fluorescent lights with LED lights and fixtures. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $11,806
Luzerne County
-- Ball Corporation — $365,268: Install equipment to capture waste heat, allowing that heat to preheat hot water used in production. Will reduce production boilers’ operations. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $75,697
Somerset County
-- West Salisbury Foundry — $32,424: Replace all plant lighting with LED lighting and upgrade HVAC to three wall-mounted split HVAC units. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $5,969
Renewable Energy Projects
Allegheny County
-- DMI Companies — $216,945: Install a renewable energy microgrid system that will include six wind turbines. Power will be stored and managed through a battery system to ensure consistent availability. Will offset 2.7 percent of the facility’s annual electricity use. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $3,784
Lancaster County
-- Fox Meadows Creamery — $281,755: Install a rooftop-mounted solar system to offset nearly all (99.6 percent) of the facility’s annual electricity use. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $35,238
Luzerne County
-- A Rifken Company — $495,000: Replace an existing, aging roof top solar system with a new, three times larger roof top system at the facility to offset 30.4 percent of the facility’s annual electricity use. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $30,654
Electrification Project
Berks County
-- The New Enterprise Stone & Lime — $496,383: Electrify processes at the crushing plant by replacing two diesel generators with line power. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $45,383
Carbon Capture Project
Dauphin County
-- Tröegs Brewing Company — $204,284: Install a Carbon dioxide reclamation system within their existing facility to capture CO2 from the fermentation process and reuse in later stages of beverage production. This will reduce the amount of CO2 that the facility purchases for their production process. Annual Estimated Energy Savings: $53,416
To learn more about RISE PA’s SAT program, please visit the DEP website and the PennTAP website.
Click Here for the DEP announcement. Click Here for video and photos.
For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website. Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.
[Posted: August 11, 2026] PA Environment Digest
