HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, July 10, 2008 (ENS) - A new $650 million fund that will save families and small businesses money on their energy bills by supporting investments in energy conservation and efficiency was signed into law Wednesday by Governor Edward Rendell.
Households and small businesses can qualify for $100 million to support the installation of solar energy technology that allows them to generate their own electricity and sell any excess power back to the grid through net metering.
Carnegie Mellon University estimates the technology could help reduce electricity demand by five percent during the 100 most expensive hours of the year - typically, times when the sun is most intense, temperatures are highest and people are running their air conditioners full blast.
Electricity rates can be 15 to 30 times more during periods when demand is highest, and university scientists estimate the net metering from solar power generation would save Pennsylvania ratepayers $1.9 billion annually.
Residential consumers and small businesses will be eligible for $92.5 million in loans, grants, reimbursements and rebates to support energy conservation and weatherization projects that can ultimately reduce energy bills.
Another $40 million is available to provide financial assistance through the state's Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, and establish an energy efficiency loan fund through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
The governor said these kinds of investments are important today because consumers who now find it difficult to pay for gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas and heating oil will only face greater financial hardship when the generation rate caps that have held electricity prices in check since the mid-1990s expire, leading to double-digit rate increases.
"This should concern all of us because the residential consumers and businesses in the five utility service territories where rate caps haven't expired - PECO, PPL, Allegheny Power, MetEd and Penelec - are facing a $4 billion increase in their electricity rates by 2011," said the governor.
"At a time when gasoline and diesel fuel are at $4 and $5 per gallon and natural gas has more than doubled since last year, these rate increases will be the straw that breaks the camel's back," he said.
Included in the new $650 million fund is $500 million that provides:
- $165 million for loans and grants to spur the development of alternative and renewable energy projects, except solar, among businesses and local governments
- $100 million to provide loans, grants and rebates that cover up to 35 percent of the costs residential consumers and small businesses incur for installing for solar energy technology
- $80 million in grants and loans for economic development projects in the solar sector
- $40 million to the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority to support early stage activities, such as incubator support services, translational and early stage research in startup businesses that develop and implement energy efficiency technologies
- $25 million for wind energy and geothermal projects
- $25 million for green buildings. Homeowners and small businesses will benefit from grants and loans to build energy efficient structures or renovate an existing building to improve its energy efficiency
- $25 million for pollution control technology to help energy generators meet state and federal standards
The remaining $150 million will be allocated over eight years, with $20 million annually through 2014-15 and another $10 million in 2015-16 that will include:
- $92.5 million so homeowners and small business owners can cover 25 percent of the cost of purchasing and installing energy conservation tools and weatherize their buildings
- $50 million in tax credits of up to $1 million a year per project for developing and building alternative energy projects, which will help Pennsylvania companies invest and grow here
- $5 million to support an Energy Efficiency Loan Fund through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
