In partnership with PennTAP, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) awarded nearly $3.5 million in grants to 15 projects at manufacturing facilities in 11 Pennsylvania counties that focus on reducing industrial emissions and improving air quality. The announcement was made on August 10, 2026, at Tröegs Independent Brewing in Hershey. The company has been awarded more than $200,000 for a carbon capture project, estimated to yield $53,000 in annual energy savings.
The funding is the second round of awards from the $40 million Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) Small-scale Award Track (SAT), a statewide grant program aimed at helping eligible small to mid-size manufacturers reduce energy costs and air pollution. PennTAP was named administrator of the program in 2025 and partners with DEP.
The first year of this round of SAT grants project implementation is expected to prevent approximately 2,500 metric tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, according to PennTAP Director Tanna Pugh. “Companies will save an estimated $470,000 on electricity costs in the first year of the projects,” she said.
“Programs like RISE PA show what’s possible when we connect Pennsylvania manufacturers with the right resources,” Pugh continued. “In addition to helping facilities improve air quality in their local communities, the funded projects will yield significant cost savings that can be re-invested in furthering energy efficiency, adding jobs, and expanding production. Each project demonstrates sustainable economic development in action.”
Round 2 Project Awards
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 Replacing an outdated air compressor and dryer with a new variable speed air compressor and dryer.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.
In addition to managing the SAT program, PennTAP supports SAT applicants by providing no-cost energy assessments that fulfill a key grant application requirement and identify opportunities to lower operational costs and reduce their environmental impact to surrounding communities. PennTAP’s RISE PA team supports applicants with guidance, weekly virtual office hours, and other resources.
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.
Read the full DEP announcement.
View video from the announcement at Troegs Independent Brewing.
Read about a Round 1 project in this RISE PA Project Spotlight.
Contact PennTAP’s RISE PA team to learn about project eligibility and start your application.