Impact

Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program receives $412,643 grant from EPA

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded a $412,643 grant to the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) at Penn State. The grant will be used to provide Pollution Prevention and Energy Efficiency (P2/E2) technical assistance and Economy, Energy and Environment (E3) events for Pennsylvania food and beverage manufacturers as well as metal manufacturers and fabricators.  

This grant is part of a $9.3 million award distributed across 42 nationwide groups in support of pollution prevention. 

“We are pleased to support the innovative efforts of these organizations which will lead to healthier communities,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “Their efforts ensure safer spaces and cleaner air for all to live, work and play.” 

PennTAP director Tanna Pugh said this grant will support PennTAP in helping more local manufacturers adopt P2 approaches that will ultimately save the manufacturers money and reduce their environmental footprint. 

“We are committed to not only assisting manufacturers in achieving their energy efficiency goals and working towards a cleaner and greener Pennsylvania, but also to educating the next generation of engineering students so they can implement the same efficient and eco-friendly practices for generations to come,” Pugh said. 

PennTAP has been supporting food and beverage manufacturers as well as metal manufacturers and fabricators for years. As an example, PennTAP assisted Innovative Sintered Metals Inc. (ISM), a powdered metal manufacturer located in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, with several projects to improve the site’s productivity and reduce its energy usage. 

PennTAP’s recommendations to install both a pre-heat chamber and a cooling tower led to estimated annual cost savings of $24,000 per year, based on savings of 690,000 gallons of water and 120,000 kilowatt hours per year. PennTAP advisors also helped ISM apply for grants which covered $20,000 in project costs. 

“Thanks to the generosity and hard work of PennTAP, we were able to afford and install equipment necessary to increase productivity, efficiency and assist us in competing with larger companies,” said John Dippold, president of ISM.  

About PennTAP 

The Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) at Penn State is a federal, state and University partnership to stimulate statewide economic development. PennTAP helps organizations maximize their competitiveness through in-person consultations, unbiased technical advice, and connections to Penn State experts, resources, and programs.

Last Updated November 9, 2022