Pennsylvania details RISE PA industrial decarbonization grant program, application deadlines and award structure

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on a public webinar described RISE PA, a competitive grant program to fund industrial decarbonization projects across the commonwealth and help industrial facilities cut greenhouse gas and co-pollutant emissions.

The program "stands for reducing industrial sector emissions in Pennsylvania," said Ellie Caden, energy program specialist at DEP, who led the presentation. DEP and partner organizations described eligibility, deadlines, award sizes, required cost shares, bonus award opportunities and the application evaluation process.

RISE PA is funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, Caden said. Presentation slides and discussion gave two related figures for total funding: Caden described RISE PA as a "$396,000,000 statewide industrial decarbonization grant program," while program materials presented later in the webinar and the detailed guidance document describe $360,000,000 allocated across the program’s three award tracks.

DEP staff said the program will support a wide range of decarbonization projects, including energy-efficiency upgrades, electrification of process heat, fuel switching, on-site renewables, carbon capture, fugitive-emissions controls and other technologies. "There really is no one size fits all for decarbonizing industry," Caden said.

Tim Lesende, medium- and large-scale award track coordinator at DEP, said the program focuses on emissions from Pennsylvania’s industrial sector, which the department’s greenhouse gas inventory showed at just over 80 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2021. Applicants must demonstrate reductions in scope 1 (direct) and scope 2…