Energy Harvest, AFIG Grant Recipients Announced
ALTERNATIVE FUELS INCENTIVE GRANTS

AFIG grants help support energy security by investing in companies that produce and market homegrown alternative fuels and biofuels, related infrastructure, as well as assisting consumers that purchase hybrid vehicles. Since Governor Rendell expanded the AFIG program in 2004, it has awarded almost $24.3 million to 78 projects and leveraged $173.3 million in investment commitments by public and private fleet operators, fuel providers and the federal government.

Allegheny County

Thar Process Inc. -- $588,000 for a demonstration project to produce ethanol without distillation. The process uses pressurized propane to extract ethanol, potentially cutting production costs by one-third.

Advance Materials Corp. -- $171,772 to develop high-efficiency motors and controllers for electric vehicles.

Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities -- $166,695 for biofuels storage and dispensation infrastructure to serve regional fleets.

Berks County

East Penn Manufacturing Co. Inc. -- $176,900 to retrofit a 40-vehicle fleet with auxiliary idle reduction systems. The project will save over $234,960 in fuel costs annually and more than 52,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

Centre County

Matson and Associates Inc. -- $120,000 to demonstrate the effectiveness of several catalysts in processing of alternative, lower-cost biodiesel feedstocks.

Penn State University -- $160,959 for students to develop a production-quality hybrid vehicle to compete in the national Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition. The PSU team will re-engineer a vehicle to increase fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while retaining the vehicle’s performance and consumer appeal.

Chester County

Tredyffrin-Easttown School District -- $56,979 to buy-down the incremental costs of biodiesel blended fuel and to clean a storage tank for holding and dispensing the biofuel. The project will displace the use of 73,000 gallons of petrodiesel.

Great Valley School District -- $36,166 to buy-down the incremental costs of biodiesel blended fuel. The project will displace the use of 52,000 gallons of petrodiesel.

Owen J. Roberts School District -- $36,400 to buy-down the incremental costs of biodiesel blended fuel. The project will displace the use of 52,000 gallons of petrodiesel.

West Chester University -- $4,800 to buy-down the incremental costs of biodiesel blended fuel. The project will displace the use of 19,000 gallons of petrodiesel.

Dauphin County

Middletown Biofuels LLC -- $654,845 to demonstrate pretreatment of alternative biodiesel feedstocks using controlled flow cavitation technology. This will potentially lower production costs and improve grantee’s competitive position relative to out-of-state producers. The project will generate almost 4.6 million gallons of biodiesel annually, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 9,950 tons per year.

Delaware County

Radnor Township School District -- $12,788 to buy-down the incremental costs of biodiesel blended fuel.

Erie County

Erie Regional Airport Authority -- $45,750 for preconditioned air units at the Erie International Airport. The PCAs will replace present auxiliary power units that avoid use of aircraft engines to supply heated or cooled air and electric power for parked planes. The PCAs will save 15,000 gallons of jet fuel and reduce emissions in an ozone non-attainment area.

Lawrence County

Axion Power Battery Manufacturing Inc. -- $799,932 to demonstrate the application of cost-effective, advanced lead acid batteries in hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles for use in commuter, delivery and other vehicle applications.

Montgomery County

Montgomery County Intermediate Unit #23 -- $42,132 to buy-down the incremental costs of biodiesel blended fuel. The project will displace the use of 381,489 gallons of petrodiesel.

Philadelphia County

US Airways Inc. -- $321,680 to convert ground support equipment fleet at Philadelphia International Airport to run on electricity rather than fossil fuels. The project will save more than 91,000 gallons of fuel annually and avoid emissions almost 40,000 pounds of nitrogen oxide and 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

City of Philadelphia -- $296,650 for rechargers for the electric ground support fleet at Philadelphia International Airport, in coordination with the US Airways project.

Temple University -- $255,443 to develop an improved electric hybrid/ fuel cell vehicle capable of extended range and load.

City of Philadelphia, Office of Fleet Management -- $150,000 for 15 compressed natural gas-powered trash trucks to replace standard diesel trucks. The project will displace 190,000 gallons of petrodiesel fuel a year.

City of Philadelphia, Office of Fleet Management -- $131,100 to buy down the incremental cost of biodiesel blended fuel. The project will displace the use of 500,000 gallons of petrodiesel.

Philadelphia Academies, Inc. -- $267,100 for students of the West Philadelphia High School’s Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering to participate in the Automotive X Prize Competition. The goals are to develop cost-effective designs that appreciably improve fuel efficiency while demonstrating the commercial production viability of alternative vehicles.

York County

Ettline Foods Corp. -- $812,610 to retrofit two collection tank trucks to run on straight vegetable oil and for two storage tanks. The tankers will collect waste vegetable oil from 750 of Ettline's customers and deliver it to a processor for conversion to SVO. The project will save more than 700,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually and avoid more than 495 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Multiple counties

Alloy Surfaces Co. Inc. -- $993,654 for development of a hydrogen plant module that is capable of producing fuel onboard a vehicle. The project is a collaboration between Alloy Surfaces Company, Inc. and Penn State University. The project includes a comprehensive analysis of the energy and emissions impact of the HPM and vehicle.

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