NOTE: This program started accepting applications for the Fiscal Year 2015-2016 on July 27,2015. Applications will be accepted until the funds are exhausted.

Established in July 2004, the PA Small Business Advantage Grant Program provides matching funds to for-profit businesses with a maximum of 100 full-time employees for improvements in energy efficiency and pollution prevention. The business must also be the primary source of employment for at least one full-time employee. 

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) administers the grants, providing up to $9,500 for proposed projects. Under the most recent solicitation, projects must demonstrate annual savings of at least 25% in energy consumption or pollution output plus $500 in annual monetary savings as a direct result of the proposed project. A recipient of the grant must submit a follow-up report to the DEP twelve months after the project completion date, detailing the environmental benefits and the financial costs and benefits as a result of the project. Prior to submitting an application for the program, eligible businesses must first (1)  obtain a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Vendor Registration Number; and (2) provide a completed checklist and a W-9 with the application.

Franchises are not eligible for funding. Projects that receive energy efficiency incentives from a utility are not eligible for additional funding through the Small Business Advantage Grant Program. Residential rental units and dwellings are not eligible for awards, nor are outdoor wood burners, wood-fired boilers, photovoltaics (PV), solar hot water, room air-conditioners, vending machines, and some types of building envelope measures. The measures identified above as eligible equipment are based on examples provided in program documents and lists of awards made for prior solicitations.

The program provided more than $564,000 in grants for 90 projects under the 2010 solicitation. Further information on eligible technologies and the application process are provided in the program document.