SustainTech’s onsite evaluation doesn’t just show you how to save money with technological updates and improvements. We also help you save even more, with federal and state incentives, and with rebates and possible refunds from local electric utility companies.
Energy Review
One part of our onsite evaluation is thoroughly reviewing the records of your electricity usage, to see if you’re using more power than you need to, paying for more power than you use, and whether generating your own electricity, totally free of fossil fuels makes sense.
Federal Incentives
- Commercial Property Benefit program helps large, midsize and small business owners who’ve made significant improvements to their commercial buildings reduce current federal taxes and possibly recover federal taxes they previously paid.
- Manufacturing Incentives program offers manufacturing companies an avenue to receive tax money back for prior years while also reducing current taxable income on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
- The Energy Policy Act offers federal tax deductions of up to 60¢ per square foot of the building for energy-efficient lighting improvements and an additional 60¢ per square foot for energy efficient Mechanical/HVAC improvements.
State Incentives
- When small businesses (up to 100 full-time employees) install energy efficient or pollution prevention equipment that saves the business at least $500 and cuts yearly energy consumption at least 25%, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Small Business Advantage program provides 50% matching grants, up to $9,500.
- Pennsylvania’s High Performance Building program offers dollar-for-dollar matching grants for renovating exiting buildings to optimize energy performance.
- The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Pollution Prevention Assistance Program helps fund 75% of the cost of business projects that reduce energy use, with fixed-rate, low interest (2%) loans of up to $100,000 for up to 10 years.
Rebates from Electric Utilities
Duquesne Lighting, Met-Ed, PECO Energy, Penelec, Penn Power, PPL, and West Penn all offer rebates for energy efficiency upgrades. Some rebates are based on the cost of the project, some on the nature of the upgrade (e.g., air conditioner rebates are by the ton), and others on the number of kilowatt-hours saved. Click on the name of your electric company for specifics.
