Pennsylvania’s environmental agency is hoping to snag up to half a billion dollars in federal funding to start a grant program focused on cutting carbon emissions from cement kilns, steel manufacturers and other industrial operations.
- If funded, the program would be called Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania, or RISE PA, according to the Department of Environmental Protection, which is taking the first steps this month.
How: The agency landed a $3 million grant last week from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to plan for the RISE PA program.
- The agency is using the money to create a Priority Climate Action Plan for curbing carbon emissions from the industrial sector, deemed the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in Pennsylvania.
- The emissions come from cement manufacturing, steel production, coal mining and natural-gas production, among other sources, according to the state.
- Once the plan is complete, the state can apply for up to $500 million to carry it out.
- The money is authorized under the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
What’s next: State officials are seeking input on RISE PA from industry, academia, community-based organizations and others.
- The deadline is Jan. 22, according to a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin that lays out what the state is hoping to achieve through RISE PA.
- The program might fund projects that retool factories with lower-carbon heat systems, such as electric heat pumps or systems based on clean hydrogen.
- State officials also are interested in projects that benefit low-income and disadvantaged communities, as well as projects that incorporate what they describe as high labor standards and support equitable workforce development.
- The state must submit its plan by March 1 and then apply for funding by April 1.
Why is this happening: Emissions from heavy industry in Pennsylvania plunged nearly 26% between 2005 and 2020, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.,
- But the agency attributes some of the drop to the Covid-19 pandemic and — citing a national uptick in emissions in 2021 — says the reduction “may not be durable.”‘
- The agency also says more work is needed to stay on course for an 80% reduction by 2050.
The background: Pennsylvania is moving ahead with RISE PA as another of its carbon-reduction efforts remains tied up in court.
- That would be the effort to cut emissions from large power plants, an effort that would enroll Pennsylvania in a multistate program known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI.
- A state court ruling blocked the initiative but the Shapiro administration is appealing the decision.
