The state monies will fund 12 separate projects with a total generating capacity of 9.1 megawatts, the governor's office noted.
One of the largest grants is going to Knouse Foods Cooperative in Dickinson Township. The company is building a $19 million solar power installation on a former brownfield site, and the CFA is providing $3.5 million for the project. When complete, it will generate 3.155 megawatts of electricity.
A similar system is being installed in Lower Paxton Township; that municipality is receiving $3 million for a 3-megawatt, $16 million solar array that will help power the Swatara Township Authority’s water treatment facility.
And two union offices in Philadelphia County are getting grants to help further their solar photovoltaic training activities. IBEW Local Union 98's business office will benefit from a $13,590 grant for the purchase and installation of a solar array on its roof; the union's apprentice training shop is receiving a grant for a solar power system, too.
"By the end of 2010 … we expect that Pennsylvania will rank in the top five states for solar," said Governor Rendell.
