The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) helped 22 local governments—among them Abington Township and Hatboro Borough—identify more than $2.8 million in energy savings in 2024 through the Shared Energy Manager Program.
The program is funded through the State Energy Program grant to DEP from the US Department of Energy as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“Saving energy means saving money, and thanks to Shared Energy Manager Program these local governments have nearly $3 million in energy savings,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “This program has been a success for these county and municipal governments, and we’re excited to enroll a new cohort in 2025 to be able to bring these kinds of savings to other places in Pennsylvania.”
The Shared Energy Manager Program helps local governments and municipalities hire experts from an engineering services firm, who evaluate and assist with implementation of energy savings, sustainability/resiliency, and renewable energy installation projects.
As of the end of November 2024, this program helped participating governments identify over $2.8 million in annual energy savings and cut ten thousand metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Wilson Engineering served as the shared energy manager and worked with participants on a number of different tasks including: energy benchmarking and planning, government building and facility assessments, feasibility studies to install renewable energy generation (primarily solar power), converting vehicle fleets to electric vehicles, and other ideas to reduce energy use.
Applications are currently open to participate in the 2025 cohort through January 31, 2025. Any Commonwealth local government or regional planning organization as well as school districts looking to reduce energy use, save money and lower emissions are encouraged to apply. Preference is given to applicants who are former participants of the DEP Local Climate Assistance Program (LCAP), governments or schools with environmental justice communities, and organizations with official climate action/energy transition plans.
More information on the Shared Energy Manager program can be found here. Interested parties can apply for the program here.
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