$160,000 in Grants Awarded At EnergyPath 2016 -- List of Winners

(West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund) A collaboration between Sustainable Energy Fund and West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund created Energy Sprout, a competition with the goal of developing new technology and business models that lead to improved sustainable energy solutions. Finalists competed in two categories, Community and Business, on July 28 at Energypath 2016 at The Pennsylvania State University.

1st Place - Energy Coordinating Agency ($25,000)
Energy Coordinating Agency's mission is to help people conserve energy and promote a sustainable and socially equitable energy future for all. They are a tri-state area (PA, NJ, DE) leader in energy efficiency retrofits for existing residential, small multi-family and commercial properties. Energy Coordinating Agency proposed a community-based sustainable energy project to demonstrate the effectiveness of new technologies and process improvements to create linkages with the public health system.

2nd Place - Serenity Soular ($5,000)
Serenity Soular is a collaborative project between Swarthmore College students and Serenity House to build the green economy in North Philadelphia. It is a community-scale renewable energy and efficiency program that offers a viable community energy gap solution and a potential to create regional partnerships in PA. Their program is rooted in energy efficiency and solar panel education, training and job creation. They aim to integrate the objectives of expanding and deepening both the definition and practices of sustainability.

3rd Place - Saint Francis Institute for Energy ($3,000)
Saint Francis University Institute for Energy works to be a reliable source of energy information for businesses, schools, policy makers, and communities. They are committed to establishing high-quality, authentic, and accurate information to assist Pennsylvanians in making educated and sustainable energy choices. They seek to build upon their successful wind siting tool and develop a one stop shop database for assessing the feasibility of implementing a small, renewable system and expedite the entire analysis process.

1st Place - CEWA Technologies ($100,000)
The concept for CEWA Technologies Inc. was born when a group of technical personnel were considering ways to bring clean energy and water to remote parts of the world. Inexpensive, plentiful energy is the foundation of all modern economies. Concentrating solar power - inexhaustible, sustainable, accessible - is part of the solution. Imagine a solar concentrator dish capable of delivering 33.5 kW of thermal power, 14 kW of electricity or a combination of the two at a price competitive with fossil fuels. CEWA plans to use the winning grant to reduce manufacturing cost and time per unit.

2nd Place - EthosGen ($25,000)
Over half of the energy that we produce today ends up as waste heat due to inefficiencies in every conversion process, whether involving automobile engines, power generators, or light bulbs. EthosGen, a small startup in Wilkes Barre, is developing a new energy system that could produce more electrical power from this immense resource of wasted heat. Their new prototype could create substantial new global opportunities to harvest thermal energy from renewable and waste heat resources, providing affordable, stable and reliable power for on and off-grid needs.

3rd Place - Renewable Homes ($3,000)
Renewable Homes seeks to promote an "Abundant Conservation" lifestyle through the development of residential rental properties that generate Net Zero energy through solar, Passive House design, and batteries for home storage. Renewable homes will make use of the latest technologies in building construction and management to reduce waste, manage costs, and deliver new Net Zero energy housing for renters at a neighborhood scale. The vision of Renewable Homes is to transform rental housing from a consumer to a producer of energy in a sustainable manner within a high comfort and quality living
environment.

Sustainable Energy Fund and West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund wish to congratulate these teams for their energy, innovation and enthusiasm. "This year we were thrilled to receive a wonderful pool of submissions," said President and CEO of Sustainable Energy Fund, John Costlow. "Selecting our finalists was no easy task. This is an excellent opportunity to focus on Pennsylvania's sustainable energy future, and we congratulate the finalist on their accomplishments." "It is a tremendous accomplishment
for these teams to present as finalists," said Joel Morrison, executive director of West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund. "We had many new ideas for the judges to choose from and we are proud to be involved in such an initiative that challenged the teams to think big and critically about their role in the future of sustainable energy here in Pennsylvania". READ MORE