Owensboro's Hausner Hard Crome among companies awarded grants by Gov. Beshear

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 2, 2012) – Governor Steve Beshear today announced the award of more than $226,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to four Kentucky companies. The funding will be used for energy efficiency upgrades in existing Kentucky industrial facilities.

Companies receiving funding include: 3M in Cynthiana ($86,689); Hausner Hard-Chrome in Owensboro ($35,377); AGC Automotive Americas in Elizabethtown ($83,990); and General Motors in Bowling Green ($20,900).

“The Commonwealth is pleased to award these four industrial retrofit grants that will help to further reduce energy consumption in Kentucky’s industrial sector,” Gov. Beshear said. “Many energy-intensive companies have located here because of our attractive energy rates, but it’s imperative that we continue working with industry to conserve energy to keep rates competitive.”

Hausner Hard-Chrome, AGC Automotive Americas and General Motors plan to implement lighting retrofit projects at their Kentucky facilities. 3M will modify existing air handling units to make them more energy-efficient and install an advanced energy monitoring system to measure and analyze energy usage for peak efficiency.

The projects are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, through the combined efforts of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Kentucky Department for Energy Development and Independence and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

Companies were selected through a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process administered by the Cabinet for Economic Development. Awardees are required to contribute at least 50 percent of the total project cost with their own funds.

“We are so thankful to have received these funds from the Cabinet for Economic Development,” said Steve Burke, maintenance specialist with Hausner Hard-Chrome. “We could not have done this project right now without the grant funds. This is going to provide many positive benefits for our company.”

The four awards represent the last round of funding for the Industrial Facility Retrofit Showcase Program. The Energy and Environment Cabinet, however, recently announced a new round of grant funding opportunities for energy-efficiency projects as the result of a 2011 settlement agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Additional information on eligible projects and applicants can be found at http://energy.ky.gov.