Green grant a go for universities' partnership

Philadelphia University said Monday that its Engineering and Design Institute and the Green Building Alliance have received a $1.5 million grant from the state of Pennsylvania to continue the Pennsylvania Green Growth Partnership.

EDI and the Green Building Alliance, which is based in Pittsburgh, received $2 million from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development last year to establish the partnership.

Other members of the partnership are Villanova University, Temple University and the Delaware Valley Green Building Council in the Philadelphia area; Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania; and Pennsylvania State University in the center of the state.

The partnership promotes economic development through the design and construction of green buildings and the development of energy-saving building materials, products and technologies. It also conducts research and provides education on sustainability as well as green-building design, technology, materials and practices.

The grant is part of $5.2 million in recently announced grants by the state of Pennsylvania intended to boost the state's alternative energy industry, help its universities and attract and keep businesses in the state.