The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry will make available five grants of $500,000 to workforce development boards for projects to support at least 25 local or regional clean-energy businesses.

In sum, $2.5 million in Clean Energy Workforce Development Grants are available to local workforce development boards, with projects beginning in July and lasting through June 2025.

The state labor department, or DLI, said in an announcement that the grants are “designed to boost Pennsylvania’s competitive edge in the clean-energy sector,” and boasted they would bolster the industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between March and December 2020, the state lost 13,200 clean-energy jobs, including those involved in the manufacture of wind, hydro turbine and Energy Star products.

DLI said employers are reporting a greater need for skilled workers in the clean-energy sector, a problem which began prior to the pandemic. Eight in 10 clean-energy employers reported difficulty finding qualified employers in 2019, the department said.

The clean energy industry includes the technology sectors of energy efficiency, clean energy generation, alternative transportation, clean grid and storage and clean fuels. Clean energy sub-sectors include solar, wind, efficient lighting, hydropower, smart grid, electric vehicles and biomass fuels.