Pennsylvania ranks near bottom of states in renewable energy generation

• Rachel McDevitt
  BioRecent Stories

  

  I report on energy and the environment for StateImpact Pennsylvania at WITF.
  
  My work focuses on responses and solutions to climate change in the state legislature and communities around the state. I trace my interest in these issues back to my time as a Girl Scout and this episode of Rocko’s Modern Life.
  
  I look forward to winter just for the chance to ski a few times each season. I try to keep myself from doom-scrolling on my phone by keeping my hands busy knitting and learning to play the piano.
  
  I grew up in Cambria County, Pa. and graduated from Temple University. I started at WITF just after Christmas in 2014.

Rachel McDevitt / StateImpact Pennsylvania

A solar array at the Nittany 1 Solar Farm is seen here in Lurgan Township, Franklin County on Nov. 24, 2020.

Pennsylvania ranks near the bottom of states when it comes to generating renewable energy.

Data from the federal Energy Information Administration shows Pennsylvania comes in 45th in the country in energy production from wind, solar, and hydropower. Only 3% of total energy comes from those sources in the state.

Sharon Pillar, executive director of the Pennsylvania Solar Center, said that’s partly because the state is lagging far behind others on renewable energy goals.

Pennsylvania last updated its targets, called the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards, in 2004. The standards called for 8% of electricity sales to come from renewable sources by 2021. The state met that goal, using power imported from other states.

“Even just bumping up the goals is an indicator and a signal that Pennsylvania is open for business, we want renewable energy development,” Pillar said. “It makes a big difference for investors.”

She said money from the federal Inflation Reduction Act should drive new renewables projects, but that other states with more aggressive goals will probably see new development first.

Pillar said lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are becoming more supportive of solar energy as their constituents demand it.

“We do see that there is an understanding of the economic benefits that it’s bringing, and especially with electricity rates, how they’ve spiked in the last couple of years. It’s really a huge opportunity,” Pillar said.

About 95% of proposed electric generation projects in the region that serves Pennsylvania are renewables. That’s largely because the cost of building new solar energy plants has fallen dramatically in the last several years.

Governor Josh Shapiro pledged during his campaign to have the commonwealth generate 30% of its energy from renewables by 2030.

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About StateImpact Pennsylvania

StateImpact Pennsylvania is a collaboration among WITF, WHYY, and the Allegheny Front. Reporters Reid Frazier, Rachel McDevitt and Susan Phillips cover the commonwealth’s energy economy. Read their reports on this site, and hear them on public radio stations across Pennsylvania.

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