Pennsylvania’s legislature could do a lot more to speed up renewable-energy adoption, a new report says.
The nonprofit PennFuture outlined ways for Pennsylvania to do so in a new report, accusing the state’s legislature of “policy inertia” for failing to pass bills that would increase adoption and reduce the cost of energy for consumers.
The advocacy group said a majority of state lawmakers favor a “more gas now” policy rather than enabling the development of increasingly cheap renewable energy and battery storage that would cut climate pollution. Among the measures that PennFuture suggested legislators support is allowing community solar, a way for renters and others who can’t install their own panels to tap into local solar arrays.
“Thoughtful solar policies can also facilitate development of PV [photovoltaic] panels on the countless rooftops of warehouses and distribution centers that populate the landscape,” the report said.
The report called on lawmakers to increase the share of renewable energy required by the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards, which currently mandate that some 18 percent of the electricity utilities distribute come from renewable sources. Neighboring New Jersey, by contrast, required utilities to source double that share last year and 50 percent by 2030.
David Hess, a former secretary of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, said the Pennsylvania House, which has a slim Democratic majority, has passed many bills that would enable programs such as community solar, warehouse solar and expanding energy-efficiency programs at utilities.
But the bills have not become law because the Republican majority in the state Senate has opposed them, he said.
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