A Pennsylvania environmental group is out with a new playbook to move the state away from fossil fuels and to a clean energy economy.
PennFuture's Energy Playbook aims to address the overlapping issues of energy supply and affordability, without relying on fossil fuels.
The guide recommends that lawmakers make it easier for renewable energy to be sited in the state, especially on abandoned mine land. Pennsylvania has 177,000 acres of unreclaimed mine lands and most have the potential to host solar panels, according to the state's Department of Environmental Protection.
Playbook author Donna Kohut said a state commitment to solar can create more growth.
"It signals that those communities which have been oftentimes forgotten are also now safe to invest in," Kohut said.
Kohut said the state can't rely only on natural gas, which emits pollution that contributes to climate change.
"While solar power and batteries continue to come down in cost, the financial and environmental cost of continued and expanding fossil fuel generation and development is skyrocketing," Kohut said.
A pillar of the playbook is legalizing community solar, which are neighborhood-scale solar arrays that people nearby can subscribe to directly. These projects could shore up the tax base in former coal towns and reconnect them to a legacy of power generation, the report said.
For an example, the report looks to Rush Township in Centre County, which last year announced a solar project that will reclaim 2,000 acres of toxic mine land. The 265 megawatt project could generate enough electricity to power 200,000 homes and create more than $5 million in new tax revenue.
Community solar would "allow for a wide variety of access points for everyday Pennsylvanians to reduce their electricity costs, and start to participate in the renewable energy economy," Kohut said.
The report also recommends creating incentives for a modernized electric grid and finding new uses for former coal fired power plants.
Kohut said there are "endless visions" for what can replace former coal plants, including eco-industrial parks with co-located battery manufacturers and battery recyclers that can share electric generation; or a music venue with walking and biking trails and a brewery, to attract tourists and serve the local community.
The playbook emphasizes that Pennsylvania doesn't have an energy problem, but a problem of political will, Kohut said.
Community solar legislation has stalled in the General Assembly for years. Lawmakers have also failed to update goals for how much of the state's energy comes from renewables, after hitting 8% in 2021. And there is no funded, comprehensive plan for how to help communities formerly reliant on coal to transition to something new.
Kohut said now there is an urgent need for lawmakers to act.
"My hope would be that, yes, they are open and interested in making the lives of Pennsylvanians better by passing policies and creating financial incentives to get us moving forward rather than relying on things like fracked gas, which is just endless cycles of boom and bust," Kohut said.
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