Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell kicked off September by unveiling a new, $20.5 million, 40-project energy plan for his state. The aim? Create jobs, boost clean energy use and save energy throughout Pennsylvania.
The funding is coming from three separate funding sources: $13 million from Growing Greener II, $5 million via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and $2.5 million courtesy of Duquesne Light Co. settlement funds.
According to Rendell, the projects will add 1,400 jobs to the state’s clean energy industry and cancel out nine million tons of carbon emissions. According to the press release, the plan will save and generate a combined 10 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy over the total lifetimes of the projects. That is enough to power one million average U.S. homes for a full year.
The $20.5 million in funds is only a small portion of the money that will be poured into the projects. The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA), which has invested $99 million in 201 differenet energy projects throughout the state since 2005, will leverage over $211 million in private funds.
As it currently stands, the state’s renewable energy portfolio requires one-half percent of Pennsylvania’s electricity to come from solar power. When the standards were implemented in 2004, they were considered one of the nation’s highest; over time, other states have surpassed Pennsylvania’s.
Governor Rendell has a long term vision of increasing Pennsylvania’s AEPS:
“The solar industry has grown at a rapid pace despite the uncertain economy. Investors and developers have proven anxious and eager to invest in clean solar energy projects. Venture capitalists alone poured $1.4 billion into the industry last year. Pennsylvania could attract a larger share of that action if we just increased the solar share of our portfolio standards law.”
a