Where do Lehigh Valley, state rank when it comes to clean energy?
The Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania have seen growth in renewable energy choices — power from the sun, wind and other sources.
Pennsylvania ranks 22nd in the country for solar energy generation and 16th for wind power, both better than 10 years ago, according to a PennEnvironment report released Thursday: “Renewables on the Rise: A Decade of Progress Toward a Clean Energy Future.”
A separate report, “Clean Jobs Pennsylvania 2019,” quantifies that growth even more, noting the Lehigh Valley is home to nearly 5,000 clean energy jobs.
Though PennEnvironment’s Flora Cardoni could not say how many of those jobs are new since 2009, she noted the Valley and state are making headway both in employment and generation. But things haven’t progressed fast enough, she said.
“Our main takeaway is that while we are making renewableenergy progress here in Pennsylvania, we could and should be doing way more to be leaders in this transition,” said Cardoni, who is campaign director for clean energy for the environmental advocacy group. “We’re really middle of the road, but for one of the larger states in the country, we should be leading the way.”
PennEnvironment and the report, which was compiled by national groups including its affiliate Environment America, did not lay fault with any one individual, utility or pro-fossil fuel group, Cardoni said. “But solutions are clear; we have technology to move to a renewable-energy future and decrease pollution in the commonwealth.”
Cardoni added that while a bipartisan push exists in Harrisburg to enact legislation that would commit the state to 100% of its energy coming from renewables, some lawmakers have impeded those efforts, as well as a comprehensive clean energy policy.
The issue of reducing the state’s dependence on conventional energy sources has been ongoing. Allentown’s PPL Corp. announced in 2017 it plans to cut 70% of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas experts say is most responsible for global warming, and contributes to extreme weather events such as hurricanes.
This year, Easton’s Lafayette College announced a climateaction plan with a goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 — a first among Lehigh Valley universities.
Cardoni said PennEnvironment appreciates PPL’s efforts, but the organization’s goal is a comprehensive, statewide program committed to 100% clean energy 30 years from today.
“It’s becoming clearer every day that climate change is here,” Cardoni said, citing more extreme weather and pollution in recent years. “But the longer we wait, the worse the impacts are going to be.”
In other PennEnvironment report highlights:
Over the last decade, solar energy in Pennsylvania has seen a boom — growing from 11 million kilowatt-hours to about 510 million kilowatt-hours last year. Despite that, the state ranks 22nd for solar energy production.
Pennsylvania has achieved major strides in energy storage capacity, ranking eighth in the country after an 18-fold increase from less than 100 megawatts to more than 800 megawatts. Battery storage allows electricity providers to amass wind and solar energy.
The state has more than doubled its wind capacity over the last decade, putting it among the top 20 states for increases in wind generation.
PennEnvironment announced the report’s release Thursday night during a Renewable Energy Expo at DeSales University.
Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone can be reached at 610-820-6694 or asalamone@mcall.com.