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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Greg Vitali
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New information supports alternative energy legislation
MEDIA, March 12 – State Rep. Greg Vitali told the League of Women Voters of Delaware County today that new information supports passage of legislation that would increase the amount of power Pennsylvania electric distributors, such as PECO, must buy from alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind.
A study by the respected global consultant, Black and Veatch, found that Vitali's H.B. 80 and S.B. 92, companion legislation introduced by state Sen. Ted Erickson, R-Delaware, would have minimal impact on consumer costs and would result in 125,000 new job years in Pennsylvania, Vitali told a gathering of about 50 at Generations Restaurant in Media.
"House Bill 80 would increase our use of renewable energy such as wind and solar with little cost," said Vitali, D-Delaware. "It also would create good-paying green jobs for people to produce and maintain products such as wind turbines and solar panels. It's a win-win for Pennsylvania."
The legislation would increase the amount of electric that distribution companies must buy from alternative energy sources to 15 percent by 2024. The requirement is now 8 percent by 2020. The bill also would increase the share of energy that electric companies must obtain from solar photovoltaic sources to 3 percent by 2024. The requirement is now 0.5 percent by 2020.
Additionally, the bill also would require the establishment of a framework for a carbon dioxide capture and sequestration network to receive, via pipeline, carbon dioxide captured from power plants.
Vitali said provisions of H.B. 80 likely would be packaged in a bill introduced by state Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York, to facilitate passage.
Vitali also reiterated that the state should not lease any additional state forestland in the Marcellus Shale region for natural gas drilling. He also said the legislature should consider strengthening the water-quality regulations for water discharged in natural gas drilling.
Vitali has introduced H.B. 2235, which would put a five-year moratorium on leasing additional state forestland for natural gas drilling. Vitali said he supports a severance tax on natural gas drilling to raise money. Almost every other state with significant natural gas production has the tax.
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