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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Greg Vitali |
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To: Editor
From: State Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware
RE: Pennsylvania Can Lead the Fight Against Global Warming
Legislation recently introduced in the state House and Senate would make Pennsylvania a leader in the fight against global warming by dramatically increasing the Commonwealth’s use of renewable energy and by establishing a cutting-edge carbon capture and storage network. This legislation would also mean thousands of new jobs for Pennsylvania.
House Bill 80, introduced by state Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, and S.B. 92, introduced by state Sen. Ted Erickson, R-Delaware would reduce the emission carbon dioxide, a major green house gas, by requiring Pennsylvania electric companies such as PECO and PPL to obtain a larger share of the electricity they provide to customers from renewable sources such as wind and solar. The bills would also require the Commonwealth to develop an underground carbon dioxide storage facility where coal fired power plants would deliver the carbon dioxide they remove from the burning of coal.
Specifically, these identical bills would require four things:
First, that electric companies increase the share of electricity from renewable sources they provide to customers to 20 percent by 2026. The current requirement is 8 percent by 2020.
Shifting from carbon dioxide emitting fossil fuels like coal and natural gas to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar would not only help combat global warming but also create good, green jobs. At least twenty other states have renewable energy requirements higher than Pennsylvania. For example, New Jersey will require 22.5 percent of its electricity to come from renewable sources by 2021.
Second, the legislation would specifically increase the share of renewable energy that electric companies must obtain from solar photovoltaic (PV) sources to 3 percent by 2026. The current requirement is a half percent by 2020. Solar PV electricity needs to be part of our energy future, but it cannot presently compete with other sources of renewable energy. This increase will allow the solar PV industry to continue to develop so that it can be competitive in the future. Many states have a larger solar share than Pennsylvania. For example, New Jersey’s is 2 percent by 2021.
Third, the legislation would require electric companies to obtain at least 3 percent of the electricity they provide to customers from coal fired plants that capture the carbon dioxide they produce. This provision will encourage the installation of carbon dioxide capture technology at Pennsylvania's coal burning facilities.
Finally, the legislation would require the Commonwealth to develop and operate a carbon dioxide capture and sequestration network. This network would consist of a storage facility that would receive, via pipeline, carbon dioxide captured from multiple and varied sources (i.e. new coal fired power plants, retrofitted existing coal fired power plants and large industrial emitters). At this Commonwealth storage facility, the carbon dioxide would be compressed into liquid form and injected into deep underground rock formations for long term storage.
This would be the first commercial scale, fully integrated carbon capture and sequestration network in the United States. This network could eventually be expanded across the country. It would also produce thousands of new jobs for Pennsylvania in the construction and operation of these new facilities.
There is no question that we will continue to burn coal for years to come. Presently, 57 percent of the electricity generated in Pennsylvania and 50 percent of the electricity generated in the United States comes from the burning of coal. Moreover, by 2030, the U.S. Department of Energy projects that the equivalent of 450 new large coal fire power plants will be completed.
The real question is whether we will continue to allow the carbon dioxide coal emits to be released into the atmosphere or will we develop the technology to capture and safely store it? This proposal is the next step in the development of that technology.
There are undoubtedly risks that accompany this proposal, but the risks of inaction are even greater. If we fail to develop this technology soon, there will be dire consequences for the earth’s climate.
By enacting H.B. 80 or S.B. 92, the Pennsylvania General Assembly has the opportunity to put the Commonwealth at the forefront in the fight against global warming as well as boosting our economy. It should do so with all deliberate speed.
State Representative Greg Vitali (D- Delaware) serves on the Pennsylvania House Environmental Resource and Energy Committee.
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CONTACT: Jean Allegrini |
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