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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Greg Vitali
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House scheduled to vote on alternative energy legislation
HARRISBURG, June 21 – State Rep. Greg Vitali said the House of Representatives is scheduled to consider a bill tomorrow he supports that would require electric distribution companies, such as PECO and PPL, to buy more of their power from water, solar and other clean energy sources.
"House Bill 2405 is good for the environment, the economy and our national security," said Vitali, D-Delaware. "This shift towards clean energy would help create good-paying green jobs in Pennsylvania, reduce our reliance on foreign oil and help us deal with our climate change problem."
The legislation, which is a revision of H.B. 80 that Vitali had previously introduced, would strengthen the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act of 2004. It would require 15 percent of Pennsylvania’s electricity to come from renewable sources such as wind and water; the current requirement is 8 percent by 2020.
The bil would increase the amount of energy from solar sources to 3 percent by 2025. The current requirement is 0.5 percent by 2020. It also would require 3 percent of the energy purchased by electric distribution companies in Pennsylvania to come from coal-fired power plants that sequester carbon.
Vitali said he opposes an amendment offered by Rep. Thomas Killion, R-Delaware/Chester, which would provide ratepayer subsidies for major capital improvements to nuclear power plants. The amendment would provide as much as a $4.7-billion transfer of ratepayer money to nuclear plant generators such as Exelon.
It's shocking and it constitutes corporate welfare," Vitali said. "The purpose of the bill is to foster the development of emerging sources of renewable energy such as wind and solar. The nuclear power industry is an established and profitable industry that does not need ratepayer subsidies."
Exelon's 2009 net earnings totaled $2.7 billion, and Vitali said the company would likely make the improvements on its own.